Community Partner Palooza

While in Chicago, we will be working with multiple community partners throughout the week to get a well-rounded experience with organizations that deal with hunger and homelessness.

As we add organizations to our schedule, we will keep you up to date on their missions and how we are going to serve them.

We have officially "booked" two community partners: the Marillac House and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Last year's trip volunteered at both organizations and loved the experience.

Here's more information on both:

Marillac House

The Marillac House provides social services to Chicago families. As volunteers, we may spend time playing with young children in the House's classrooms, tutoring students or helping in the food pantry. We will be there for one day on our trip.

Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) 

The Greater Chicago Food Depository is Chicago's food bank - like the Capital Area Food Bank in D.C. It gives food to hungry people by distributing it to multiple pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in the Chicago area. 

We will work at GCFD for half a day on behalf of the Marillac House to give them labor credits to help them buy food. While there, we will help repack food and other tasks we are needed for. 

Getaway Hostel

We have officially booked where we are staying in Chicago! It's called the Getaway Hostel and is located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood just steps from DePaul University.

While there, we will have 3 rooms of 4 people and 1 room of 3 people - all linens are included. They offer free continental breakfast and a kitchen for us to cook our own lunch and dinner.

Take a look at the video and leave comments if you have any questions!

A Little Something Fun

With finals in full swing, here's a fun video to take your mind off studying.

No Hunger November Update

We officially donated 119 pounds of food to Capital Area Food Bank today! :)

Take a look at some of the photos of the donated food and Anne's collection box:

The End to No Hunger November

No Hunger November, our trip's canned food drive in November, is officially over! The group gathered a car trunk full of cans to give to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Exact numbers and pictures will be posted shortly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

I hope all of you have escaped our dreary college campus by now and are cozy back home. Besides taking a little break from all of the schoolwork you have (hopefully you are able to...), the time off also gives us all a chance to collect more food for our "No Hunger November" campaign!

Once again, our end goal is to donate as much canned food as possible to the Capital Area Food Bank - the largest hunger and nutrition education resource in our area. You have until December 1 - that day, we'll gather all our food before we go out to D.C. for one last meeting this semester over dinner.

You should all have started collecting with your partners, but just in case, here's an updated list of the "most wanted items" for our food drive:

• Canned Fruits
• Canned Vegetables
• Multigrain Cereals
• Grains
• Canned Proteins
• Soups
• 100% Juice
• Condiments
• Snacks
• Baking Goods
• Hygiene Items
• Paper Products and Household Items

Lastly, make sure to have a great Thanksgiving break and we'll see you soon!
Nick

Jesse Wu!

Hello everyone! Let's see, where to begin. Well, I'm Jesse and I'm a sophomore here at Maryland. I am currently doubling in Kinesiology and Art, but that might soon change. I'm from Potomac, MD in Montgomery County. Here at UMD, I'm semi-highly involved with many campus clubs and organizations, including AIGA, Men's Club Volleyball, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.  This is my first AB trip and I'm very excited! I've participated in service trips like this in high school and I can't wait to go on this one! One thing I want to get out of this trip is a heart for justice.  There's a lot of injustice in the world today and I want to have a desire to change that.  I hope this trip can help me in that area of my life.

Quick Activity: Poverty Budget

Now that you have read about a homeless family in D.C., understand your own values, are educated about government policies available to the poor and have completed a mock monthly budget through the interactive activity, you can complete your own poverty budget. 

Use this budget sheet template to first write down all of your monthly expenses in the first column for each category (it doesn't matter who pays for them). This would include your rent (even if someone else pays for it), food, schooling (if you or your parents are paying for it out of pocket), etc. The first column is how much you currently spend, the second column is how you would allocate $776 a month with a poverty budget and the third is how you would allocate $388 with an extreme poverty budget. 

After you complete it, write in the comments below about it. How did you allocate your money in the second and third column? How did it make you feel? Were your values challenged and how did you overcome that?

Poverty 101 Meeting Recap

On Nov. 15, we had a Poverty 101 meeting to explore government policies effecting poverty and understand the challenges associated with a small income.

Before the meeting, participants read this Washington Post article to understand how homelessness has affected a real D.C. family. They also completed a values "quiz" to understand their own values and put themselves in a position to make tough decisions during the meeting.

We opened the meeting with a little taste of what's to come in our trip. Last year's Alternative Breaks: Chicago trip created a great video that got us excited for our own trip. Thanks to those trip leaders and here is their great video:

I hope you all are as excited as I am for the trip! :)

We then went over government policies, including the history of welfare, the programs available today and welfare myths. 

Some myths include:

• Myth #1: Once on welfare, always on welfare
• Truth: Actually, half of the people on welfare move off of it within two years 
• Truth: You also can't be on welfare for more than 60 months in an entire lifetime 
• Myth #2: Women on welfare have more children for money
• Truth: It is widely known that you get more money through welfare if you have more children, but the money you get doesn't nearly pay for everything you need to take care of a child 
• Truth: Also, the odds of having children decrease as women stay on welfare 
• Myth #3: Most teen mothers turn to welfare
• Truth: 5 percent of women on welfare are teenagers 

To roll it all together and see how our values influence our choices, we went through an interactive activity together. I highly recommend doing it yourself and seeing how difficult it is to manage your values and have money to pay for life necessities. 

Go AB Chi-town! :)

AB Letter-a-Thon

On November 14, a bunch of AB-Chi-Towners got together and wrote letters to friends, family, old high school teachers, mentors, bosses, and anyone else we could think of at the first-ever Alternative Breaks Letter-a-Thon. From our trip, our staff adviser Nicole and myself were in attendance, as well as Syed, Jesse, Anne, and Meenu. There were some snacks and music, but they played Taylor Swift's "Never Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever...", which ruined everything.

Alternative Break trip leaders and participants hard at work writing letters to family and friends- and look who made an appearance in the bottom left corner....

Even if you couldn't make it, we still HEAVILY encourage all of you to write to any acquaintances you may have - it is a great way to use connections to pay for part or all of your trip! Let us know if you need help crafting your letters!

Happy fundraising, and go AB Chi-town!

Anne :)

Hi, I'm Anne Wagner. I'm a freshman and I'm excited to get involved here at UMD! My intended major is Government and Politics, but I might double major with Economics. I'm from Rockville, Maryland in Montgomery County. This is my first experience with alternative breaks; however, I did a lot of service work in high school. At UMD I participate in the Lutheran Student Association, badminton club, and now Alternative Breaks :) I have been to Chicago before and it's an awesome city so I look forward to going back. When I went the first time, I only saw the tourist areas of the city. I hope to get a better understanding of how severe poverty is. It is easy to be distracted by the prosperous and thriving city, but through this trip I hope to help the people facing hardships that tourists don't always see. As a government and politics major, I am also interested in advocacy. Through this experience I hope to learn what poor people need the most and how I can spread the word about their situation.

No Hunger November

It's November, so you know what that means, right? It's "No Hunger November!" - our trip's canned food drive.

Here's how it works:

• Everyone on the trip will have a partner (see below)
• You and your partner will collect as much canned food as possible during November - you can ask your family during Thanksgiving, stand outside the Commons Shop and/or ask the organizations you are a member of - the possibilities are endless
• We will deliver the food to the Capital Area Food Bank on Dec. 1 before we go to D.C. for dinner 
• The pair who collects the most canned food will win a prize :)

Partner list:

• Sean and Mary
• Nahid and Betsy
• Megan and Anne
• Michelle and Alisha
• Nick and Jesse
• Susan and Caitlin
• Syed and Meenu
• Kaitlyn, Reshma, and Nicole

"No Hunger November" helpful hit #1: contact your partner as soon as possible and create a strategy

Alisha!

Hi! I'm Alisha Harris. I'm a super senior (5th year) at UMD. I am a dual degree student majoring in Theater (with a concentration in costume design) and Spanish with a TESOL minor. I grew up in a small town in Montgomery County, Maryland so I love nature and hiking and camping, but I also really love the city life. On campus, I'm a member of the The Love Movement, a group that aims to create a positive impact on the world through social actions and interactions, as well as the resident costume designer for The Weekday Players, a completely student produced theater group. Some of my favorite things to do in my spare time are cooking, baking, reading, and shopping. I've never participated in an Alternative Breaks Program, but I'm really excited about it. I agree that the issues our nation has with regards to hunger and homelessness need to be addressed and I am interested to see how they manifest themselves in a big city like Chicago. I view hunger and shelter as such basic simple needs that have the power to create such a significant impact on a person's life. I'm looking forward to learning more about these issues as well as ways in which I can help combat it because I'm always actively seeking ways to empower others and help change their lives for the better. I love meeting new people, so come talk to me and let's get to know each other!

Potluck Meeting Recap

On Oct. 25, we had a Potluck meeting in Nick's apartment to learn more about the Chicago area. It is incredibly important to know about the Chicago culture and poverty levels before we go there in March because we need to understand what we are jumping into. If someone traveled to College Park for a service trip, I think we would all agree we would want them to know the basics about the city before performing service. 

To do this, we watched Hardball and discussed how the characters' experiences are similar to what we will encounter in Chicago. Here is the movie's trailer:

Some similarities we found are:

• Food deserts 
• Defined: an area where there isn't grocery stores or farmer's markets to get fresh fruit and vegetables, instead there are corner stores with cheap junk food. 
• Alcohol 
• Keanu Reeves' character drinks a lot in the movie and is struggling with poverty. This is a main reason why there is a no alcohol/drug policy on our trip - it would not be good to go to service hungover when the people we are helping may be struggling with alcoholism. 
• The projects
• Defined: public housing owned by the government for low-income people to rent. 
• Cabrini Green, the project where the characters lived, was shut down in March 2011.

*We will explore public housing more in our "Poverty 101" meeting.

General facts about Chicago:

• The Chicago River, which runs through the city, flows backwards and is dyed green on St. Patrick's Day. 
• The Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower) is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. 
• The city has a lot of neighborhoods with different cultures.

Famous Attractions:

• Millennium Park (where the Bean) is located
• Navy Pier
• Skydeck Chicago's The Ledge (at the Willis Tower)
• Chicago Cultural Center

Nicole Zelazny, Staff Advisor

Hi!  I’m Nicole Zelazny, and I’ll be serving as the staff advisor for this trip.  I grew up and attended college in Michigan (Central Michigan University), where I double majored in Business Administration and Commercial Recreation.  After graduation, I moved to Virginia and worked in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership at Old Dominion University – at ODU, I planned events and worked with student organizations.  In my “spare” time, I also completed my Master’s at ODU in Higher Education Administration.  I’m fairly new to the University of Maryland, as I just started as the Coordinator for Facility Scheduling in Campus Recreation Services in June.  I’m excited to dig in and get involved with an opportunity as amazing as alternative spring break.  

I’ve had many experiences volunteering with a variety of organizations and have gone on a few different service trips.  In high school, I spent a month in Poland volunteering at an English language summer camp; in college, I volunteered in Panama City Beach, FL during a spring break and spent a weekend focusing on poverty in South Bend, IN.  I’m very passionate about kindness and empathy, so I’m looking forward to learning more about the causes of 'hunger and homelessness' and working together with all of you to make a difference.  

On a more personal note, I really enjoy snowboarding, live music, coffee shops, the beach, reading, food, math, laughing, and anything outside especially when it’s sunny.  Feel free to stop by my office in the Rec Center any time to chat about the trip or anything else you might need!

Megan Galvin

I'm Megan Galvin, a co-trip leader on the trip. I am a senior communication and family science double major with a minor in philosophy. As you you could probably tell at the kick-off, I tell great stories and love Maryland athletics (shout out to Jesse for going to the volleyball game on Friday). I was born in California, so my heart belongs to the west coast. You'll see me sporting Oregon gear year round (it's okay, they're not in the ACC) and probably never see me on campus (I only have class twice a week).

Last winter I went to New Orleans for disaster relief. While there, I redeveloped marshes and rebuilt houses with Common Ground Relief. It was a great experience that helped prepare me to lead you on this trip to Chicago for hunger and homelessness. As a family science major, I have learned how poverty affects the family and have seen first hand how homelessness can rip it apart. I hope we grow together, learn about the issue, and serve our community.

Go AB Chi-town!

Nicholas Munson

Hi everyone! My name is Nicholas Munson, and I’m the co-trip leader for Chicago: Hunger and Homelessness. I’m a junior, and am a Journalism and Government & Politics double-major hailing from Hagerstown, Md. My first experience with Alternative Breaks was last spring break, when I decided to go to Atlanta, Ga. and focus on hunger and homelessness. Luckily, I will be able to continue with this topic as a trip leader in an entirely new city I’ve always wanted to see. Outside of AB, I am a sports staff writer for the Diamondback (everyone – pick up the paper!), a member of the Appellate Board on the University of Student Judiciary, a member of Primannum Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and a student in the Federal Semester Program. I am obsessed with baseball (GO METS), love history, am into writing (except for academic papers), and a Titanic and Star Wars nerd. I’m most excited about coming together as a group and setting out to a completely different region and city of the U.S. and striving to tackle a social issue.

Participant Bios

Hi all! To make our blog more interactive and to make it easier to learn about each other, we’ll have everybody on the trip post a little biography of themselves. You can include as much information as you would like, although we’d love to see you post a picture, include your extracurricular activities at Maryland, and what you want to get out of the trip!

Participant Kick-off!

Welcome to the Alternative Breaks Chicago: Hunger and Homelessness trip blog! We hope you're as excited to meet everyone and start planning as we are! We will both be at the Participant Kick-off Event in Stamp Student Union this Friday in the Stamp Colony Ballroom.

At this event, you'll get a chance to see what Alternative Breaks is all about, meet your trip leaders and get to know each other! You should make sure to be at the event by 4:30 p.m. It will go to about 6:30 p.m., and it will begin with all of the trip leaders and participants together. You'll be informed of important dates to remember, an introduction of AB staff and trip leaders, and of course, ICEBREAKERS! There will be plenty.

We'll then branch off into our individual trips, and meet each other and have a little icebreaker of our own. We'll also talk about our trip issue, community partners that we are looking to work with, our pre-trip schedule, and more. Can't wait to see all of you there!

Nick and Megan