{"644946":{"#nid":"644946","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alternative Service Break ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn\u0026nbsp;Civic Engagement\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech, March is service trip season!\u0026nbsp;Alternative Service Breaks (ASB) is a student organization,\u0026nbsp;supported through Civic Engagement, that\u0026nbsp;develops student-planned and student-led service trip experiences during major breaks in the academic year.\u0026nbsp;In a\u0026nbsp;typical spring semester,\u0026nbsp;ASB student leaders are\u0026nbsp;facilitating\u0026nbsp;social issue education, training student trip leaders (TLs), meeting with\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;faculty and staff trip advisors, double-checking packing lists\u0026nbsp;and paperwork, and\u0026nbsp;communicating\u0026nbsp;all of\u0026nbsp;the final travel details to our community partners ahead of departure. Spring break kicks off as we\u0026nbsp;wave goodbye\u0026nbsp;to our groups\u0026nbsp;departing\u0026nbsp;by car or plane to\u0026nbsp;travel to\u0026nbsp;their service trip locations.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn March 2020, for the first time in nine years, ASB\u0026nbsp;did not travel for spring break. As news of Covid-19 continued tointensify, ASB made the decision to cancel all\u0026nbsp;five\u0026nbsp;spring\u0026nbsp;service trips \u0026mdash; first our\u0026nbsp;flight-based\u0026nbsp;trips to California, Belize, and Dominican Republic and eventually the two driving trips to South Carolina and Florida.\u0026nbsp;This decision was challenging, but\u0026nbsp;clear.\u0026nbsp;Safety was of utmost importance \u0026mdash; to our Georgia Tech students and staff, but also to the communities we\u0026rsquo;d be entering if we were to travel.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs ASB student leaders\u0026nbsp;connected in the summer, the decision\u0026nbsp;to figure out a virtual path to serve and program was unanimous. Travel was\u0026nbsp;always\u0026nbsp;a highlight of the ASB experience, but it was never the \u0026ldquo;why,\u0026rdquo; and the student leaders agreed that programming rooted in the ASB values of\u0026nbsp;education, connection, and reflection\u0026nbsp;was possible through any structure that we\u0026rsquo;d face in the 2020-21 academic year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSince August, ASB has developed multiple\u0026nbsp;virtual service and social issue programs\u0026nbsp;for the Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;community that continue to highlight ASB\u0026rsquo;s areas of focus \u0026ndash; service, education, and connection.\u0026nbsp;Fall 2020 featured a four-week, virtualprogram highlighting the relationship between racial equity and education access, as well as a service project focused oneducational material development for a local middle school. During winter break, ASB hosted \u0026ldquo;Impact from Home,\u0026rdquo; a four-week, virtual program\u0026nbsp;highlighting the exploration of three\u0026nbsp;service-issue areas\u0026nbsp;along with\u0026nbsp;weekly challenges to engage in community from home. This program highlighted the many ways we can connect to our community even if in-person volunteering is limited, with focus on daily behavior changes, education and awareness raising, and virtual service experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn March, ASB will launch the next four-week, virtual program, which is free and open to Georgia Tech students!\u0026nbsp;Embracing our love for learning more about the communities we serve during trips, we will embrace Atlanta as our destination for this program. Each week will feature a social or service issue\u0026nbsp;that is particularly connected to the Atlanta community,\u0026nbsp;speakers\u0026nbsp;and subject experts on the topics,\u0026nbsp;and opportunities to serve both virtually and in-person (in line with social distancing policy)\u0026nbsp;with other program participants.\u0026nbsp;We can\u0026rsquo;t wait for the chance to learn and serve with our Georgia Tech community this semester!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, or to sign up for the March 2021 program, Georgia Tech students can visit:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.campuslabs.com\/engage\/organization\/alternative-service-breaks\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/gatech.campuslabs.com\/engage\/organization\/alternative-service-breaks\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs we look ahead to future semesters, we know that we will return to travel-based service trips when\u0026nbsp;the time is right.\u0026nbsp;We will also carry forward\u0026nbsp;programming we have developed that allows us to\u0026nbsp;connect\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;students and community partners in\u0026nbsp;more accessible ways. Since spring 2012,\u0026nbsp;ASB\u0026nbsp;has grown to offer more than 10 trips per year to places throughout the United States as well as international trips.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs we continue to add service partner sites and trip experiences,\u0026nbsp;one of our priorities as an organization is\u0026nbsp;to ensure\u0026nbsp;thatASB service\u0026nbsp;trips are not cost prohibitive to those who want to attend.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIf you are interested in helping ASB\u0026nbsp;provide cost-effective trips\u0026nbsp;for all\u0026nbsp;and supplemental funding for students who need financial support to participate, please consider donating to\u0026nbsp;the \u0026ldquo;Sarah Perkins Alternative Service Break Fund\u0026rdquo; endowment.\u0026nbsp;You can make a one-time gift\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/securelb.imodules.com\/s\/1481\/alumni\/17\/interior-wide.aspx?sid=1481\u0026amp;gid=2\u0026amp;pgid=9447\u0026amp;cid=1129\u0022\u003Eonline here\u003C\/a\u003E. Add your gift to \u0026ldquo;Other Designation\u0026rdquo; and please specify \u0026ldquo;ASB Sarah Cantrell Perkins Endowment\u0026rdquo;. You can also schedule additional gifts using online giving.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In Civic Engagement at Georgia Tech, March is service trip season! Alternative Service Breaks (ASB) is a student organization, supported through Civic Engagement, that develops student-planned and student-led service trip experiences during major breaks i"}],"uid":"34945","created_gmt":"2021-03-03 18:48:07","changed_gmt":"2021-03-03 18:48:07","author":"tbarker30","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-03-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-03-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1298","name":"Parent and Family Programs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}