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Campus Resources
Community Engagement

Alternative Service Break

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Alternative Service Break (ASB) is a unique volunteer experience during which students forgo their traditional spring break activities and engage in direct service in a community outside of their own. Whether you are building houses, cleaning up after storms, or playing with kids/animals; you will learn about new cultures, social issues, and how to be an active citizen.

Alternative Service Break will take place over Fall Break (October 20-24) and Spring Break (March 4-8). 

Racial Justice in Charleston, SC (Spring Break)
  • March 3-7
  • 1 fun evening + Historic Walk through Charleston
  • Cost: $150 (covers all expenses for the week)
  • various projects related to the topic
Environmental Justice in Harleyville, SC (Spring Break)
  • March 4-8
  • 1 fun evening in Charleston
  • Cost: $150 (covers all expenses for the week)
  • Plant restoration, removal of invasive vines, installing fire breaks, learning the history of the low-country
Woodlands Sustainability in West Jefferson, NC (Spring Break)
  • March 4-7
  • One fun evening in Boone
  • Cost: $150 (covers all expenses for the week)
  • Animal care, plant pruning and planting, raising food for the community

Interested, but what more information? Please follow @CLT_LEAD on instagram for more details! 

Registration is only open for UNC Charlotte Students who will remain students at the time of the program. Apply for spring break trips by January 15th at midnight! 

Apply

"To create an impact on the world and made a difference in other communities, we must step out of our own and embrace the unknown. It's only by venturing beyond the familiar that we can broaden our perspecives and inspire meaningful change." (2023 Participant) 

"Going on this alternative service break gave me some of the most fulfilling and fun memories that I get the privilege to hold on to. It is an incredible opportunity to go from a group of strangers to lifelong friends over the course of only a week. I would recommend this experience 1000%!" (2023 Participant)

"Being able to volunteer during the Alternative Service Break helped me to realize how one person can create a massive change and built my passion into being that person for my future communities" (2022 Participant).

“Our job was to put the ‘unity’ back into ‘community’ but your generations job is to put ‘human’ back into ‘humanity’” (2022 Participant).

"[Alternative Service Break] allowed me to see through a lens of life I have never seen before, and I am grateful for that!" (2022 Participant).

"This trip was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It was SO refreshing to spend time with genuine people and do things that benefit a community in need at the same time. It was truly an uplifting experience that I will always keep with me" (2020 Participant).

"I am forever humbled by this experience because it gave me an opportunity to understand how I can serve communities other than my own but most importantly how to understand people for their stories and how they cope with difficult situations" (2020 Participant).

"Alternative Service Break allows you to become comfortable with being uncomfortable and opens your eyes to how your service directly impacts other people" (2020 Participant).

"My experience with the Panama City Beach, FL ASB taught me how to be an active citizen by challenging me to step into a new community and, while engaging in service work, listen to the dominant narratives of its members to understand the unique needs and perspectives of the community" (2020 Participant).