Students who plan to stay in Charlottesville during the October reading days will have an opportunity to both help and explore the community through Alternative Fall Break.
The three-day volunteer event is sponsored by Alternative Spring Break and is a relatively new program to the organization having only started in 2014. While ASB encourages travel and service, Alternative Fall Break was established in part as a reminder that volunteers are needed in the local community as well.
“One big thing for Alternative Spring Break is that you get to go a bunch of different places, and that’s what draws a lot of people, that they get to travel and do service,” Conner Healy, fourth-year Commerce student and co-outreach chair, said. “We also really feel strongly that there’s also going to be stuff to be done here in Charlottesville.”
On Oct. 1, 3 and 4 students have the opportunity to assist in various tasks at a variety of organizations around the Charlottesville community including Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army and Bellair Farms.
“All of the organizations have been very receptive to us, and they’re very happy to work with us,” Healy said. “We share that feeling 110 percent mutually with them.”
One of the organizations with which AFB will be helping is Charlottesville’s local food pantry, Loaves and Fishes. Executive Director Margaret McNett Burruss said the organization has a continual need for volunteers.
“We’re open four times a week and each time we’re open for food distribution, it’s two hours each time,” Burruss said.
Loaves and Fishes is modeled like a grocery store and serves approximately 1,500 households per month. Volunteers assist with stocking shelves, checking the families in and taking them through the store, Burruss said.
While the organizations generally tell AFB ahead of time about the jobs to completed during their service, sometimes those needs change, which Healy said he does not believe is a bad thing.
“I actually really like that just because it gets people interested and they get to explore even more perspectives of that kind of service type,” Healy said.
Upon completion of their hours of service, AFB volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in “post-service excursions” around Charlottesville to allow the volunteers to “get to know” each other.
These excursions are decided upon by the site leaders for each particular day and have the potential to be any location around Charlottesville. Some excursions may even be based on stories the volunteers hear from others while working.
“One thing that we pride ourselves at ASB is learning other people’s stories and using their stories to help others so that potentially everyone else can benefit as well,” Healy said. “If you’re working alongside someone … [and] they mention one of their favorite places around Charlottesville is so-and-so, then it would be cool if one of the site leaders planned that everyone was going to get in the car and go see that.”
Healy said many people who apply for AFB also apply for ASB in the spring. Although students who participate in AFB are not automatically guaranteed a spot for ASB, Healy said participating in the program “definitely couldn’t hurt.”
The ASB application asks for applicants to explain their prior experience with the organization.
“If someone has an AFB trip or any sort of event during fall break otherwise, then they’re able to talk about that and each site leader who is reviewing their application in the spring is able to look at that,” Healy said. “If the person who is submitting the application writes about it in a way that the site leaders definitely agree with, then that’s how you can tie the two experiences together.”
Registration for AFB opened Wednesday at noon, and students do not have to sign up for all of the events. Food and a free t-shirt will be provided.
“We’re really excited to see anyone and everyone who is interested in this organization,” Healy said. “We’re really passionate about it and we love seeing people who share that interest as well.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly spelled Conner Healy's name as "Connor."
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