Alternative Break Trips
Past Trips
Spring Break 2008: 
The Alternative Spring break Trip 2008 made the books as the first ever alternative break trip through the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement to leave the United States! Eight students headed to Freeport, Bahamas to use their skills and talents to improve the quality of life. While there, the students dry-walled nearly an entire apartment, visited a nursing center, and handed out food and clothing to the needy in the villages (among other things). The hard work was balanced by some time on the beach and an evening out to experience the Bahamian culture. The trip was summarized by one student who said, "I have found that nothing I have ever done in my life has made me feel like I did this week. I now know just how important it is to volunteer in your community and I want to be more involved with volunteer work in Statesboro."
Also during Spring Break 2008, Sixteen students went to Bay St. Louis, MS to continue the vital work of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. Working with Habitat for Humanity, this group was able to make huge progress towards a permanent home for a family who lost theirs over two and and a half years ago.
December Break 2007:
December 9-13, 2007. Students served with Challenge Enterprises of North Florida (CENF) during winter break. CENF has been assisting individuals with disabilities for 35 years by offering a variety of services. Work included helping autistic children in a pre-school, working with mentally challenged adults at a tree farm, or helping the agency get ready for the holidays.
May Break 2007
Nineteen students headed down to Kissimmee, FL to work with Give Kids the World, a non-profit organization which exists to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses who wish to visit Disney World. The children and their families stay at this whimsical resort and are treated to meals donated by Perkins, small amusement park rides, and unlimited ice-cream.
The students who participated in this trip got the opportunity to help make these children's wishes the best they can be. The students' work ranged from helping kids ride ponies, to reading bedtime stories to kids, to driving one of the three trains at the resort.
Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces and hearing their laughter helped to make this trip so memorable. As one student wrote, "I think this trip was a life-altering experience for everyone and we all were in consensus that it was the best trip we've ever taken".
Spring Break 2007
During Spring Break, about 30 GSU students and four staff members headed out to help change the world! Some of the students went down to Waveland, MS to help with rebuilding and clean up from Hurricane Katrina, and the rest went to Miami, FL to help with a major apartment renovation project with Royal Caribbean Cruiselines. Although it is nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina struck, the students were appalled to find that houses still hadn't been gutted and that people were still living in FEMA trailers.
Winter Break 2005:
A challenge was issued to students at Georgia Southern University to donate one million non-perishable items to Hurricane Katrina victims. An amazing 65,000 items were donated and a small group of students and staff traveled down to Biloxi, MS with the items during winter break. 
Spring Break 2006:
Twenty-one students and two leaders spent their Spring Break in Kiln, MS doing Hurricane Relief work. While there, the students cleaned up a park for the children, helped residents restore their yards, assisted a church in debris removal, and emptied out a large number of apartments so the manager could repair them and let new tenants move in.
This trip was very impactful for the students, as well as the Mississippi residents who were served. There were tears of gratefulness for the work these Georgia Southern University students did.
May Break 2006:
Twelve students and two leaders participated in this trip to Biloxi, MS. Although they had only four work days while down there, this group of students accomplished so much! Together with others from Hands On Network, they de-molded a handful of homes, gutted two more, helped build a free clinic in a nearby community, and assisted a local elementary school in organizing their library.
The students met many local Biloxi people, and felt their gratitude. There are many great memories from this trip, and you can read some of the quotes below.
December Break 2006
A small group of six people went to serve on Cumberland Island, GA. This group shared a great number of laughs as they stalked armadillos, took pictures of wild horses, and experimented with their cooking. Some of the work the group completed was: painting a small building owned by the National Park Service, clearing trails and roads, and beach clean-ups.
Mississippi Hurricane Relief Work
During two different weeks in 2006, students from Georgia Southern University traveled to Mississippi to do Hurricane Relief Work. The following quotations are taken from a journal in which students wrote on their own will during the May trip to Biloxi, Mississippi.
“This trip has been unforgettable. This experience is something that everyone should be a part of. ”
“Doing such hard physical labor and being aware that there is no profit has taught me that compensation does not always have to be a goal for everything. ”
“It is through these experiences that I will value much more the life I have and how much better I have it compared to the less fortunate.”
“From storms to extreme heat and sweating, I had the best time of my life!”
“I can truly say I left Statesboro with a lot to learn about life, I can say now I leave Biloxi with an experience.”
“In the end it was great to look into the house and see how much of a difference we had made on not only the house but the people who own the house.”
“I have gained friendships with those I may have never known and gained the reassurance that my volunteering can truly help America.”