Alternative Breaks

160 Students / 60 community partners / 7920 Hours of Service / 18 locations
18 Student leaders / 18 U staff

I have been engaged in service before but this trip made me reflect on what our communities in SLC need and methods to reach those needs.
– Student

The Bennion Center’s Alternative Breaks program supports students seeking deeply engaged learning experiences that create profound personal growth. Students are immersed in specific issue-based community projects such as restoring ecosystems, rehabilitating injured animals, providing support to women living in poverty, and serving people living with homelessness, hunger and illness. All Alternative Breaks experiences are student-planned and led. Each student site leader learns valuable leadership and management skills by working with a U faculty/staff and community partner to arrange all travel, meals, lodging, training, service and reflection logistics.

My knowledge was broadened and my passions were ignited! I cannot wait to implement and utilize all the education and skills that I acquired throughout my AB experience!
– Student

This year the Alternative Breaks program introduced an AB Weekend experience. The weekend experience made it possible for students to participate in issue-based community projects closer to home but with the same focus: helping students develop civic competencies – skills, habits, values and attitudes that will shape their community engagement for a lifetime. Assessment indicates upon their return 92% of student participants are more likely to become involved in their community through volunteerism. In 2015-16, the Bennion Center was one of 100 organizations nationwide to be awarded a $6,500 grant from Noble Cause. The grant was given to mobilize volunteers in addressing challenges facing local communities. The award will help reduce student costs by approximately $39 per student beginning in 2016-17, the Alternative Breaks program’s 20th anniversary, thus helping make trips more accessible to students who may otherwise be unable to participate.

Community Engaged Scholars

I’m constantly in the process of rediscovering myself, and redefining and refining what’s most important to focus on. I’m confident that this will make me a healthy person, and an entrepreneur, artist, and innovator with much to offer in the future.
– Scholar, J Abubo

It was a Saturday morning and the culturally-appropriate community health fair organized by Felix Vivanco-Salazar was underway. Partnering with the Comunidades Unidas (United Community) and the College of Public Health, Felix hoped to provide immigrant and undocumented Latino community members basic health services like flu shots. The first Latino medical students to graduate from the U were there, along with others he’d arranged who spoke Spanish and understood important cultural practices. If he was lucky, Felix hoped maybe one hundred people would attend. The Community Engaged Scholar was wrong. By noon more than 250 people showed up. The response was so great the make-shift clinic ran out of supplies and had to close early. One woman was referred to diagnostic care at no charge after a clinic mammogram detected a suspicious lump in her breast.

Community Engaged Scholars put their academic excellence to work through community capstone projects like the fair Vivanco-Salazar organized. These sustainable projects also serve as launch pads for students as they prepare for graduate programs, internships and other careers. The capstone project merges the scholar’s academic expertise with a community need they are passionate about. Project work is overseen by a University of Utah faculty member, a community partner, and Scholars program director Chris Jensen. Scholars must also complete at least 400 hours of community service.

In 2015, 89 students participated in the program. Fourteen scholars graduated, 11 of whom completed capstone projects. Three graduates were recognized with certificates for their service hours. Besides the health fair community capstone project, scholars worked to improve access to nutritional foods, develop educational programming for refugee youth, establish a social network for teens with traumatic brain injuries to reduce social isolation, build sexual assault awareness and develop bystander training, and provide financial literacy training for refugees.

After a year of nationwide evaluation, 2015 saw a revision of the Community Engaged Scholars curriculum, making it more rigorous and centering learning outcomes on developing four Civic Competencies: civic skills (research, communication, etc.); civic awareness (the ability to recognize connections between individuals and systems); civic habits (regular civic behaviors); and civic values (social commitment and responsibility). When scholars were asked to evaluated the revised program, 94% felt they have a greater responsibility to contribute to society since joining the program. Eighty-two percent of the scholars surveyed say they now have an increased knowledge of a community issue as a result of their participation and that they are more likely to be engaged in the community in the future.

Community Issue Education

Part of the Bennion Center’s mission is to engage the university with the greater community in action, change and learning. To accomplish that goal, Bennion Center students and staff partners help plan and implement three specific programs to help students and community members develop a deeper understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our day.

I have loved the dialogues. Both planning and participating in them have helped me grow and develop useful skills that I will use for the rest of my academic and personal career.
– Student

Service House Dialogues: 3 Dialogues / 212.5 hours of service

Service House residents worked in teams of four to plan and facilitate three Service House Dialogues, highlighting relevant topics that included mental health, women in STEM and animal rights in the food industry. Each dialogue required student research and relationship development between appropriate community partners as they engaged in dialogue with community and campus members. The dialogues play a significant role in the Service House experience.

Issues and Action Lunches: 2 Lunches / 90 students attending

Held once each semester at the Bennion Center, these gatherings unite students and community and campus experts for an exploration of topics of concern to our communities. Each lunch event is designed to not only enlighten students and community members but also to identify specific action steps volunteers could take to make a difference. This year’s December discussion focused on how the world-wide refugee crisis is impacting Utah. The panel discussion focused specifically on the unique needs of women and children who fled their native lands and now call Utah home. The Spring Semester luncheon featured an examination of Salt Lake’s affordable housing picture in terms of what is happening now and what lies on the horizon.

Bennion Hinckley Forum:  1 Forum / 25 students attending

In partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics, the Bennion Center presented a discussion on social entrepreneurship – keeping good going after college. Community partners shared their strategies for getting involved and staying involved with community service while meeting the demands of busy professional lives.

Corporate and Foundation Partners

12 Corporations / 24 Foundations / 136 Individuals / 3 New Grant-funders / $72,946 Raised

In the world of development, or “friend-raising” as some here like to call it, new funding was secured from three new grant funders and new employee payroll deduction donors. The GiveWell Community Foundation gave $6,500 to support the Alternative Breaks program, the Utah State Board of Regents gave $5,750 to support Bennion Center operations helping to foster community engagement and ensure affordable participation and timely completion, and Select Health generously gave $9,000 over the course of the year to support Student-Directed Programs. New tracking systems are helping to manage grant requests and in-kind donations. The five committees of the Advisory Board welcomed new community members and alumni to broaden the circle of Bennion Center friends.

Internships & Fellowships

2 Fellows / 1 Campus Partner / 308 Hours of Service

Walking the streets in South Central Los Angeles I felt that there was more going on than what I saw. Every day at least one homeless person would ask me for money. There were some people who came up to me asking for the time and I would end up talking to them about the area. Many would say the area is plagued with gang violence, injustices, cop violence and no peace.
– Alejandra Hernandez, Student Fellow

In the summer of 2015 Alejandra Hernandez and Courtney Dean received Bennion Center / Alumni Association fellowships. Dean chose to serve in Oregon working with The Rebuilding Center at Our United Villages. Her goal was to learn how successful non-profit organizations operate. Hernandez chose A Place Called Home, located in LA, where she worked with under-served children in arts and education programs. Alejandra, or Ms. Alejandra as the children called her, noted, “I went up to Monica, my direct supervisor, and asked her why the children used the words 'Ms.' or 'Mr.' when talking to any instructors…Ms. Monica…explained the facility follows a code of conduct: REACH. REACH stands for respect, effort, accountability, caring, honesty. The children at APCH are held accountable for these pillars of life.”  She noted some of her six weeks of service were “exhausting and overwhelming.” She observed how difficult it was for first generation college students to stay in college once they were admitted and wondered, “how can I be a mentor to these children who are young and encourage them to be amazing individuals who pursue a degree.”

My first staff meeting at OUV (Our United Villages) was an entertaining experience and like no staff meeting I had ever attended before. The room itself was constructed from all reused materials, every piece hiding its own story. The people are just as diverse with staff, interns, volunteers and the executive director present but really, anyone who cared about the organization would be welcomed in.
– Courtney Dean, Student Fellow

Courtney Dean also felt changed from her fellowship experience. “I came home with a new perspective and a new understanding of what it means to build a community and invest in the people around you.” She was also profoundly influenced by the OUV philosophy of respect for all. “That idea seemed so simple,” she wrote, “equality and inclusion, but it stuck with me…This philosophy drove Our United Villages and will now help drive my life.”

Read more about Courtney’s experience on our blog.

Service House

12 Students / 1,143 Hours of Service

The Service House is my favorite place on campus! I love being with like-minded students who are engaged in their academics, volunteerism, and ability to have a fun time. I like that we do service projects locally and knowing we are helping people right in our community and realize that there are issues here in SLC that we can help solve. I love the diversity of the projects as well.
– Student

Collectively, Service House residents contributed more than one thousand hours to community engagement projects, dialogues, workshops/trainings and Bennion Center events. Here’s how those hours were distributed:

Saturday Service Projects and Service Events: 442.5 hours/ 8 events (163 hours – Officers Hollow)The Saturday Service Projects (SSPs) are monthly volunteer projects in which the Service House residents participate as a group. The projects expose the residents to local issues and spark action and conversation about community needs. 2015-2016 Service House Residents participated in seven Saturday Service Projects focused on a variety of social issues, such as children’s literacy, youth homelessness, environmental restoration, hunger and poverty, substance abuse and recovery, and refugee support services. Service House residents also served as team leaders for the Bend-in-the-River Earth Day site.
One of the residents shared “…the SSPs have opened up many opportunities for me to volunteer at different places and get to know a lot of different kinds of people. The Service House has allowed me to find my balance between giving back to the community and finding who I am.”
Bennion Center Retreats, Trainings & Orientation: 91.5 hours
House Meetings: 103.5 hours
Resident Assistant Hours: 293 hours

Student Directed Programs

789 Students / 51 Student Leaders / 42 Programs / 986 Hours Leadership Development and Training /
24,584 Hours of Service

When I first started my Girl Scout troop I didn't know what to expect. It was a little new at first but after a few meetings I really enjoyed the time I spent with the girls. I started to see how happy the girls were to be in the troop. They would constantly tell me how much fun they were having and how they never wanted to leave. I was really touched when I heard that and I felt like I made a difference. I really do enjoy leading my troop and I am excited to get more volunteers involved so they can also make a difference.
– Sydney Chan, Program Director, Girl Scouts Outreach

Student-Directed Programs (SDPs) are a major part of our student leadership at the Bennion Center. Student leaders in this area of the center do not receive any academic credit or remuneration: all of their service and leadership is completely voluntary. In 2015-2016, three new programs were launched, bringing the total to 44. New programs include:

• Education and Advocacy: First Lego League Utah
• Environment, Arts & Recreation: Rides for Wellness
• International: Malileh Free Clinic – Spanish Medical Translation

This year we expanded the Environmental Stewardship issue area to Environment, Arts & Recreation to more fully serve the community partners and key issues. Rides for Wellness, Arts for Youth, Music 4 the Masses, Running Forward, Utah Development Academy and Utah Symphony | Utah Opera joined Edible Campus Garden, Environmental Action Team, Green Urban Lunchbox and Social Justice Gardens in this new issue area. Another exciting addition to the menu of opportunities in Student-Directed programs was First Lego League Utah in partnership with The Leonardo museum, making it the first volunteer program offered geared towards engineering (and the first to own a robot).

The Girl Scouts Outreach program planned and executed their first field trip with their troops! After receiving an in-kind donation from Red Butte Garden, Program Director Sydney Chan took the girls and volunteers for a fun and educational day at the garden.

In an effort to serve their community partner in other ways and creatively engage busy students in service, Program Director Shelby Goodfellow planned and hosted a volunteer project at the Bennion Center benefiting Primary Children’s Hospital and the Sandy Rehabilitation Center in November.

Twenty-three volunteers gathered together to make duct tape wallet kits for children to create while they are confined to their hospital rooms. The volunteers also made a variety of therapy projects for the rehabilitation clinic’s occupational therapists. Some of these projects included: ribbon snakes, button boards and pincer grasp letters. I would like to give a big thank you to those who were able to attend the project. None of this would have been possible without volunteers generously donating their time. I am exceedingly thankful that this project was able to bring joy to children being treated at these centers
– Shelby Goodfellow

Issue Area Coordinators (IACs) planned 4 leadership workshops, attended or facilitated by 37 student leaders. The workshops focused on recruitment and recognition, managing program budgets, ensuring a smooth program transition between Program Directors and volunteering with greater awareness. On top of helping IACs develop their facilitation and leadership skills, the workshops are a great opportunity to explore in depth topics and issues that help student leaders succeed in their roles.

Learning about Social Justice terminology during the April Workshop was a very enlightening experience… What was most meaningful to me was learning on how to address the individual/person first and avoiding labels.
– Program Director

Over the last three years, I have been privileged with being able to experience the joys, difficulties, and challenges of directing a program from a student perspective. Not only was I able to expand my understanding of the community around me, but I was also able to meet some amazing people who are committed to bettering the community in which they live. I would not have the understanding I have today if it were not for my time with the Bennion Center. I was able to make an impact in the lives of underprivileged youth in my community through teaching them something I love, the sport of soccer. I have to say, however, they taught me far more than I ever did them. Because of my interactions and experiences with UDA, I am happy to say that I have an awareness of the needs and challenges my community faces, as well as how those problems are being met through programs like UDA. Overall, I cannot express in words how grateful I am to have been a part of those children's lives, and am even more for them being a part of mine.
– Austin Anderson, Program Director, Utah Development Academy

We have loved our partnership with the Bennion Center and this year has been the best year by far in terms of volunteers and also our Program Director. I have appreciated the time the staff has taken to analyze our impact and role of volunteers at our charity so we are in the right program. We would be at a loss without these great, dedicated volunteers. Their support makes our mission possible.
– Lauren Willie, Community Partner, Ronald McDonald House

Awards, Conference Presentations and Honors

July Gentry, soccer; Kenneth Scott, football; and Courtney Jost, track; were each named 2015 Utah Athletes in Service. The three were selected for their work with Special Olympics, juvenile detention programs, and U-FIT. They were honored during a presentation at a home football game.

Dr. Kim Mangun, Bennion Center Associate Director, was recognized by the American Historical Association with the Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award. Kim’s work on minorities and journalism also won her the Journalism Historians Association’s J. William Snorgrass Memorial Award for the Outstanding Paper on a Minorities Topic.

Bryce Williams was selected to serve on the Sugar House Community Council Executive Committee. Bryce also serves on the U’s Diversity Council and is an Engaged Citizenship retreat group facilitator.

Morgan Byrne was selected as a board member of the University of Utah Staff Council. She’s also a board member of the Utah Society of Fund Raisers.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted the Bennion Center at a special luncheon honoring the Center’s broad-based community work.

Salt Lake County Aging Services recognized the Meals on Wheels student-directed program as an outstanding volunteer effort that promoted healthy communities.