Alternative Break participants pose with children from the Friendship House in Washington, D.C.

Alternative Spring Break Frequently Asked Questions

 

Who can participate in Alternative Break?

Any Illinois State student, faculty or staff member who is interested in experiencing a life-changing break through service is encouraged to apply for Alternative Break. Only one faculty or staff member will be allowed to attend per eam.

Who makes up a trip team?

• Two trained student site facilitators (SF)
  • At least one site facilitator on each team will be certified in CPR & First Aid
  • Every team is equipped with an emergency binder containing: local city maps, Illinois State University contact information, participant medical insurance verification and location of nearest hospital & police station
• One faculty/staff participant
• 12-15 participants

Be prepared to have fun and make new friends — each group will be made up of diverse and enthusiastic individuals. You will work closely meetign the needs of others with these individuals and will build lasting relationships to continue once you're back on campus.

How much does the trip cost?

See Policies and Payment for specific costs for trips.

 

What transportation do you use?

Charter buses will take participants to their locations.  Once teams are at their sites, they will utilize either public transportation or the charter bus to get to and from their housing and service sites. In some cases, the sites are within walking distance.

What will I be doing on Alternate Break?

The primary purpose of trips are to volunteer ina differnt region of the country. You will be engaged in direct service for four full days. On the fifth day, you will have an opprotunity to explore the city that you visit. In the evenings, you will have downtime to play games, hang out, tour the city, or just relax. View a sample schedule

 

Where will the trips be going?

We hope participants will want to go because of the trip's issue and not the location; therefore, we may not disclose locations until after participants have been selected. Check out the lsit of Alternative Break Issues for a list of projects and topics Alternative Breaks may address.

What will the experience be like?

Trips leave on charter buses on the first Saturday of spring break. There is an orientation/training program at your service site on Sunday, so team members can find out what specific jobs they will be doing and learn any task-related skills and safety precautions before actually beginning their service. Monday – Thursday will be spent engaging in direct service. These are usually eight hour days. Friday is a free day, usually spent on entertainment and site-seeing. After a fun day of site-seeing, team members load the vans and head back to Normal, where they should arrive on Illinois State ’s campus by late Saturday night.

What is so unique about Alternative Breaks?

You have the opportunity to:

• Meet new people from Illinois State
• Learn about cultural and social issues while doing service
• Make new connections across the country
• Build relationships
• Grow, learn, and change your point of view
• Travel without spending a lot of money
• Create social change around the country