A spring break community service program has expanded this year to include more volunteer sites and participants.
During Alternative Breaks at UCLA, a project housed in the Community Service Commission, students complete different service activities and aim to immerse themselves in the community.
The sites include San Francisco, New Orleans, downtown Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., among others.
The program now includes two more sites at locations across the country, said Tiffany Do, external programs director for the Community Service Commission and former head of the project.
Students who want to participate in Alternative Breaks can apply on the project’s website before Saturday at 11:59 p.m. A record number of applicants have already applied for this year’s program, which spans March 23 to 29, said Do, a fourth-year anthropology and geography student.
About 70 students will be accepted into the program this year.
“(Applicants) have fluctuated year by year, and we’re on the rise now,” Do said.
The goal of the program is to help students develop their leadership skills and help them grow personally, said Faye Mendoza, a fourth-year neuroscience student and coordinator of Alternative Breaks.
“It’s basically a chance for students to really gain an understanding of communities beyond UCLA,” Do said.
For Megan Ro, principal site leader of the New Orleans project, fourth-year art history student and a Los Angeles native, participating in the downtown Los Angeles program helped her see her hometown in a new light.
“It’s things you can’t learn in a classroom, you learn by being there,” Ro said.
Compiled by Amanda Schallert, Bruin senior staff.