53 colleges visit campus for Alternative Breaks school

Grand Valley's Alternative Breaks program hosted students and faculty members from 53 colleges and universities June 23-28 on the Allendale Campus.

Grand Valley was selected to host an Alternative Breaks Citizenship school, which provides experiential training sessions to give students and staff leaders the knowledge, skills and connections needed to start or strengthen an alternative breaks program.

The theme for the citizenship school was "Collaborative Approaches to Greening a Growing City." 

Participants came from the University of California, Los Angeles; University of Kentucky; Roanoke College, and more to explore the aspects of urban greening, including preserving parks, creating accessible community spaces and encouraging citizen involvement in sustainable development.

Community partners included Kids' Food Basket, Habitat for Humanity, Kent County Parks, Blandford Nature Center and Friends of Grand Rapids Parks.

"This allowed Alternative Breaks representatives from across the country to learn about our program at Grand Valley, get to know our beautiful campus and ways that they can improve their campuses and communities," said Melissa Baker-Boosamra, associate director of Student Life, Civic Engagement and Assessment. 

The event also included a three-day staff development track that allowed staff members from participating institutions to network, share ideas and engage in strategic planning.  

The Alternative Breaks program is a student-run organization that promotes active citizenship through community-based service-learning projects that focus on social and environmental topics.