After weeks of constant support from our family, friends, and community, ASB’s online fundraising campaign has come to a close. Today is the last day to contribute to our online campaign, and we cannot thank you all enough for your help. Although we have reached our original campaign goal, our overall fundraising goal has not yet been met. We encourage you now more than ever to continue supporting our cause, and helping us meet our reach goal of $8,000!

Although our online campaign is ending, there are still other ways you can support our team and the ASB program:

1. Lend your support by mailing a check made out to Emerson College with “Alternative Spring Break” in the memo line to: Emerson College ASB, 120 Boylston St 10th floor, Boston, MA 02116.

2. Attend our Silent Auction event on Thursday, February 25th From 12:30-4:30pm in Common Ground on the 10th Floor of the Walker Building (120 Boylston St). Bid on items from local businesses while talking with team members and learning more about our program. Auction items include donations from the Boston Pops, Brattle Book Shop, Veggie Galaxy, Qdoba, and more! 

Thank you to every one of our supporters for their contributions during this exciting campaign. Without the help of every single one of you, the journey we will embark on in two short weeks would not have been possible. Thank you all for your generosity!

Until next year,

❤The ASB team❤

“I think programs like ASB are one of the true transformational experiences that we offer here at the college. This whole notion of civic engagement is completely manifested in ASB. When we think about who these students are and what they will go off and be, post-Emerson, having an experience where they are out in the world, out in communities, really being a partner in the development in some of these communities—its probably one of the most important things they’ll do in college.”

Dr. Anthony Pinder is the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs for Internationalization & Global Engagement at Emerson College, and we greatly appreciate his support. His department has pledged a $300 sponsorship for our campaign.

With only FIFTEEN DAYS until we leave for El Paso, we wanted to share a very important quote with you as our Spanish phrase of the week, presented by our team member Laura:

¡Hola! We have just wrapped up our third week of crowdfunding for ASB’s service program to El Paso, TX. We’re excited to say that with your incredible encouragement, we have raised $4,915, or 76% of our goal!

We are so close to the finish line!

Help us sprint the final distance by sharing our story with your friends, family, coworkers, and on social media. With your help, we can reach this $6,500 goal in just 8 days.

This week, we will start journaling, a tradition ASB has maintained throughout the years. We journal to reflect on what we hear and see, and how we feel. This reflection allows us to begin processing these emotions and experiences, and to explore how these experiences connect with the community and the broader world around us. Between now and the end of spring break week, these reflections will help us understand what we can do to continue to have an impact on the issue and the communities it affects. Below are some journal entries from previous ASB programs that demonstrate the impact of the program on its participants: 

Alternative Spring Break, Boston, 2015

Alternative Spring Break, El Paso, TX 2015

Spanish Phrase of the Week:

¡Hola a todos! Muchas gracias for your constant support. We have raised more than 70% of our overall USEED campaign goal thanks to you!

You have only 12 days left to show your support for our campaign by making a donation and sharing our campaign page in your social network. We encourage you to be part of this movement and show your support in these next few days to help us reach our $6,500.00 campaign goal.

This week, we're featuring a center we’ll be visiting and serving with in El Paso. Centro De Los Trabajadores Agrícolas Fronterizos (The Border Farmworkers Center), home of the Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) Organizing Project, serves low income residents and farmworkers of the city of El Paso. Such services include meals, arts and recreation for people of all ages, and ESL classes. The Center is open 7 days a week, and provides farmworkers a place to sleep between their shifts in the fields from 4pm into the early hours of the morning.

¡Hola!

As we prepare for our exciting work in El Paso, our team meets weekly to learn more about what life is like for immigrant communities in El Paso and how to develop community organizing skills to address them.

We have studied the ways in which the road to citizenship fails, leaving undocumented immigrants to face daunting setbacks such as inability to access health care and living in constant fear of deportation. The process of applying for citizenship is grueling, and the complex law makes it extremely challenging for families to succeed in the United States while awaiting their documentation.

We are also practicing our Spanish language skills in order to make the most of our one-on-one learning experience. We look forward to hearing the personal stories of immigrants when we get to El Paso, but until then we will be in the classroom learning all that we can so that we are prepared to serve and learn in March! 

We still have a few hours to meet this week’s goal of $5,500! We challenge you to make a contribution today and share our campaign page on FaceBook!

Today's Spanish phrase of the week is:

¡Hola familia y amigos!

Thank you all so much for your support thus far! We are more than halfway to reaching our goal thanks to people like you. Our ASB team would like to not only thank you for this tremendous help, but also encourage you to spread the word about our program!

Sometimes it can be hard for those who have never experienced immigration first hand to truly understand the anguish that it can bring. Hearing stories from a person who has lived through these traumas forces us to realize how real and pressing the social justice issue of immigration is. With this in mind, this week we are going to share a story from one of last year’s ASB members, Angelika Romero, and her relationship with a woman she met in El Paso.

“'You are the first real person I have spoken to since I got here,' Lupe said. This phrase broke me down emotionally. I learned the practical definition of vulnerability by holding a crying immigrant woman in my arms. I met Lupe at a transitional shelter for families released from immigration detention in El Paso, Texas near the U.S./Mexico border, where I spent a week for my spring break. As a volunteer at the shelter, I spent my time cleaning mattresses, preparing rooms, sorting through piles of donated clothes, and cooking for hungry refugees.

I met Lupe on her first day in the United States, after she crossed the border with her two young daughters. She kept telling me how bendecida (blessed) she was to not have been raped in her journey towards the 'land of the free'. Through Lupe, I learned that borders do not erase physical or mental bruises. She was a survivor of domestic violence, a single mother with an elementary school education, and a former bartender who had served dangerous cartel members. These cartel members would intimidate and break into Lupe’s home with rifles pointed at her daughters, demanding to receive their quota, a monthly payment given to cartels to ensure that the payee’s family members will not be harmed. They rarely hold true to their promises. In fact, Lupe’s uncle and brother were both assassinated shortly before the day I met her.

What does it mean to be treated like an “illegal alien”?  Lupe taught me that to be treated as an alien is to not be provided with food and blankets while being held for 48 hours at a detention center. For two days, she had to  use her body to provide warmth for her daughters. Every person I met at the border knew what it felt to be treated as “just another case number”. Growing up surrounded by case numbers opens your eyes to the daily injustices performed in the name of justice.

By 2030, one in every three workers in the U.S. will be an immigrant.”

-Angelika Romero

*The name in this story has been changed & picture has been blurred for safety reasons*

¡Hola!

After a very successful first week of fundraising, thank you for helping us EXCEED our FIRST WEEKLY GOAL! 

Let's keep this momentum going to meet our next weekly goal of $5,500!

Here is an interview with Tyler Powles, our ASB Student Program Leader, where he shares his experience with Alternative Spring Break. 

Also check out our Spanish phrase of the week, brought to you by team member Kira Venturini.

Alternative Spring Break 2013, El Paso, Texas. 

From everyone at ASB 2016, we owe you all a huge THANK YOU for your tremendous support the first few days of our campaign. We surpassed our weekly goal in only 5 days by raising $2,398.00, 37% of our USEED goal. That’s a lot more than we initially expected for a kick-off!  

You can’t donate at the moment? No worries! We need your help to spread the word. Here are some sample posts you can share with your networks:

·      Your gift goes straight to improving a student's education. Learn about Emerson Alternative Spring Break’s crowdfunding campaign here: LINK!

·      Did you know Emerson College is up-and-coming in non-profit communication? Help improve the opportunities today: LINK!

·      Emerson’s Alternative Spring Break is challenging borders. Help them in their pursuit: LINK!

Thank you again for all you have done for us! We're honored to have such a supportive community. We truly appreciate your immediate support! ¡Muchísimas gracias!

Alternative Spring Break 2015, El Paso, TX

Alternative Spring Break 2015, El Paso, TX

¡Hola! Today is the day our campaign launches! Even the smallest donation makes a difference. For the 12 students that will be traveling to El Paso, TX, your generosity allows them to imagine a world without borders. We hope to visit several shelters and community centers, as we offer our service but also gain some knowledge on the challenges immigrants face on a daily basis

Our first weekly goal is $2,100.00. Help us achieve this in the next seven days!

Please take a moment to watch our video above. If a donation simply isn’t in the cards right now, please consider promoting our campaign via social media, in person, or even by e-mail! Your support is extremely appreciated. ¡Muchas gracias!

You can send us a check or a money order payable to "Emerson College" with “Alternative Spring Break” in the memo to:

Ashley Tarbet

Emerson College

120 Boylston St, 10th floor

Boston, MA 02116

Learn Spanish with us! Spanish phrase of the week:

Alternative Spring Break 2015, Sin Fronteras

Alternative Spring Break 2015, Nazareth Hall