My Alternative Break with Rebuilding Together
This MLK Day, I’ve been thinking back on my winter break and the week I spent in New Orleans with Rebuilding Together. I had the chance to co-lead an Alternative Break through Central Michigan University (CMU), working alongside other students on affordable housing projects. I’m a senior studying marketing and logistics management and this was my third Alternative Break, but the first time stepping into a leadership role with the program.
Alternative Breaks at CMU is a student led program that connects students with nonprofit organizations addressing community identified needs. Trips take place locally, nationally and globally during winter, spring and summer breaks, as well as select Fridays throughout the semester. Each group includes ten students and two trained site leaders who have participated in a previous break. In the eight weeks before departure, we meet weekly to learn about the organization, the community and the social issue we will be engaging with. Our focus this year was affordable housing.
Before this trip, I served in North Carolina with Carolina Tiger Rescue, where we built enclosures and helped with maintenance and in Anchorage, Alaska with Community Hope, assisting with upkeep of assisted living homes. Those experiences showed me how service can look different in every community, but New Orleans challenged me in new ways.
Alternative Breaks are intentionally set up to be more than just volunteering. The program builds in space for community immersion, reflection and learning about the history behind the issues we are serving. Every night, my co-leader and I facilitated reflections to talk about what we experienced that day and how it connected to the larger issue of affordable housing. Those conversations helped us move from simply doing service to really understanding why the work matters.
On Monday and Tuesday, we worked with the Rebuilding Together New Orleans team at a home they were close to completing. The work was hands-on and physically demanding, from painting to repairs to final touches that would make the house safe for the homeowner. Our group loved being trusted with real responsibility. The team was welcoming, patient and willing to teach us how to use equipment we had never touched before. Everyone felt safe and supported.
One thing that stood out was how inclusive the work environment was. There was no assumption about who should handle power tools or heavy labor. Women and men were given the same opportunities and every student felt empowered to step into any role. That culture of respect made our group more confident and more connected.
After our time with Rebuilding Together, we spent Thursday and Friday with another organization, continuing to learn what affordable housing looks like in practice. Seeing two different organizations approach the same issue in unique ways helped us understand how complex and important this work is. This break reminded me that service is about more than fixing houses. It’s about dignity, safety and the belief that everyone deserves a place to call home. I’m grateful to Rebuilding Together New Orleans and CMU Alternative Breaks for giving us the chance to be part of that mission, even for one week.