Alternative Breaks

Supporting justice work and community-identified projects both globally and locally, Naz Alternative Breaks connects students, faculty, staff and community partners through an immersive service and education experience during school breaks. Spend time with your team preparing to enter a new community in the weeks leading up to Winter or Spring Break, committing to purposeful and empathetic conversations, understanding reciprocity and the nature of service, and participating in self-reflection. Travel locally or globally where you will live, learn and serve alongside peers and community members. Upon returning to campus, apply what you learned to social issues in Rochester and consider how to become a more active citizen in your daily life.

Application is open! Click HERE.

2025-2026 Programs:

Rebuilding Communities, Establishing Hope: Empowering Communities Impacted by Hurricane Helene

  • Organization: All Hand & Hearts
  • Location: Asheville, North Carolina
  • Focus: Domestic Disaster Relief
  • Date: Friday, January 9 - Saturday, January 17
  • Cost: $600

Collaborating with Resilience in Justice-Impacted Communities

  • Organization: Eastern State Penitentiary
  • Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Focus: Criminal Justice
  • Date: Saturday, January 10 - Saturday, January 17
  • Cost: $450

Down In The Bayou: Wildlife Restoration, Cajun Culture, and Planting Seeds For Change

  • Organization: Further Along
  • Location: Maurepas and New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Focus: Environmental Justice
  • Date: Saturday, March 14 - Saturday, March 21
  • Cost: $850

Empowering Youth, Increasing Access: Building Equity for LGBTQ+ Youth Through Leadership, Advocacy, and Community-Building

  • Organization: Inside Out Youth Services
  • Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Focus: LGBTQ+ Youth
  • Date: Saturday, March 14 - Saturday, March 21
  • Cost: $850

 Alt Breaks are led by two Nazareth student team leaders trained in the Break Away model, and accompanied by two Faculty or Staff advisors. Undergraduate and Graduate students are eligible to apply.

Naz Alternative Breaks strives to be equitable and accessible in its programming. If accommodations are needed to complete the application or interview process, please contact Jennifer Canning, Naz Alt Breaks, 585-389-2304, jcannin6@naz.edu to make arrangements. 

Alternative Break Parameters

Program Goals

Students will: 

  • Prepare for their experience by researching issues and community partners, committing to purposeful and empathetic conversations, understanding reciprocity and the nature of service, and participating in self-reflection.
  • Create relationships with students, advisors and community members. 
  • Consider how we enter a community ethically and respectfully.
  • Commit to continuing the work after the experience is over.
Cost to Student

Cost to Undergrad Student After Fundraising and Naz Support:

  • Costs of Alt Breaks are determined by mode of travel (land or air, or Rochester-based), and will range from $450 to $850.

Cost to Grad Student will differ by experience.

- A non-refundable deposit must be made by October 24 for all Winter and Spring participants.
- Cost includes program fees, excursions, lodging, meals, and transportation for the duration of the Alt Break. 

Fundraising: All Alternative Break participants are required to actively engage in Alternative Break fundraising events, including a letter writing campaign, advertising donation days at local restaurants, and more! These fundraising activities allow us to keep the cost of trips affordable for all students.

Deadlines
  • Applications are due Wednesday, October 1st.
  • Deposit Payments are due Friday, October 24th.

Payments are non-refundable.

How to Apply
  1. Attend an Alternative Break Information Session in September.
  2. Complete the online application before the stated deadline. 
  3. Schedule an interview with Alternative Break student leaders and staff.
Program Requirements

Alt Break participants must provide the following before the stated deadline:

  • the required deposit amount.
  • a signed Nazareth University Liability Waiver.
  • a signed Nazareth University Alternative Break Code of Conduct Form.
  • a signed Nazareth University Short-Term Program Pre-Application Checklist.
  • a completed Nazareth University Alternative Break Emergency and Medical Information Form.

Many trips also require a background check, valid passport, notarized liability forms, health forms and/or vaccines, which may incur additional costs. See specific experience information for details under "Travel Requirements" on the program's webpage.

All Alt Break participants must:

  • Attend five team meetings before the experience. Meetings usually take place in the evenings. 
  • Attend the all-participant meetings throughout the semester, both before and after the experience. 
  • Attend two team meetings after the experience, involving reorientation activities.
  • Participate in program fundraising opportunities.
  • Participate in reflection meetings during the experience.
  • Complete a Final Reflection survey.

Satisfaction of these requirements fulfills the University's Experiential Learning requirement. 

Information Sessions

Visit Alt Breaks at the Student Engagement Expo on Friday, September 5th and attend the Information Sessions in September to learn details about all of our upcoming Alt Breaks.

Thursday 9/11 at 12:10 pm in GAC 104
Tuesday 9/16 at 6 pm in Medaille Formal Lounge
Friday 9/19 at 2:30 pm in GAC 131
Wednesday 9/24 at 7 pm in Medaille Formal Lounge
Pre-Reading

Alt Break participants may be provided with readings that addresses cultural issues, social responsibility, sustainable development and issue-specific topics that will be discussed during team meetings and while on the experience.

 
 
 

Naz Alternative Breaks follows the nationwide Break Away organization's guiding principles of experiences that include intentional preparation, continuous reflection, and a commitment to service beyond the Alt Break.

Experiential Learning

Some short-term opportunities are an approved pathway for Experiential Learning, which is one component of the core curriculum at Naz.

Learn more

Courtney Calkins face to face with a cow on an alternative break trip

3 Things I Learned

Adventures, vegan food, and a dairy farm with a non-cruelty focus were part of Courtney Calkins’ alternative break experience in Pennsylvania. In a guest post on the student blog, she shares three lessons she learned.

Students plant vegetables at Terra Madre gardens in San Diego, California

Chicano community in San Diego

"I was able to have the experience of a lifetime discovering the beauty of the Chicano community in San Diego, California — as well as the systemic inequities that affect people there."

Read: Karlee Robb's blog post ≫