As it has done for the past 25 years, Hamilton’s Alternative Spring Break program (ASB) brought current students along for multiple community service trips to different parts of the country.
ASB began in 1993 when 20 students journeyed to Miami to work with Habitat for Humanity on relief efforts after Hurricane Andrew. Since then, participation in the program has increased steadily, albeit with fluctuations over time.
This year, ASB sent out four teams to different locations during the second week of spring break. Each team was made up of at least 9 participants, and trips went to Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The team in Maryland collaborated with the Baltimore-based, non-profit organization City of Refuge, volunteering at a food pantry and a community breakfast for the homeless during the mornings and at a Boys and Girls Club in the afternoon. The other three teams worked with Habitat for Humanity, building on the program’s strong relationship built with the organization over the years.
ASB represents a unique opportunity for Hamilton students to engage in community service during their spring break. Students sacrifice a week of their break in order to participate, but report coming away from the experience with a feeling of fulfillment.
Ben Cornaglia ’19, who led the Baltimore trip, said what appealed to him initially about ASB was “ just the chance to do service over break.” What keeps him coming back, however, are the “new people and new communities” he encounters each year. While many Hamilton clubs offer students the chance to volunteer on campus, ASB allows students to travel and explore other parts of the country while still making an impact.
Cornaglia’s co-leader, Juliana DeSimone ’21, had a particularly meaningful experience this year returning to Baltimore for the second year in a row. She learned when she arrived that a home she had helped clean out and refurbish last year was now occupied by a previously homeless father and daughter. The daughter had been moving from couch to couch to stay off the streets and was constantly separated from her father. The refurbished home allows for an increased degree of stability for both.
After discovering the effect of her service, DeSimone said, “It was really rewarding to learn that the work we did in a few days truly helped change the lives of two people.”
Unfortunately, participation in the Alternative Break program has fallen off in recent years. While the program was able to send four complete trips this year, Cornaglia said it was not too long ago when they were sending as many as ten trips out.
He speculated that “part of the reason that ASB has fallen off in participation is because we’ve depended on the same trips (or kinds of trips) every year. And, while we want to maintain the connection we’ve created with communities, we also want to create new opportunities for students that appeal to the work they want to do.”
Cornaglia said the ASB leaders are committed to increasing participation and plan to reach out to other clubs in hopes of collaborating on future trips. He also reiterated that they are open to input, as the ultimate goal is to have leaders planning their own trip as opposed to being assigned a trip.
Hamilton’s Alternative Spring Break Program hopes to offer students one of the most rewarding experiences they can have at the College. Cornaglia says that ASB participants can sometimes “wonder what kind of impact we’re making in just one week,” but experiences like DeSimone’s demonstrate just how important that impact can be.
