Alternative Breaks
Alternative Break Opportunities with St. Louis Hillel
Each year, St. Louis Hillel offers a variety of alternative break options for students during winter, spring and summer break. These kinds of trips offer students the opportunity to spend their vacations providing service to people in need around the world. Alternative Breaks take groups of students out of their everyday surroundings and places them in new environments to engage in community service and experiential learning. As part of short-term service projects, participants are challenged to see and understand difficult social issues such as poverty, literacy, and natural disasters and to explore questions of Judaism and social responsibility. Contact Jessica for more information at jessica@stlouishillel.org.
Current Alternative Break opportunities include:
Hillel Uruguay’s Alternative Spring Break Program
An extraordinary opportunity to engage students in an unforgettable and highly enriching experience of social justice work in South America. It is Hillel Uruguay’s answer to the call of many university students’ desire to travel to South America and make a difference in the process! Participants will join students from their school and other schools for a week in which they will implement social justice projects and explore the magical city of Montevideo and its Jewish community. See a flyer outlining the trip here. Registration for the 2010 trip is now closed.
American Jewish World Service Alternative Break
Every year a group of ten select students travel together for an intense one week service experience in Central America during which they learn of the global needs for change in a Jewish context. Students work on a project in an area of need in partnership with a local NGO. For the past four years we have partnered with the American Jewish World Service to provide Wash U students with an incredible service experience. In the past, we have travelled to Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. This trip is part of the Takkana Social Justice Fellowship. Registration for the 2010 trip is now closed.
Previous Alternative Breaks offered by St. Louis Hillel include:
Hillel’s Hurricane Katrina Alternative Spring Break
Close to 2,500 Hillel students have helped rebuild Mississippi and Louisiana since 2005. These one-week trips focus on hands-on service, community interaction and the exploration of social justice and Judaism. Participants spend their days doing volunteer work which may include, but is not limited to, installing siding on houses, dry-walling, painting, roofing, cleaning, etc. in the areas affected by the hurricane. After working, students engage in small group discussion and programming that delve into the underlying issues that were brought about by the storm. Following a communal dinner, there are a myriad of activities including meeting with communal leaders and members of New Orleans’ Jewish community. The experience also includes a tour of the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and a restful and joyous Shabbat.
Hillel’s Organic Farm Alternative Break
Hillel, in partnership with the Jewish Farm School, provides college students with the opportunity to participate in a weeklong farm-immersion experience. Students volunteer on sustainable farms located on the East and West coasts. Over the course of the week, participants learn a wide range of skills in sustainable and organic agriculture such as planting, harvesting, natural building and composting. To complement the physical work, participants have the opportunity to engage in texts and hear speakers discuss topics such as Jewish agricultural laws, medicinal herbs, and global food security. Students gain exposure to the growing food justice movement, both within the Jewish and secular worlds. Farming Alternative Breaks are offered in spring and summer and bring a small group of individual students together from various campuses. Visit the website for more information.
