The Alternative Fall Break trip is a program that takes a group of students somewhere in the southeast region to serve a community in need. For the second year in a row, CSLEPS took a group of students to Asheville, NC. We arrived in Asheville on a Thursday afternoon and returned on a Sunday morning.

Upon arrival, we unloaded and had a brief organizational meeting. During this meeting, we went over the agenda for the weekend as well as meal preparation plans. Afterward, students were given an hour to begin exploring downtown Asheville before meeting at the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. After dinner, staff advisor Rebecca Cole led a social issues discussion. During the discussion, students used a worksheet to prompt their discussion on their definitions of service. For the remainder of the night, the group was active in team building activities.

While in Asheville, we served at two locations. On the first day of service (Friday), we worked at two locations. Half of the students worked at Habitat for Humanity’s work site, and half at Habitat for Humanity’s Home Center. At the work site, students helped with landscaping and foundational aspects of building a home. At the same time, students working at the Home Center were divided into groups working in different areas of the warehouse sorting, cleaning, and organizing household items to be sold to benefit Habitat for Humanity constructed houses. That evening, we ate with local residents who agreed to host our dinner Friday and Saturday. After dinner, we took a small excursion to the local mall to walk around for an hour before returning to the church where trip advisor Renee Sandberg facilitated a reflection session. Following the reflection session, students participated in team-building activities and games.

On the next day (Saturday), the group spent the morning exploring the Folk Art Center galleries and trails. That afternoon we spent working at MANNA Food Bank, a regional division of Second Harvest Food Bank, North Carolina. After working, we walked around downtown Asheville and then returned back to the church to begin dinner preparation with our host’s. Following dinner, trip advisor Robin Banker led the final reflection session on privilege. After the reflection session, students participated and facilitated team-building games and activities.

We returned on Sunday morning. The drive was approximately 5 hours, so we left in the morning in order to return in time for students to have the remainder of the day to do school work or rest before classes started the following day.