Sabine Streit
Student, Florida International University
Alternative Breaks
Participant, Winter 2019
Alternative Breaks is a student-led program that gives students the opportunity to dedicate their breaks to community service and volunteering.
December of 2019, me and a group of 12 other FIU students traveled to Denver, Colorado for a week to volunteer at Florence Critterton under the cause of women's empowerment.
Florence Critterton is a high school exclusively for teen moms in between the ages of 14-21. The center has a daycare adjacent to it so the moms have an opportunity to further their education and attend school while their children are being taken care of. The
About Alternative Breaks
Alternative Breaks offers students the opportunity to travel during Spring and winter break to perform volunteer work. Each trip has a focus on a particular social issue. Alternative Breaks (aB) is FIU's largest, award-winning service learning program that allows students to experience diverse cultures and environments around the world where they can create unforgettable memories and long-term friendships.
school has a number of incentives to encourage attendance such as the "Baby Bucks" system. The center has a store that has donated items such as strollers, toys, baby clothes, and diapers that mothers can exchange for Baby Bucks. The mothers can earn these by doing their assignments and attending school.
My favorite part of working at Florence was helping organize and distribute the items for the holiday drive. The day of the drive each mother received a pack of diapers, brand-new baby clothes, a new toy, and a gift card of the store of their choosing for the holidays. It was heart warming to see how many donations Florence Critterton recieves and how the community comes together to support these mothers.
Being an adolescent woman myself I thought It'd have the opportunity to connect more with the moms and have interesting conversations. Unfortunately, many of them were very closed off to our volunteer group but putting myself in their shoes I understand that what they are going through is not easy. Nonetheless, it was rewarding to be able to volunteer during the holiday season before coming back home for Chirstmas.
