[Allene Shapiro]

Hello everyone!

The Alternative Break Program at Ramapo College of New Jersey just ran three Spring Break trips for the first time since 2019/2020. I was a lead/took part in planning three trips for students this Spring to Washington, D.C., Tennessee, and the Lower-Mid Hudson Valley. Our students did over 250 hours of community service combined from March 18 – March 24, 2024!

Eight students learned about environmental stewardship in Tennessee through participating in trail repair with the Cumberland Trails Conference. Nine students learned about Black and Indigenous experiences and history within the United States while in Washington, D.C. Students were civically engaged through visiting museums, visiting with NJ State Representative Josh Gottheimer’s staff at the United States Capitol, and attending programming at American University; along with participating in service with the D.C. Central Kitchen. Six students?went to Hyde Park and Cornwall-On-Hudson, New York and were able to do volunteer with the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, while also learning about social safety-nets and the work of President Franklin Roosevelt and and former Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins through archival research and museum tours. 23 students was a great welcome back (and general welcome to me, as I started in early December) to these trips.?

Besides our service-focused Alternative Breaks, we also have been holding weekly volunteer opportunities in the local community for students. Weather-permitting, by the end of the semester, students will have had around 16 community service opportunities, with 8 different local organizations. Our areas of service locally were focused around environmental stewardship, housing and food security, and senior assistance.?

It has been absolutely delightful seeing students connect with the local community and beyond!

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Allie Shapiro
Coordinator for Community Engagement
Ramapo College of New Jersey
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2024 13:00
From: Rouel Velasco
Subject: Service Trips

Greetings friends!

Is service trips still a thing? 

Anyone just recently returned from a service trip with students for spring break? If YES,  how was that experience? what are some lessons learned?

Anyone planning for service trips coming up soon and for this summer? If so, where are you headed to?

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Rouel Velasco
Director of Student Life
University of Hawaii-West Oahu
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