Over Fall Break, 11 SMU students and faculty members will travel to McAlester, Oklahoma and Austin, TX to take action in communities.
The SMU community comes together every Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer Break to create sustainable change and fight social injustice in different communities across the country and the world. This program is called Alternative Breaks.
Students learn through hand-on service work and connecting with people in these communities. Disaster recovery, education and environmentalism are three examples of focus areas for Alternative Breaks.
The Alternative Breaks mission statement is “To provide quality service, experiences and awareness to all members of the Southern Methodist University community while creating active citizens through education, direct service and reflection.”
This year, SMU participants will travel to McAlester, Oklahoma, to partner with Rebuilding Together Kiamichi Country and work on home repairs and improvements for low-income homeowners. Students will make an impact by painting walls and assisting with repairs to work toward creating healthy homes.
Another trip will be to Austin, TX, where students will work with Urban Patchworks to learn about developing sustainable communities.
The goal of AB service trips is for students to return to SMU with a broader understanding of social issues and to reflect on how they can create positive social change in others’ lives.
The cost for the Fall Break trip is $350, which covers everything including food, transportation, housing and the freedom to explore the city with friends for one day.
