Successful Past Trips

Hundreds of students participate in Alternative Spring Breaks each year. Below are some of the domestic and international trips organized by staff and students in recent years.
Domestic Trips

Alabama
Louisiana
Maryland
North Carolina
Rhode Island
West Virginia

International Trips

Argentina
Cuba
El Salvador
Mexico
Nicaragua
Prague
Ukraine
Uruguay

Domestic Trips

Alabama: New York University

Participants worked with Habitat for Humanity in partnership with an African American Student Services group. They built housing based on Habitat for Humanity's "sweat equity" model, whereby volunteers work side by side with those individuals who will be the beneficiaries of the housing project. Students also participated in Jewish learning sessions which drew parallels between their service project and Jewish values. For more information contact Rena Dascal at

rena.dascal@nyu.edu

New Orleans, Louisiana: University of Chicago, DePaul University, Northwestern University, Kendall College, National Lewis

Participants tutored children one-on-one, ran an after school mural project for the kids, repaired areas of Fisher Elementary, and volunteered with Jewish agencies of the New Orleans Jewish Federation that are focused on youth and education. Students led Jewish learning sessions (one each day) and will spend Shabbat with Tulane Hillel. For more information contact Stephanie Sideman at

sideman@uchicago.edu

New Orleans, Louisiana: The George Washington University

Ten students and one staff member went to New Orleans to spend a week staying and volunteering at The Woldenberg Home, a Jewish senior citizen home. The students put on a Purim carnival, did interviews, led Israeli and Salsa dancing with the residents, and helped with the daily routine. They also spent three afternoons with "My House," an after-school program for underprivileged youth. There, the students tutored and helped with homework as well as painting a classroom and playing games outside. Besides volunteering, they went to the D-Day museum, celebrated Purim and Shabbat with Tulane Hillel, and saw the sights and sounds of New Orleans. To find out more about GW Hillel's Alternative Spring Break, contact GW Hillel at (202) 994-5090.[Back to the top]

Baltimore, Maryland: Indiana University

Indiana University students participate in an Alternative Spring Break in Baltimore.

Eight students and two staff members from the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at Indiana University went to Baltimore, Maryland to participate in an Alternative Spring Break trip. They worked cooperatively with the Chesapeake affiliate of Habitat for Humanity to restore abandoned houses in the Waverly community for future habitation by low income and at-risk families. During their trip, the 10 participants spent a total of 25 hours in a van, literally put a roof over a family's head, and developed meaningful and lasting friendships between them. The experience made a meaningful impact not only on the Baltimore community and the participants, but also upon the larger IU Hillel community. For more information about this trip contact David Weisz at

dweisz@indiana.edu

North Carolina: University of Delaware

Four students and the Jewish Student Life Coordinator went to Franklin, NC to do Jewish service-learning about rural poverty. While there, they worked with the Macon County Program for Progress, a community betterment organization. The participants split time between HeadStart, Adult Day Care and manual labor, which consisted of helping put a new roof on a local resident's house. Each day they had an hour-long study session, which focused on Jewish views on poverty and tzedakah, using text studies, essays and commentaries from a variety of sources. One night was spent having a pot-luck dinner at the Mountain Synagogue. The Mountain Synagogue - based out of a local church's activity hall - is the only synagogue in NC west of Asheville and provides services and programs for the small number of Jews in the area. The trip was led by Rebecca Kirzner, a freshman and incoming president of UD Koach. For more information, contact Ian Cooper at

ijcooper@udel.edu

photos

North Carolina: Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina, George Mason University, University of Miami at Ohio, University of Florida, University of South Florida, Multi-Campus Hillel Center of Philadelphia

sbailey1@gmu.edu

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Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University

This winter, 25 Brown students participated in an interfaith break project. They helped to run an emergency shelter at the Beneficent church. During the day, a group of five sorted clothing donations, tutored GED students, compiled intake forms, and worked in the pharmacy at Travelers' Aid. Other groups conducted projects on the politics of homelessness, domestic violence, and hunger in Rhode Island, and cooked dinner together for their guests. They learned about the lack of low income housing in Providence, interfaith approaches to homelessness, and the importance of organizing homeless individuals to be their own advocates with "People to End Homelessness." For more information about this trip contact Megan Nesbitt at

Megan_Nesbitt@brown.edu

West Virginia: University of Wisconsin

Fifteen University of Wisconsin Hillel students joined others from many different walks of life and traveled to West Virginia to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. The group visited with a local congregation and spent Shabbat with member families and Wisconsin Alumni. They spent time with the community and went white-water rafting. For more information about this trip contact Matt Canter at

mcanter@tds.net

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International Trips

Argentina: University of Minnesota, University of Rochester, Greater Miami Hillel

Students from each of these campuses traveled to Argentina, providing services to a Jewish community that has been devastated by Argentina's economic collapse. In addition to serving the poor and needy in Argentina, the students developed friendships with their Argentinian peers and met with various members of the Jewish community. They also engaged in Jewish learning sessions which explored the relationship between social justice work and tikkun olam, repair of the world. For more information contact Linda Skolnik at

lskolnik@flahillel.org

Argentina, Uruguay: University of Southern California

University of California students visit Uruguay as part of an Alternative Spring Break.

ravklein@uschillel.org

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Cuba: Cornell University

Students on this trip visited a pediatric hospital in Havana and brought gifts and cheer to patients. They also participated in a Megillah reading with children and adults of the Havana Jewish Community. Participants visited the community of Santa Clara to see the newly restored Jewish cemetery and help design a Holocaust memorial. Students also met with political officials to learn about the impact of the U.S. embargo in Cuba. For more information contact Ed Rosenthal at

er76@cornell.edu

El Salvador: Columbia University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Tufts University, Clark University, Brandeis University, Boston College, University of Virginia, University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, University of California at San Diego, University of Texas, Boston University, Yale University

Students partnered with the American Jewish World Service to learn about systems of agriculture, micro-lending to farmers, and sustainable development. Each program is based on the needs of the host community. Students visit and learn about the Arboreautim, and help with selling crops. Students live in dorms, to avoid placing strain on the host families. The trip has a strong emphasis on social justice, and involves reflection with Jewish texts, and through a community Shabbat. Students also meet at the American Embassy to talk with the ambassador about the political and economic situation in El Salvador. For more information about working with American Jewish World Service in El Salvador, contact Ilana Aisen at

iaisen@ajws.org

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Mexico: University of California Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Williams College

In Mexico students worked with the Fundacion Cultural Yucatan. This American Jewish World Service project partner works in Yaxunah, a Mayan village, helping the local community develop its natural resources and plan for its future development. They have identified nearby Mayan ruins which they are uncovering, creating a plan for an eco-tourism business and have opened guest houses and a restaurant for the groups that they hope to host in the future. This past year, students helped create a greatly needed recycling program. At that time, the community was burning all of its garbage or leaving it in on the ground. Students participated in clearing the land and building a recylcling center. Additionally, the program includes funding for a teacher to create a community theater program to teach about the need for the program and how to participate in it. For more information about working the American Jewish World Service in Mexico contact Ilana Aisen at

iaisen@ajws.org

Nicaragua: Toronto, York University

For the first time, the American Jewish World Service brought volunteers to work in Nicaragua with the Cooperative Maria Luisa Ortiz. This organization is located in former Contra territory where there is a history of violence and high unemployment that creates feelings of great frustration, and has led to a significant amount of domestic violence. This Cooperative is a clinic that specializes in treating women and children in the Nicaraguan countryside and is the only medical facility that is accessible in the region. In addition to medical care and health education programs, they have created a legal clinic. The legal clinic provides assistance to women as they press charges and extricate themselves from violence. The women who run the clinic have wanted to start utilizing natural remedies in addition to western medicine because it is part of their history and because they cannot afford many antibiotics. Students assisted the community by clearing land and preparing it for the planting of herbs needed to prepare these traditional remedies. For more information about working with the American Jewish World Service in Nicaragua contact Ilana Aisen at

iaisen@ajws.org

Prague: Cornell University

Students on this trip visited the Czech Republic and Poland to learn about the survival and revival of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. They visited the largest synagogue in Europe, made a pilgrimage to Terezin, visited Auschwitz, and toured the Krakow Jewish Quarter. In addition, they met with representatives of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and learned about Jewish life in this corner of the world. For more information contact Ed Rosenthal at

er76@cornell.edu

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Ukraine: Students from Toronto, Washington, DC, and Montreal

Teams of students traveled around the former Soviet Union, to shtetls and community centers, large cities and small villages, in order to conduct Pesach Sedarim, visit the elderly, serve warm meals, and spread the joy of Pesach and tradition to Jews of all ages. These trips were coordinated by the Jewish Federation and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and were additionally staffed by Hillel professionals. Participants visited "sister" cities in the FSU to exchange Jewish culture and history. For more information contact Sarah Allen at

sarah@hillelnet.org.il

Uruguay: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Students will be working in partnership with Hillel Uruguay on poverty issues in the Jewish community of Montevideo, Uruguay. The three complete days of Tzedek projects planned by Uruguay Hillel are interactive social justice opportunities. Project Comedor Comunitario El Tobogan will allow students to make changes to a soup kitchen which serves three meals a day to 120 residents of the El Tobogan neighborhood in El Cerro. Project Huerta Comunitaria El Tobogan will allow students to work with community members to create a fruit and vegetable garden in the El Tobogan neighborhood. For more information contact Elana Premack

elana@uofi-hillel.org

Two projects have been coordinated with Keren Kayemeth le Israel and the Jewish Asylum. Project Nuestra Huerta also involves the planting of a fruit and vegetable garden. The older adults living at the Asylum will maintain the garden after our group leaves. Project Caleidoscopio: Colores de Nuestros Abuelos involves maintenance and painting of the Jewish Asylum.Uruguay: Duke University

Fifteen students from Duke University traveled to Uruguay, where they performed community service at the Jewish Asylum, built a kitchen at El Cerro (a poor neighborhood), and met with the U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay. They developed relationships with their Jewish peers in Uruguay while learning about the Jewish values inherent in their social justice work.

melanie.greenspan@duke.edu