Though this is only the second year that the program has been offered, Bowdoin's Alternative Winter Break saw a two-fold increase in applications. Acceptance letters went out this past weekend, admitting twelve students to the program.
Participants will spend their last week of winter break volunteering at Preble Street, a homeless shelter in Portland, while living on campus. In the mornings, they will help to serve breakfast to the 200 to 400 visitors a the shelter and sort through clothing donations. In the afternoons, they will work with other organizations, like Portland Housing Authority and Tedford Housing in Brunswick, to get a better picture of the homeless crisis in Maine.
Assistant Director for Community Service Programs Sarah Seames said that Alternative Winter Break was started as a response to the overwhelming interest in the Alternative Spring Break program. This year, there were 145 applicants for only 90 spots for Alternative Spring Break.
"We had heard from other students that winter break felt really long and they'd like to have something else to do during break," said Seames. "So we decided to do a trip in Maine...and have it be the last week of break so that they can already be on campus and go right back into classes at the end of the program. It was able to keep the costs really low by having them stay on campus."
The trip this year will be led by Samantha Collins '11 and Katherine Stewart '12, who participated in the program last year and worked at Preble Street over the summer.
"We wanted people to be as excited about the program as we were," said Stewart. "We were aiming for 10 people total, including the two leaders, but when the extra two people applied, we realized we could fit them because we didn't want to turn anyone away."
Seames said that while she would like to expand the Alternative Winter Break program to include more trips, there are currently no plans in the works to add more. Expansion would depend on the level of interest from the students as well as on the money available for scholarships. The Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good would have to be able to provide sufficient financial assistance to ensure that any student who would like to go on a trip could afford to.
Julie Bender '13 said she is looking forward to participating this winter in the program.
"Winter break is so long that I'm going to be home doing nothing and spending my time hanging out with my family, while at the same time these other people don't have homes or don't have food and warm clothes, so I figured I had a lot to give," said Bender.