Fifty UW-Madison students with a desire to travel and help the less fortunate can do so this winter through the Wisconsin Union's Alternative Breaks program.
The Alternative Breaks program is offering five trips across the country to address and alleviate various social and environmental problems at a price students can afford.
The trips, all of which leave the week after Jan. 1, span 10 to 14 days. Prices range from $210 to $360, including food, lodging and transportation. Two vans will drive participants from Madison to their destination city.
The program is based out of UW-Madison's Morgridge Center for Public Service, and the assistance they provide for others takes precedence on each trip.
'One of our goals is to engage the campus community in the ideas of service,' Alternative Breaks Director Chris Konieczka said.
This year's student groups will travel to San Juan, Texas; Boston; Philadelphia; Saguaro National Park, Ariz.; and the Florida Everglades. Each trip contains 10 students working in cooperation to divide up the various daily responsibilities during their stay.
Students participating in previous Alternative Breaks trips related their positive experiences.
'It was an amazing way to see America,' UW-Madison senior Sahil Timbadia said. 'It was a great road trip, adventures with strangers, a productive yet enjoyable time and it was very cheap.'
Students provide a wide range of services in the areas they visit. Their tasks include home building, serving the homeless and removing invasive plant species.
The assistance offered to those in great need provides more purpose for participants than an average vacation would, which makes Alternative Breaks especially worthwhile for those who participate.
'To wake up in the morning and know you were going to help someone that day was incredible,' UW-Madison junior Laurel Franklin said. 'Working all day to help the less fortunate and then breaking off at night and hanging with great people made my trip one that I will never forget.'
Both Timbadia and Franklin spent a week last spring on the Coronado Trail in Arizona.
In order to qualify for the Alternative Breaks program, students must apply at the Morgridge Center, located in the Red Gym at 716 Langdon St.
Those interested may download the application from the Wisconsin Union Alternative Breaks website. Applications are due to the Morgridge Center by 3 p.m. on Nov. 11.
