PBHA Spring Break Trip Demand Surges

The Harvard Phillips Brooks House Association’s Alternative Spring Break program received a record 380 applications for this year’s trips—an increase of approximately 90 percent over last year.

The program, which gives students the opportunity to work on public service projects over the week-long vacation, will send about 120 students to nine different locations this March. More students will be participating in the program this year than any other year in its near half-century history, with the exception of 2006, when a special donation from the Harvard COOP allowed 150 students to work in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

PBHA Executive Director Gene A. Corbin said he believed the rise in applicants was the effect of both word-of-mouth and increased civic-mindedness among students. He also cited the Obama campaign’s positive impact on participation in public service.

PBHA Director of Programs Kate Meunier similarly attributed the increase to a broad trend among students.

“If you look at the millennial generation, they do more service than anyone before ever has,” she said.

Both administrators also cited the financial crisis as a possible factor.

“People are saying, ‘my family might not have the funds for a more expensive vacation,’” Corbin said.

The rise in applications accompanies several notable changes in the program’s organization, including the replacement of three of last year’s trips with new programs. This year, students will be able to work at an animal shelter in Massachusetts, a public boarding school in Washington, D.C., and in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans for the first time.

Meunier said she was particularly excited about the new program in Washington.

“A lot of our students are really interested in urban education,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to look at a new model and teach.”

Despite these shifts, Meunier said that the budget for the ASB program—totaling approximately $50,000—will be “substantially smaller” than last year’s due to the economic climate.

Operating costs for this year’s program will be about 25 percent lower than last year, partially because of cheaper plane tickets, she said.

Funding for the program is raised mostly by student organizers, though contributions from the President’s Public Service Fund at Harvard and the $100 fee from participating students also help finance the trips.

Corbin said that the program has had a positive impact on participants in the past, and has inspired many students to pursue careers in public service.

“PBHA has struggled with the question of whether these trips make sense in difficult economic times,” he said. “I think we’ve worked hard to make sure that these trips do build sustainable partnerships and that they are making a contribution to these communities.”

—Staff writer Evan T. R. Rosenman can be reached at erosenm@fas.harvard.edu.