Challenging Borders: Emerson Alternative Spring Break 2015
WHAT WE'RE DOING
Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a year-long leadership and community engagement program that culminates in a week-long service immersion experience during spring break week. ASB helps students develop opportunities to learn about and from communities as they learn about their own potential to contribute to community-based efforts.Emerson College's ASB program began as a student leadership initiative in 1998 when six students and two faculty members spent spring break doing environmental volunteer work in Virginia. Over the years, this student leadership program has blossomed into a popular initiative. ASB is an opportunity for students to develop programs to learn about and from communities as they discover their own potential to contribute to community-based efforts.
ASB originated as a one-week program counter to "traditional" spring break trips to foster civic engagement and educate students on issues of communities that are not their own. Today, ASB is not just a week, it's a way.
WHERE WE'RE GOING
The El Paso ASB program offers students the opportunity to better understand the issue of immigration in US border communities. ASB participants served with this community in 2013, and participants this year will continue to strengthen Emerson's partnerships with various community organizations. Through hands-on service and by engaging with community members, participants will learn about the issues of economic development, food justice, health, and human rights at the border. Through this Border Immersion Experience, students will develop the knowledge and consciousness to make a positive impact in their own community upon their return.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Immigration is currently one of the country's most pressing issues. Immigration is more than just politics and statistics, it's a human rights issue that is interconnected with every citizen. This country was founded on immigrants. We are all immigrants, and their stories are our stories.Many of the privileges we have are direct results of the hands of humans just entering the United States community. One out of 28 Americans are undocumented. Someone you know, a friend, a family member, a coworker may be undocumented, but too afraid to tell you for fear of deportation or inhumane consequences.
WHY ASB?
The program emphasizes Emerson's core values of moral courage, celebration of diversity of thought and people, and commitment to ethical engagement, collaboration, and meaningful interaction with local and national communities. We are seeking the truths that lie within our political system and country. Through this experience, we will learn what is true and what is happening on the ground - and more importantly, the power we have to change things for the better.
Only One Week Left!
Published on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 at 05:34 PM (EST)
Thanks to you, we are so much closer to traveling to El Paso and helping to show the immigrant community that they are seen, that we care, and that they are humans that matter. While those words are small, the impact is invaluable. So, thank you.
Please, take a moment to review our about section and learn more about our mission - there is just one week left to donate!
ASB El Paso 2013 - photo courtesy of Suzanne Hinton
Ashley Tarbet DeStefano
Suzanne Hinton
Anne Marie Jubinal
Magdalena Rojas Lynch
Laura Londoño
Katie Grindeland
Sarah Rocha
Angie Romero
Alexandre Echeverri
Cindy Rodriguez
Blake Campbell
Edwin Stubbs
Dylan Manderlink
Gave $10.00
Jon Honea
Gave $100.00
Bob Nesson
Gave $25.00
Kathryn Lohman
Gave $25.00
Donna Heiland
Gave $100.00
Carl Marquez
Gave $40.00
Gabrielle Tassone
Gave $10.00
Alli Bizon
Gave $25.00
Catherine Rodriguez
Gave $10.00
Jose Lopez
Gave $50.00
Andrea Gordillo
Gave $15.00
Brandon Penny
Gave $100.00
Melissa Echeverri
Gave $25.00
Mai Trinh
Gave $30.00
Beth Murphy
Gave $500.00
Maryellen Walsh
Gave $100.00
Jennifer Greer-Morrissey
Gave $10.00
Francine Mroczek
Gave $10.00
Corinne Mykoff
Gave $25.00
Michael Fitzgerald
Gave $100.00
Elaine Keneklis
Gave $40.00
Jennifer Greer-Morrissey
Gave $10.00
Lydia Aguilar
Gave $50.00
Robert Fleming
Gave $140.00
Carol Hinton
Gave $100.00
Carol Spector
Gave $25.00
Erika Rydberg
Gave $10.00
Erika Rydberg
Gave $10.00
Rosa Ibarra
Gave $50.00
Bianca Padró
Gave $10.00
Isabel Thottam
Gave $25.00
Casey Eisenreich
Gave $25.00
Lauren Yergeau
Gave $50.00
Sarah Dwyer
Gave $25.00
Jane Messere
Gave $100.00
Jeffrey Schoenherr
Gave $50.00
Nancy Howell
Gave $10.00
Chloe Jankowitz
Gave $10.00
Beth Parfitt
Gave $50.00
Alycia Metz
Gave $50.00
Michael Francis
Gave $25.00
Cindy Rodriguez
Gave $50.00
Suzanne Hinton
Gave $200.00
Gina Brindisi
Gave $10.00
Phillip Glenn
Gave $100.00
Diane Tarbet
Gave $50.00
Tim Walsh
Gave $5.00
Anne BERRY
Gave $100.00
Lucy Montoya
Gave $50.00
Matthew Racz
Gave $10.00
Amanda Tarbet
Gave $25.00
Mark Grindeland
Gave $500.00
Linda Gallant
Gave $50.00
Maureen Lynch
Gave $100.00
Francisco Romero
Gave $100.00
Rosemary Corral
Gave $25.00
David Griffin
Gave $50.00
Dylan Duzey
Gave $50.00
Patrick Costello
Gave $100.00
Mary-Helen Reardon
Gave $25.00
Chris Dunn
Gave $75.00
Rogelio Echeverri
Gave $100.00
Isela Armijo
Gave $100.00
Bethany Hinton
Gave $30.00
Larita Gilstrap
Gave $100.00
t brendan feeney
Gave $50.00
Ashley Medlar
Gave $10.00
Shaunagh McGoldrick
Gave $10.00
Kate Privert
Gave $25.00
Claude Bartholomew
Gave $25.00
Sarah Basch
Gave $25.00
Ashley Tarbet DeStefano
Gave $100.00
Leon Echeverri
Gave $100.00
Philip MINNS
Gave $100.00
Kirsten Ritter
Gave $200.00
Deb MacDerment
Gave $50.00
Matthew Racz
Gave $10.00
18 supporters have chosen not to be listed for "Challenging Borders: Emerson Alternative Spring Break 2015".
Make an Impact
Seeker
Give $10
A gift of this amount pays for a healthy meal for one ASB participant so that they will have the energy to engage in service and learning all day.
Storyteller
Give $25
A gift of this amount pays for an educational activity for one participant to learn about and better understand issues facing the El Paso community, and how we can take action to create change when we return to Boston.
Groundbreaker
Give $50
A gift of this amount pays for five students to cook, serve, and eat a meal with community members staying in a local shelter that will share their stories of how and why they crossed the border.
Pathfinder
Give $75
A gift of this amount pays for one day of van rental that will allow the group to travel between service sites throughout the day.
Trailblazer
Give $100
A gift of this amount fills our gas tank for the week so the group can travel throughout and engage with as much of the El Paso community as possible.
Samaritan
Give $200
A gift of this amount pays for lodging for half of our group at the local community center, ensuring that participants experience El Paso as close as possible to the perspective of the community members we serve.
Vanguard
Give $500
A gift of this amount sponsors youth engagement activities throughout the week, including van rental and travel between service sites, serving lunch to youth at the Southwest Key Detention Center while we listen to their stories of border crossing, and assisting immigrant teens in adding books to their library, which will help them attain their dreams of higher education.
Dream Maker
Give $800
A gift of this amount pays for a full round trip flight for one student to participate in a life-changing Border Immersion Experience in El Paso, TX and return home to create change in the Boston community.
