The Alternative Winter Break 2021

Bringing Harvard Students (Virtually) to Alabama to Learn and to Serve!

 

We love bringing new folks to Alabama. When talented people come here, they are routinely surprised at the beauty, opportunity, and diversity Alabama has on offer. This year has been hard though as the COVID-19 pandemic has made in-person visits impossible. That said, the pandemic has - through the ubiquity of technology - made bringing people to Alabama VIRTUALLY much easier. To prove it, the Harvard Club of Alabama, the Rotary Club of Decatur Daybreak, and Harvard’s Phillips Brooks House Association, did just that.

 

This past January, for one week, we virtually connected 20 Harvard students and three Wellesley students to three Alabama nonprofit organizations--all founded by Harvard alums. For a week, the students not only learned a great deal about the context of the nonprofits’ work, but also carried out projects that substantially enhanced the nonprofits’ growth and impact. This was a Zoom-enabled virtual alternative to the wonderful Alternative Spring Break program, which has been running for nearly 20 years in Alabama and is PBHA’s longest Alternative Spring Break program.

 

The three nonprofits involved were:

  1. The Woods Foundation in Birmingham, founded by Lauren Faraino (College ‘13), which focuses on criminal justice reform;

  2. The Community Protectors Project in Gadsden, founded by Savannah Miles (College ‘18), which fosters community connections in rural Alabama;

  3. Build UP in Ensley, founded by Mark Martin (ELD ‘17), which focuses on educational reform, home renovation, blight removal, and wealth creation for disadvantaged communities.

Alternative Spring Break 2021

 

In addition to engaging deeply with the three nonprofits, the students also had the opportunity  to sample the flavor of Alabama through virtual “tours” led by Harvard alums. These tours focused on Huntsville (Tara Mello), Mobile (Larry Lyons), Birmingham (Will Wright), and the impact of the military in the state (Marie Harnly).

 

The student-participants gave the program high marks for giving them valuable life advice, passionate stories of impact, and a deeper appreciation for the needs facing Alabama, the nation, and nonprofits addressing these challenges. In the program evaluation, one student noted: “I had such an incredible experience and am so impressed with the quality of this experience and the change we were able to enact in such a short period of time!"

 

Gay Blackburn Maloney of Decatur, coordinator of the ongoing Alternative Spring Break Service Trip, thought the week was spectacular. “The students functioned as if they were outside consultants for each of the organizations,” she said. “They brought fresh insight, great enthusiasm, and an earnest wish to make an impact through their service.”

Our Alabama alumni nonprofit leaders also had great things to say.

 

“The AWB program was truly transformative and inspiring for The Woods Foundation,” said Lauren Faraino. “The students brought such passion and commitment to the work they did. As a young organization, The Woods Foundation needed a lot of support getting off the ground, and the students had to jump into an environment without much structure. They helped us compile organizational documents, and many of them began analyzing the merits of individual legal cases. Despite the fact that most had never encountered legal work in the past, they embraced the challenge with creativity, diligence and insight. It was an absolute joy spending the week with such a compassionate group of students.”

 

For Savannah Miles, the “Alternative Winter Break was a gift to the Community Protectors Project. Having four fresh pairs of eyes helped our small team see beyond our day-to-day responsibilities and look at the larger arc of our work.” The Harvard student workers, she continued, “helped us retool our communications systems, forge stronger connections with our program participants, and identify and address inefficiencies in our financial processes. It was like having four consultants for a week—I only wish they could have stayed with us longer!”

 

"Tessa, Larry, Maria, Kristina, Audrey, and Kai'eo were fearless and resilient," said Build UP founder and CEO Mark Martin. "Jumping into the rapidly changing context of a startup, they not only survived, they flourished. They brought to their work--projects including student marketing and recruitment, website enhancement, grant applications, donor surveys and acknowledgments, as well as tailored spreadsheet automation--great questions, eager spirits, and a very impressive level of competence."

 

Among the students, a cross section of the United States were represented: Texas (3), New York (2), California (4), Illinois (3), Nevada, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Maine, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Hawaii. Ten first year students, nine sophomores, three juniors, and one senior participated in the week. In addition, Austin Golsdmith-Lachut, a junior from New York State and a Director of the Alternative Winter Break program through PBHA, provided hands on direction and Zoom coordination for the week. Austin, along with the other co-directors, Ahab Chopra and Marina Andrawis, wrote after the program concluded to extend their gratitude along with the students' for such an impactful and welcoming week of service. 

 

In all, this is a wonderful example of how we, as an alumni group, are enhancing the future of our state. Thank you for your support of these and other outstanding activities. Additionally, we welcome all those who have their own story to share or who wish to join other such outstanding programs in the future.