A Fresh Option for Service Learning
It’s More Than a Break­—It’s a Breakthrough!
New Alternative 2016 Break Information
NEW ALTERNATIVE
WHO, WHAT & WHY?
Something New
has been facilitating service-learning
programs since 2008 and believes in
thought-provoking, challenging, lifechanging service learning trips! Read on
to learn more about our organization, what
to expect, and for detailed information on
the experiences we offer.
WHO IS ALTERNATIVE BREAK FOR?
PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY
We believe in the importance of blending direct service
with education to provide Alternative Breakers with
a week they won’t forget. Students have told us that
this break has challenged, encouraged, stretched,
inspired, frustrated, and deeply impacted them—all at
the same time. This experience can be uncomfortable
and challenge the perceptions and perspectives of
students who visit our program. We believe in a highly
personalized experience, and as such, each group will
be provided with a volunteer group host to help guide
them through their experience, answer questions and
help lead reflection/group times as desired.
GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS
Our goal is a change more enduring than a fresh
profile pic on Facebook. We encourage students to
use their New Alternative experience to reflect on
their future, the world around them, and what they
learn can directly impact their future.
While service is an important component of our trip, it
is not the sole focus of our program, so it is important
for groups considering our site to understand our
emphasis on education. That said, we strive to customize
each group’s visit to provide a well-balanced trip that
incorporates the right amount of education and service.
WHY SELMA?
Though we are looking to expand our program to
new sites around the country, our current host site,
Selma, Alabama, has a ton to offer. Selma holds great
significance in both the Civil War and the 1960s Civil
Rights Movement. New Alternative offers incredible
hands-on service learning experiences in a city shaped
by its previous civil rights history and present-day
race relations. Selma remains very much in touch
with its past, via the scars left by Bloody Sunday in
1965, and the memories of thousands of people who
flooded the city for the March to Montgomery in the
days thereafter.
Despite the huge civil rights victories that ensued in
our legal system, Selma, like many cities, still struggles
today with racial inequality, crippling poverty, and
high crime rates.
Selma is the perfect
location for any group
interested in delving
into our nation’s civil
rights history, while also
serving those who still
face oppression today.
This program isn’t just for college students, but for
individuals and groups of all ages and backgrounds.
New Alternative welcomes all who are interested in
this unique experience. We will customize each trip
to match the needs and goals of your group.
WHAT DO YOU DO ON AN
ALTERNATIVE BREAK TRIP?
New Alternative customizes your group’s trip based
on your individual goals and interests. You will serve
the community and spend a lot of time learning
about civil rights and voting rights history in Selma
and throughout the South.
NEW ALTERNATIVE
The Details
One of the unique benefits of the New Alternative
service-learning experience is that your group will work
with a trip coordinator to plan housing, meals, and
activities for your college while in Selma. Because we
do not believe in a cookie-cutter approach to service
learning, we have a variety of options for schools to
select from. See below for some options and ideas.
We look forward to talking to you to finalize your
custom agenda.
COSTS
Admin and Safety Fee: $35/person
While each school will be charged an administrative
and safety fee to cover supply and planning costs, we
let students select their housing, meal, and activity
options based on their trip budgets and focus.
LODGING
Church/Community Center: $10/person, per night
We will work with you to find a church or community
partner to house your group. This will include access
to a kitchen, and floor space for sleeping. Groups
will need to bring air mattresses, bedding and pots,
pans and cooking utensils. Most facilities do not have
showers, but will be arranged with the YMCA.
Hotel Accommodations: Prices vary
Hotel accommodations are also a possibility and if
interested, we can refer your school to several local hotels.
DETAILS & ACTIVITIES
MEALS
The Freedom Café serves as the New Alternative hub
and is a great place to eat and interact with other
breakers, volunteers, and community members.
While groups can do meals on their own, our program
offers the opportunity for home cooked meals in a fun
and friendly setting. The Freedom Café arose out of a
need for a healthy and convenient meal option, and
will accommodate any dietary needs. The café is open
for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week, and
transforms into a fun hangout, karaoke and game spot
for Freedom Café Late Night.
Breakers can purchase any, all or none of their meals
at the Café. They are also welcome to prepare their
own meals and bring them to the café to enjoy the
company and atmosphere.
Meals at the Freedom Café:
$5/breakfast
$7/lunch
$10/dinner
Optional
Activities
Nonviolence Conflict Resolution Training
$35/person (6-hour session and all materials)
The training, provided by our New Way program,
provides participants tangible tools for dealing with
the conflict they face in everyday situations. While
conflict may be different for these students than for
the student activists of the Civil Rights era, the exact
same solutions can be applied. An effective platform
for team building as well, this activity always receives
high marks from participants. Read more about the
training at SomethingNew.org.
Montgomery Excursion
$12/person
In Montgomery, students will learn about some of
the most famous civil rights events—right where they
took place! Groups will customize their trip to include
between two to four museum visits that discuss our
past and present human rights history.
Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Civil Rights
Memorial Center—highlighting 40 martyrs of the
Civil Rights movement as well as other social justice
and equal rights struggles of today.
Rosa Parks Museum focuses on who many call the
mother of the Civil Rights Movement, and provides
moving details of how Rosa Park’s stand started the
bus boycott in Montgomery. It also shows how Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. got his start in the movement.
The Freedom Rides Exhibit—inside Montgomery’s
historic Greyhound Bus Station, this exhibit highlights
the Freedom Riders which set out on buses to challenge
the South on the new federal anti-discrimination laws.
The history of these young students, who endured
beatings and bombings, truly inspires.
The Equal Justice Initiative provides legal
representation to indigent defendants and prisoners
who have been denied fair and just treatment in the
legal system. The EJI offers tours of their office along
with briefings on their mission and current work. In
addition, the EJI will facilitate a tour of the historic
slave trade markers around Montgomery.
Birmingham Excursion
$12/person (with college ID)
$18/person (without college ID)
Students selecting the Birmingham Excursion will
have the opportunity to visit the Birmingham Civil
Rights Institute, an excellent museum highlighting
the Civil Rights movement along with attending a
tour at the 16th St. Baptist Church, the same church
where the 1963 Birmingham Bombing took place.
Community Service & School Immersion
Many groups elect to serve through a variety of
community service projects including neighborhood
cleanups, city beautification projects, adding fresh
coats of paint to buildings and playgrounds, and
assisting other organizations with community projects.
Some service learning groups may also have the
opportunity to volunteer in the Selma schools that
New Alternative has a partnership with by providing
in-class tutoring, after school programs and other
extra-curricular activities.
Selma Tours
New Alternative provides fun walking and driving tours
that highlight Selma’s rich history and its beautiful
historic architecture. Service learning groups are
strongly encouraged to participate in the tour given
by one of our trained volunteers, where they’ll learn
more about the history that shaped the city’s current
political and social values.
Evening Activities and Reflections Sessions
We also offer evening activities such as speaker
panels, presentations, video/movie nights, interaction
with New Expression Selma, and reflection sessions
with our staff and volunteers to help participants
process the experience.
NEW ALTERNATIVE
WHO WE ARE
Who We Are
DIFFERENT.
We are a unique host site and believe in the importance
of blending strong direct service and education for a
life-changing week of learning.
INTENSE.
We believe there is great value in immersion and
strive to host trips that immerse our breakers into
the heart of our organization, our advocacy work,
and the community of Selma, AL. We’re all about
intense—from start to finish.
IDEALISTS.
We believe everyone can make an impact on the
world, and we believe your visit to Selma will impact
the community, our organization, and will also leave
a lasting impact on you. You CAN make a difference
in this world, and it is needed. Our goal is that you
will experience a week of alternative living that
will catapult you into a lifetime of purpose and will
motivate you to reach your own potential and dreams.
Meet Your Team
New Alternative is run 100% by volunteers—and we’re not your normal non-profit crew. As
you consider joining Something New for a service-learning experience in Selma, we wanted to
introduce ourselves to you.
OUTSIDE AGITATORS.
In Selma, we are considered outside agitators by
some, and have been treated as such. When we began
to speak out about segregated institutions like the
schools, country club, churches, etc., we experienced
major backlash, smear campaigns, and death threats
on the Internet. We believe what Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. said, and have lived by it: “Never, never be
afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of
a person is at stake. Society’s punishments are small
compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when
we look the other way.” Organizations volunteering
with us should not be surprised to find slanderous
information about us on the Internet. The hatred and
mindsets present in the 60s have not changed, but
the tactics of fear and intimidation have new outlets.
Rather than wearing hoods and burning crosses, racists
now hide behind anonymous blogs and internet forms
to try stop integration.
Who We’re Not
QUIET.
We believe in the power of every voice, and
collectively our organization is a voice for those not
heard. We encourage our alternative breakers to
exercise their voices while in Selma through reflection
and debriefing activities.
BELIEVERS.
TRADITIONAL.
While we are not a faith-based organization, the
movement behind our programs started out of a church
of young people who were passionate about serving
others. Over the past 10 years, the organization has
evolved into a human rights and youth development
organization. We are passionate about tolerance,
acceptance and inclusion. Our programs embrace and
encourage volunteers from diverse backgrounds, and
we proudly stand behind human rights for all.
We believe in thinking outside of the box, in coloring
outside of the lines, and not following the status quo.
While we understand this is not for everyone, we’ve
seen great benefit in taking the road less traveled to
make change in our community.
We hope to meet you on an
alternative break experience!
We have been honored to
join many participants on their
transformative journeys through
Selma and into a lifetime of
service and sacrifice. We love
being a part of your journey.
Please visit the New Alternative page on the Something New website
to apply for this unique service learning experience, or find the form at:
http://bit.ly/1OwZsfx
Additional questions and inquires can be directed to the New Alternative program director, Emily Mumford, at [email protected].