The idea of American college students traveling during Spring Break dates back to the 1930s when the Colgate University men's swimming team began traveling to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida during breaks from school in March. Movies and a growing culture of free spirited college students help spread the ideas of hooking up with other college students and drinking heavily while soaking up rays in exotic locations. All this was to achieve a break from the norm and an escape from reality. What about those students who want something more? What if there was an alternative to the chaos? What if students could find a meaningful experience during the most influential time of their lives that would have a lasting impact on the world? Students from the University of Cincinnati have been participating in Alternative Spring Break trips since 1999 through the Center for Community Engagement. Students traveled each march to locations in Mexico and participated in simple construction projects. Single-family homes, bunk housing, church buildings, community centers, animal shelters, bathroom facilities, and other projects keep students busy for a week in a strange land. These trips and the people who participated helped form a solid relationship between UC and the organizations working to improve the lives of the Mexican people. As some students began to return year after year with a drive to do something more with their break from classes, great things began to happen. Students began to realize that the true impact was being made on them. By experiencing a new culture and seeing something that shocks the senses, students not only begin to appreciate the blessing they have but they begin to feel something else about the world they live in. It's different for each person but many people have an experience that stirs up all sorts of emotions. They get upset about the conditions of the world's people and suddenly they want to do something about it. Something real. Or, they feel compassion for the situations of people and it makes them want to return or do more to help people near and far. Sometimes people are so rocked by their experience on an Alternative Break trip that they have this crazy, uncontrollable desire to come back to the university they came from and convince as many people as they can that they too should have an Alternative Break experience. Now that's an interesting concept! Serve Beyond Cincinnati was born from a concept that Alternative Break experiences should not be limited to 15 students who happened to stumble upon the opportunity. What if there were an organization that could provide an alternative break experience to every UC student who wanted to participate and maybe even a few people who didn't even know they wanted to participate? We're working on that; we're getting close! Please check out where we've been, look at where we are headed, and consider how you would like to become part of this alternative to the chaos. Together we can make history and together we can go farther! MAIN > ABOUT > HISTORY