Filed under: Animals, Environment, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Ulaa Service, Winter Break | Tags: agricultural service, agricultural volunteer work, agritourism, Chile, Enchanting Challenge, Enchanting Group, serve in Argentina, serve in Chile, serve in Patagonia, Ulaa, Volunteer in Argentina, Volunteer in Chile, Volunteer in Patagonia
Alas, our week at Ulaa has ended…Nick and I were both so sad to leave that little organic Chilean paradise…As we took the boat across Lago Puelo to the Argentine mainland, we looked back with longing, saying goodbye to all the passing scenery. But our sadness was kept at bay because we have decided to return to Ulaa in July to work with Martin for the whole month, helping to keep the farm working, and helping to further develop the service project! We are so excited.
As I mentioned in past posts, Martin, the amazing Ulaa caretaker, is looking to host about 5 service workers at Ulaa at all times. Each service worker can stay for as long or as short as they would like, as long as they work on the farm everyday. Each service worker will be well-fed and cozy in their log cabin, which is equipped with a fireplace, comfy bed, and bathroom.
The tasks that the service workers will be charged with include picking berries off the trees, making jam, baking bread, fishing for trout and salmon, feeding the chickens, and brushing down the horse. It’s a lot of work, but it is honestly so much fun. Nick and I had hands stained purple from picking berries, and clothing with a constant coat of flour dust, but we were having so much fun! Sometimes nothing beats working with your hands, working in the thick of nature, creating what you eat from the very ground up.
that's me making jam, some of which I got on my nose!
my jam simmering on the stove
there's Nick kneading dough! check out the view he had while cooking!
there's some more of Nick's great dough!
It was so much fun to be part of the Ulaa community, helping in our small ways to make things move more smoothly on the farm, and to share in the work that allowed everyone to be happily well-fed. It really felt like being part of a collective unit, of a team, in which we were all core members. We honestly can not wait to return for the month of July.
Ulaa is currently ready to host service workers. If you are interested, please contact me and we can discuss all the details!! You can join our Facebook group here, or you can research more about volunteering on an organic farm at WWOOF. Ulaa is currently listed on the Chilean WWOOF site, but you need to become a WWOOF member for $15 if you want access to the entire list of Chilean WWOOF farms. I am available all the time at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com or via Skype if you would like to chat more in depth about volunteering on the beautiful Ulaa farm! Ulaa is honestly a magical place, but it needs service workers to grow to its full potential…
Filed under: Animals, Education, Environment, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Ulaa Service, Winter Break | Tags: agricultural service, agritourism, Argentina, Chile, Enchanting Challenge, farm work, farmwork, Patagonia, Service, Ulaa, Volunteering, volunteering in Argentina, volunteering in Chile, volunteering in Patagonia, volunteering on a farm
Today Nick and I worked with Martin at length to start planning the Ulaa service sector. It is exciting and beautiful to see this plan come together, and we all hope so much that some of our readers will be interested in the program we are constructing. Below I have written the four main points of our plan.
Las Paisajes–The Landscape
The farm is the heart of Ulaa. It is most important to realize that we are here for the farm. Ulaa’s fields grow walnuts, apples, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, pumpkins, potatoes, onions, garlic, lettuce, basil, tomatoes, and more. Chickens roost in their hen house and trout and salmon swim in the lakes. The landscape is very, very alive, and we are here to keep it vibrant.
La Gente–The People
The people who come to Ulaa to serve on the farm must come with a proactive attitude and a hard-work ethic.
Ulaa is beautiful and it is impossible not to feel at peace here. BUT, it is important to realize that volunteers can not come simply for relaxation. Their stay here will be free or at a minimum cost, but they must come prepared to be a core part of the hard work that keeps Ulaa healthy.
The people, the volunteers of Ulaa, together will make a whole unit, with each person an integral part of the unit. The sucess of the whole depends upon each person fulfilling his or her tasks. For example, Ulaa is far from any major road or market; basic supplies that can not be made on the farm–like toilet paper–are delivered regularly; but other basic items–like bread and jam–that can be made on the farm must be made on the farm. Getting bread and jam at Ulaa is not a simple short-trip-to-the-store endeavor. Instead, for the jam, someone must pick the berries, take out their thorns, and boil them with sugar until they resemble jelly. For the bread, someone must mix the flour and yeast and let it rise, and then bake it. These are simple examples, but I mean to paint the picture of how everyone’s well-being, in addition to the well-being of Ulaa itself, depends on each person helping out where they can.
The collective contributions of everyone make Ulaa a beautiful experience. In our normal lives, things like bread and jam are items we buy at the nearest grocery store. At Ulaa, they are things you make from scratch with your own hands. It is all hard work, but the reward is priceless: you learn where your meals come from; you feel close to and a part of what you eat; and you gain a deeper respect and understanding of our relationship with nature and our place within nature.
Las Cabanas–The Cabins
All of the volunteers will stay in log cabins on the Ulaa property. The cabins are gorgeous–rustic, wooden, and overlooking the two lakes Ulaa sits between. Each bedroom has an incredibly comfortable wooden bed with a fluffy warm comforter. Each cabin has a bathroom that can be shared between the 2 or 3 inhabitants of the cabin.
Eating, like the farm work, is also a collective endeavor. The kitchen in the main lodge is where all the group meals are cooked. A gigantic oven and a whole lot of counterspace make it hard to have too many cooks in the kitchen. Like always, everyone will be a part of the meal process, and all the volunteers will eat 3 meals together everyday–and all of the meals will be made from food grown right from Ulaa’s soil.
Los Alerces–The Alerces
The Alerces are giant, ancient trees growing in the forests surrounding Ulaa. It takes one year for an alerces tree to grow a single milimeter. These trees loom high into the sky, giving you an idea of how old they really must be. Their majestic beauty helps to connect you to nature and remind you of the wonders of our natural world. Seeing them will make you excited to be cultivating the land in this beautiful place…
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We are so excited to put the Ulaa service project together. It is something so close to our hearts, and something we know will be enriching to anyone who takes part in it. In the coming days, look for my posts that will detail exact volunteer duties, the costs of this experience, and more details on the fabric of Ulaa…
Filed under: 17434518, Animals, Education, Environment, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Ulaa Service, Winter Break | Tags: agricultural service, agritourism, Argentina, farming, log cabin, serve on a farm, service in Chile, service in Patagonia, transportation to Ulaa, Ulaa, Ulaa Patagonia
Our journey to Ulaa began in crazy, crowded, and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. It was there that we hopped on board a crowded bus that would take us to the international bus station in 45 minutes time, where we would then board a double-decker cross-country bus that would take us on a 20-hour journey southbound. We were armed with a hiking backpack loaded with hiking gear and warm clothes for the Patagonian mountains, and enough food to last us until we arrived in Ulaa, an estimated 30 or so hours away.
At 5 pm on Saturday our bus pulled out of the station and hit the road. As the sun set, we sped through the Argentine pampas, farmland run by gauchos, or Argentine cowboys. Cows grazed freely across miles of fields, drinking from pure water ponds.
Night fell and we could no longer see the animal characters of the landscape. We closed our eyes and fell asleep.
We opened our eyes just as the sun was rising above the farmland. The terrain had become more desert-like, and the vegetation looked a little parched. Soon we were passing by massive rock formations that gave way to imposing, jagged mountains. The bus wove its way across the mountain roads, kicking up dust and sand in its path.
Then we reached Bariloche, with its green mountains and clear lakes. At the bus station in Bariloche, a backpacker’s hub to be sure, we boarded a smaller bus to take us 3 hours south to Lago Puelo. The bus scotted through the rain down even more isolated mountain paths, massive ridges surrounding the valley roads we took.
We arrived at Lago Puelo at 5:45 pm on Sunday, 25 hours after we had left Buenos Aires, but the journey was not yet over.
We hopeed into a remis, or an unofficial taxi, and our driver, Sergio, ferried us to the port. There we boarded a small motorboat driven by a Senor Claudio, who guided us across the waters of Lago Puelo. We flew up and down with every bump and every wave. When the water got too rocky to motor through, Claudio parked the dinghy and led us to the beach. We all helped each other jump from stone-to-stone until we reached a calmer part of the water where Martin would come pick us up from the other side of Lago Puelo, the Chilean side.
“Okay, chicos!” Claudio said as he bade us farewell kisses, promising that Martin was on his way. We certainly hoped that he was right because all we could see were rocks and lake! And sure enough, within minutes of Claudio’s departure, Martin arrived on another small motorboat, the one that would carry us to Ulaa.
We boarded the second boat and cruised across the water, surrounded on all sides by majestic mountains and low-lying, mysterious-looking fog.
And there she was: Ulaa. The wooden cabin arose out of a mountain at the edge of Lago Puelo. Martin docked the boat and we disembarked. After three bus rides, one taxi ride, and two boat rides, we had found Ulaa! And we were ready to begin planning ways for you to see her beauty as well…
Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow’s post on the Ulaa activities we are taking part in and plotting for you to take part in!!
PS: I promise that your journey to Ulaa does not have to be as complicated as our’s was…For instance, you could take an airplane to Bariloche, cutting about 18 hours from your journey…However, taking the long way certainly does add a sense of adventure to the whole journey!!
Filed under: Animals, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Winter Break | Tags: agricultural service, agritourism, Enchanting Challenge, Enchanting Group, Service, Ulaa, Ulaa Patagonia, Volunteer
This week my boyfriend~fellow Enchanting Challenge blogger Nicholas Cunningham~and I are in the Chilean paradise of Ulaa. Ulaa is an organic farm founded by the Enchanting Group and run by the amazing Ulaa care-taker, MARTIN.
Ulaa sits nestled into a mountainside overlooking a crystalline lake and river: Lago Puelo Inferior and Rio Puelo. The Rio Puelo runs into the Pacific Ocean, carrying schools of 20-pound salmon in its streams. The log cabin of Ulaa is heated by a wood-burning fire and electricity comes on for 4-5 hours a day. The water for bathing is heated over the fire,and when it is not heated it is ice cold and pure. The cabin’s main room has a wall of windows where you can sit by the fire, mesmerized by the blues and greens of the waves down below, gently moving the sea grasses in their wake. With the smells of the fire and the gentle chill of the lake winds, you will feel so close to nature here. No cell phones ringing, no pullution, no television blaring. You are brought back into balance. It is Heaven.
The Enchanting Group wishes to open up Ulaa into a service opportunity where traveleres can come and stay in the cabins for no charge as long as they participate in the daily farm work. The travelers can come back into nature and rest in the beautiful rustic Ulaa cabins as long as they help tend the potato fields, the pumpkin patches, the tomato greenhouses, the raspberry bushes, and the fruit tree orchards. All the crops are organically grown and just need to be tended with loving care by those who are interested in learning more about our food and our Earth. To serve at Ulaa is a beautiful opportunity, and if you are interested in agritourism and agricultural service and education, this may be the perfect place for you.
This week, Nick, Martin, and I are working together to form a plan to bring service learners and workers to Ulaa. During this week, I will write an Ulaa Series that will be updated daily, keeping all our readers notified of the progress and updates of the Ulaa plan. As I mentioned before, we are working on constructing a service program for agricultural service, but we are also thinking and brainstorming for medical service programs, dental service programs, and even a service program for authors, all here at Ulaa!! Please write me or comment on the blog if you have any comments, quetsions, and/or suggestions. We would love nothing more than if our readers were a part of the planning process for this up-and-coming Enchanting Challenge-sponsored service trip!!
* All photos taken by Nicholas Cunningham *
Filed under: Animals, Children, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Language Study, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip, Winter Break | Tags: AmeriCorps, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Enchanting Challenge, Going Abroad, Green Corps, Green for All, Mendoza, Peace Corps, Puerto Madryn, Service, Tulum, Volunteer Work
With the economic crisis affecting us all in some way, and with scary headlines sweeping our newspapers everyday, it may feel like a pretty dark time. However, although it might be hard to believe, this is also a time of unlimited opportunity. As the saying goes, “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste” (Paul Romer, economist). Let me explain.
This week, Luke Russert interviewed former President Bill Clinton. And you will not believe the advice Bill Clinton gave to young people who are about to finish their 4-year degrees! Read it and get excited:
- Stay in school if you can or want to
- Volunteer
- Go abroad
- Any combination of the above options
Because of our shaken-up economy, now is most likely not the moment you are going to find the career that allows you to save millions of dollars. Though that may seem to be a gloomy fact, that reality also frees you from obligations of normal societal expectations, such as embarking upon your career path. Now is the time that you have nothing to lose, which awards you the freedom to take risks, to follow your dreams and to do the things that seem unwise and unsafe when you have a secure office job at stake. A crisis truly is a terrible thing to waste, as it allows you to remake and redefine the reality of your life.
So what are your options? If you are graduating, programs like AmeriCorps and PeaceCorps are amazing options. So are shorter-term volunteer opportunities, such as Visions in Action .
(photo taken from Peace Corps website)
(image taken from the AmeriCorps VISTA site)
There are also some certification programs that you can embark upon either before or after graduation that can lead to altnerative career opportunities, such as a job within the emerging and highly-demanded green economy. One of the best of these programs that I can recommend is Green For All, a vocational program (for which you DO NOT need a 4-year college degree!) that trains people and helps to place them somewhere in the alternative energy field. Another interesting option in this genre is Green Corps, a very cool one-year program that teaches its trainees to organize environmental service and volunteer drives within communities, campuses, and more. Let me know if you are interested in any of these programs and I can help to give you more information!
(photo taken from the Green For All site)
And of course, what else can you do?? Enchanting Challenge service trips!!! We are getting ready to embark on the first one next month in Tulum, Mexico; we are busy plotting away the second one in August in Mendoza, Argentina; and we are putting together the pieces for the third one scheduled to take place in October in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Get ready for tomorrow’s post, as it will be a re-cap on all of these amazing service destinations!!!
Filed under: Animals, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: Animal Vegetable Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver, Ecology, Environment, farmer's market, locally produced food, Organic farming, Service, you are what you eat
The Must-Must Read
I am currently reading–and madly in love with–Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a page-turning memoir recanting the Kingsolver/Hopp family decision to move from their urban Tucson life to an agricultural life in Appalachia. I can not put it down. I’ve even gone so far as to devise writing exercises for my students (I work as an English teacher when I am not blogging 
) so that I can sneak in some pages during class while my students scribble away. It’s that good!
(That’s me curled up with the book!)
In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver discusses how and why her family took a vow to only eat what their own or their neighboring farms could produce. In summary, they took on this challenge in order to be closer to what they ate, in order to keep their refrigerators from being gasoline carafes storing food that consumed countless gallons of fuel over the course of its transportation history. Over the course of the book, the Kingsolver/Hopp family learns how to eat richly from the harvest of their own community, saving countless barrels of oil over the course of the year, and also becoming healthier themselves as they only eat the freshest of foods, unharmed by poisonous pesticides and fertilizers. They get back to nature, improving the health of their own bodies as well as the health of the environment along the way. (All the while learning some delicious recipes!) A pretty much win-win-win situation, wouldn’t you agree?
However, it is not feasible for us all to quit our city lives and move to the country. But Barbara Kingsolver is the first to admit this, explaining that she herself could not afford to do such a thing until she was middle-aged, economically stable, and liberated by a creative profession as a writer. So she takes the time to really illustrate how all of us can really serve the environment everyday in our normal, hectic, urban lives.
Ways You Can Give Back to Mother Earth Through Your Diet
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Grocery shop at your local farmer’s market: Since vendors at the farmer’s market will only sell locally-produced produce, your purchases will not include over-consumption of fuel. Moreover, since it is fresh and local, it will not be packed with preservatives. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle advises to check out the USDA website for a list of your nearest farmer’s markets (page 37).
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Grow your own garden: I read in the book that 1/4 of all American homes boast a produce garden!! I couldn’t believe it. It was such exciting news! Growing some of your own produce is the cheapest, most environmental, and one of the healthiest ways to get your fruits and veggies. All it takes is a little TLC to green your thumb, and ba-da-bing, you are making yourself and the environment healthier! To take Barbara Kingsolver’s advice, my boyfriend and I are now raising a lavendar and a rosemary plant to get some of our spice from our own patio (and don’t worry, we plan to expand this horitcultural horizon quite soon!). Here are our lovely plants:
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Know where your food comes from: It is too much to ask of you to suddenly get all of your food from the farmer’s market or to grow it yourself, but to be aware of the history behind many of the supermarket’s products is very important. To know the journey of a food item will change your buying behavior, and over time, change the selling behavior of the grocery stores. For example, if you start buying fair trade coffee and chocolate, it can do a world of good, for yourself, for the farmers, and for the environment! Once again, as a personal example, I have decided to replace sugar with locally-produced honey in my shopping cart. Honey is just as sweet, and it is from a near-by hive. Moreover, it is not bleached with chemicals, produced with back-breaking low-paid labor, and hauled off on airplaces and trucks spitting out fueley fumes. A little change can go a long way, and step-by-step, these changes are definitely doable!!
In Conclusion…
Our world needs us now more than ever, especially in regards to the environment. Service trips like our Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum aim to open your eyes and inspire you to live more in harmony with nature. However, it is not only about the 6 days of the trip. Rather, it is about serving on the trip, coming home, and making changes in your life to give back to the environment everyday. Books like Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle show us how we can really begin to do that. Start reading it today!!
Website of the day: the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle recipe index!
Filed under: Animals, Children, Education, Environment, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: Argentina, Chile, Desierto Lavalle, Ecology, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Environment, Environmental Service, Low-Income Families, Mayans, Mendoza, Mexico, Orphans, Patagonia, Rainforest, Service, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum, Volunteer
At Enchanting Challenge, we are busy working away to create more service trips for your travelling feet (and working hands). Currently we are working with some service gurus that run programs in Mendoza, Argentina, the beautiful vineyard region of Argentina, nestled against the majestic Andes.
The program in Mendoza will include service work in the city as well as a three-day voyage into the Desierto Lavalle to reach out to the indigenous populations there and help them in any way we can. This program will take place in August, and as soon as we have more information, we will let our readers know, ASAP.
Patagonia
But it doesn’t stop in Mendoza! No, we are also putting together a program allowing servers to volunteer in the beautiful nature of Patagonia, Chile. The details have yet to be hammered out, but as soon as we have a plan in place, we will notify you!! In the meantime, here are a few photographs of the wondrous land of Patagonia, Chile, just to get your mouth watering over such an experience.
Tulum
In the meantime, Spring Break is our first priority, as it is quickly approaching!! Which means, you will have to start getting your travel plans in order, and let me say it again, Enchanting Challenge’s Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum, Mexico is a WONDERFUL opportunity. Just to recap the opportunities of this adventure, these are some of the activities the trip will include:
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Rainforest work, including planting or harvesting
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Mayan educational experiences (visiting ruins, learning lessons in sustainability, etc.)
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Mayan cultural experiences (such as the sweat lodge ceremony)
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Learning about the jungle from an on-site biologist
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Spending time frolicking in the waves of the Caribbean Sea
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Eating delicious meals specially prepared for you by the resort chef
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Relaxing in your eco-friendly, rustic cabana
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Celebrating a week of hard work with a party at Playa del Carmen
Now, truly, how can you resist such an opportunity? What could be a better way to contribute to the world’s environmental reconstruction than to work with Mayans and biologists in a UN biosphere? And what could be a better place to do this in than exotic, serene Tulum? Remember, there are only 10 spots, so email me immediately (sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com) if you are interested! I really look forward to coordinating this adventure in Tulum, and future adventures in Mendoza and Patagonia, with you!!
Website of the day: Low-Impact Living Initiative
Filed under: Animals, Children, Education, Environment, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Winter Break | Tags: Break Away, Community, Ecology, Environment, Orphans, Service, Service Trips, Spring Break, Summer Break, Volunteer, Volunteering, Winter Break
So Much Information for You…
On Friday I talked a lot about Break Away, the alternative breaks program that helps to link schools with service sites appropriate for their mission and ideals. Today, I would like to continue talking about Break Away, as there is so much information for this program, and it is a program that might prove to be very helpful to you as you continue your quest to find the service trip that fits you. I want to give you all the information you could possibly want or need so that when the time comes to embark on a service trip, you feel prepared, excited, and knowledgeable.
The Benefits of Joining Break Away
As mentioned on Friday’s post, if your school is lacking in a service trip program, or has significant gaps in their already-existing service programs, a great place to remedy the situation is Break Away. If you are not sure if your school is already partnered with Break Away, click here to see a list of the 140 schools that have a Break Away relationship. The benefits to forming a relationship with Break Away are numerous. For one, with your relationship, you will have 400 nonprofits and their corresponding service opportunities at your fingertips, all of them listed in Break Away’s “SiteBank,” which becomes available to you upon membership. Furthermore, when forming or strengthening your program, Break Away provides you with all the resources that facilitate this process, such as press releases, application forms, timelines, checklists, and more, as mentioned here on their webpage. Also, Break Away coordinates pre-trip preparation activities, as well as post-trip reflective, evaluation, and referall programs. On the same wavelength, they also provide training twice a year (in the summer and in the fall) for Break Away trip leaders. And…as a final carrot stick, as a partner, you get up to 20% discounts on all these products and services. Now how can you resist?
Make a Phone Call
As I said in Friday’s post, the very first thing to do is call a Break Away representative to get more information for your specific needs. It all begins with a simple call, and the ensuing tasks do not involve jumping through any hoops such as obtaining mountains of signatures and breaking through bureaucratic tape. Break Away will walk you through the steps you need to take to establish your university’s relationship, but I guarantee they will make it easy and keep you focused on the goal: a service trip. All you need is simply passion and determination to take part in a service trip.
Write a Mission Statement
Just to give you an idea of the ensuing tasks, after you speak with a representative, you will begin to form a group with your fellow peers that can help share the organizational and leadership responsibilities of forming such a program. After the committee is formed, together you will write a mission statement for your program (i.e., the purpose of this service trip).
Set Your Goals, From a Timeline
After your mission statement has been written, you and your committee will establish your goals. Your goals will include how many service sites you want to visit (Break Away recommends 1-2 for beginning partners), how many students can go on these trips, how much money it will cost, ways to publicize the program, and so on. Finally, you will develop a timeline for accomplishing these goals. And then, you will begin to accomplish them, one-by-one. (Click here for a full list and explanation of the steps required in developing your program.)
An Example of a Break Away Trip
All this information may sound a bit vague without some corresponding examples of Break Away trips. Here on their website, the organization provides a great example of a sample service opportunity available in their SiteBank. The program is titled “Los Ninos,” and it is a service trip involving community development in Tijuana, Mexico. The purpose of the trip is to begin gaining insight into the Mexican/United States border region through working together with the peole of this area to build schools. The listing in the SiteBank includes contact information, housing information, information on the work involved in the program, and information regarding fees and insurance. It is very thorough, and very inspiring to see a sample of the service that is available to you. It makes me want to jump away from the computer and go do the things I am blogging about!
Website of the day: Break Away
Filed under: Animals, Children, Education, Environment, Interviews, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Winter Break | Tags: Break Away, Community, Environment, Local Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Service Trips, Spring Break, Starting your own service break, Volunteer, Volunteering, Winter Break
You Can Start Your Own Program
Here is the ultimate question: what happens if your college or university does not have an alternative/service break program? Sure, there are lots of other organizations you can go through, but wouldn’t it all just be a whole lot easier if your school had its own program, a homebase right on your very own campus? Well, here is the great news: you can start one.
The Miracle Organization–Break Away
That’s right–you can start your school’s very own alternative breaks program, all through one wonderful organization called Break Away. Break Away is a facilitator between a school and its service site/alternative break site. It currently has a relationship with about 140 different schools across the US, a number that is constantly changing since Break Away is continuously trying to get more schools to join their network. In conjunction, Break Away has developed a relationship with about 400 nonprofit organizations for which the schools can serve on their breaks. When a school is partnered with Break Away, the organization helps link the school to the nonprofit organizations in the geographical regions and service areas that it is interested in contributing to.
First Step
And here is where you come in as the person to develop this relationship between your school and the hundreds of nonprofits that Break Away works with. If you believe that your school would be better off with a service/alternative breaks program (as surely, every school would be), then you are invited to call a Break Away representative at (800) 903-0646. When you speak with a Break Away representative, you can chat in further detail about the first steps you should take, contacts you can develop, resources you should use, and all the details in-between. Ultimately, you can forge the relationship between your university and Break Away, greatly expanding the number of service opportunities open to students at your school.
Nonprofit Partnerships
Are you worried that Break Away does not have a partnership with a nonprofit suitable to the mission of your school? Well, erase that fear. Break Away’s 400 partnerships are all stored in a database, that is constantly–and I mean constantly–updated. Break Away is forever-vigilant in monitoring the changing tides of nonprofits, making sure that each partnership is one that fits in line with the goals and ideals of Break Away; forever scouring for new partnerships; and forever open to nonprofits reaching out to them to form relationships. You can also recommend a nonprofit that you think has potential to be a valuable partner, and Break Away can begin to initiate a relationship with them! Their partnerships are really ever-growing, and ever-strengthening.
Call Today!
Thus, if you find yourself pining for a service trip that your school does not offer, you can change that. Start today and call (800) 903-0646. The representatives there will be as happy to hear from you as you are happy to hear from them. And, as an added bonus for those who want to lead such adventures, Break Away provides semi-annual training for alternative break student leaders. Good luck and have fun!
***All information about Break Away provided by the lovely Samantha Giacobozzi, Programs Director for Break Away.***
Website of the day: Chariots of Fire
