Penn Alternative Breaks

Winter Trip Descriptions (January 5th- 11th):
Pilgrimage
http://www.thepilgrimage.org/
Washington, D.C.
Social Justice Issue: Criminal Justice, Urban Poverty & Homelessness
PAB students will participate in Pilgrimage's customized action-reflection program to learn about the intersections of criminal justice and urban poverty in Washington DC, as well as engage with direct service organizations in the nation's capital. You will be participating in workshops, attending speaker events, and doing various forms of direct service. 
This is a Megabus trip and will cost $395.
 
Reading Partners
https://readingpartners.org/location/baltimore/
Baltimore, MD
Social Justice Issue: Educational Equity & Literacy
PAB students will work with Reading Partners, a non-profit organization serving the Baltimore community since 2012, to be tutors at reading centers throughout Baltimore to support children's literacy. Reading Partners, a non-profit organization, has served the Baltimore community since 2012. This organization strives to bring together various members of the Baltimore community, ranging from leaders of local school districts to Baltimore based corporations, to improve students' academic achievement. Trip participants will spend their days working with students to help them improve their literacy skills, and will also have the chance to learn more about education issues from Reading Partners' employees and partners.
This is a Megabus trip and will cost $395.


Spring Trip Descriptions (March 8th-14th):
Appalachia Service Project (ASP)
https://www.asphome.org/
Johnson City, TN
Social Justice Issue: Rural poverty, Housing insecurity, and Cultural divides
The Appalachia Service Project has striven to help low-income families make their homes warmer, safer, and drier since 1969. As such, this trip will address issues of rural poverty, housing insecurity, and cultural divides. Trip participants will spend their days engaging with the community while providing housing repair assistance. In the evenings, participants will partake in ASP's educational activities to learn more about the area and issues that they are working in.
This is a driving trip and will cost $395.
 
Workers Defense Project
http://www.workersdefense.org/
Austin, TX
Social Justice Issue: Worker’s Rights
The Workers Defense Project (WDP) is membership-based, non-profit organization dedicated to empowering low-income workers to achieve fair employment. WDP is part of a national movement to improve the working and living conditions of low-wage workers, through education, direct services, and community organization. Founded in 2002, WDP has become a leader in fighting for fair working conditions in Texas. You will be supporting WDP with a mix of operational work that feeds the organization's direct service offerings, as well as conducting evening English Learning classes for workers that have recently immigrated to the Austin community. The work you will be learning about and contributing to will include operations and data management, development of advocacy materials, teaching, and workshop facilitation.
This will be a flying trip and costs $495.
 
East New York Farms
https://ucceny.org/enyf/
New York, NY
Social Justice Issue: Food Justice
East New York Farms has worked with youth, gardeners, farmers, and entrepreneurs to build a more sustainable community since 1998. It strives to educate the community on food justice issues while also promoting sustainable agriculture and community-led economic development initiatives. Trip participants will serve as farmhands in urban farms, while also experiencing firsthand the power of community organizing. You will learn firsthand about food security issues as well as the importance of food sovereignty across all age groups.
This is a Megabus trip and costs $395.
 
Energy, Extraction & Environmental Justice 
Pittsburgh/Southwestern, PA
Penn Alternative Breaks teamed up with Penn Sustainability to create a trip focused on energy and sustainability. This educational opportunity will take students to other parts of Pennsylvania to learn about energy and its extraction. Participants will learn about the issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and discuss the policy implications with local activists and community organizes. Included in the itinerary will be tours of extraction sites and possibly meeting with industry representatives, to assist students in assessing the impact of these industries on local communities. This trip will help students understand the regional energy system as well as the environmental and public health impacts of natural gas.
This will be a driving trip, and will be subsidized at a lower cost TBD.