Middlebury Alternative Break (MAlt)

How It Works

Spend your February break participating in a community-engaged, service-learning trip! Weeklong trips are based in communities in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. You may apply to become a trip leader or a participant, exploring a social justice issue you care about.

 Predeparture and post-trip, participants build their trip cohort through critical inquiry, self-study, and guided reflection.

We make every effort to make these trips accessible and welcoming to anybody. Trips are drug- and alcohol-free and provide a great chance to engage in an immersive intercultural volunteer experience with peers. Each MAlt project typically has a total of 12 participants, including two well-qualified and trained co-leaders, all Middlebury College students.

Specific trip topics, locations, and community partners are planned by trip co-leaders, MAlt Co-Presidents, and the CCE Program Director each year.

Application

The application for February 2026 trips is not yet open. Applications will be open October 13-25 this year. Check back then to apply!

2026 Trips

Economic Justice and Community Health (New York City, NY): This trip will dive into the urgent realities of economic justice, privilege, and poverty in New York City by working alongside community partners who are driving change on the ground. Students will support immigrant families and seniors at Hamilton Madison House in Chinatown, volunteer with Part of the Solution to address food insecurity in the Bronx, and join Housing Works in their mission to provide services for people living with HIV/AIDS and the homeless. We will also engage with the NYC Department of Small Business Services to see how the local government tackles economic inequality and supports small business and New Yorkers across the city. Beyond service, students will reflect on the connections between systemic challenges and lived experience, linking what they learned in the classroom to resilience and innovation of communities in an urban setting. This trip is not only about giving back, but also gaining new perspectives, building empathy, and leaving us inspired to create lasting impact long after we return to Middlebury. 

• Trip Leaders: Aparajita Banik ’27, Christine Zhang ’27

• Community Partner(s): Hamilton Madison House, Part of the Solution (POTS), Housing Works

Environmental Justice (Los Angeles, CA): Los Angeles is a city of contrasts: thriving neighborhoods exist alongside communities struggling with pollution, limited access to fresh food and the effects of urban heat and environmental neglect. Yet across the city, local organizations and residents are creating solutions, reclaiming green spaces, growing urban farms and planting trees to improve neighborhoods for everyone. On this trip, you’ll see these efforts firsthand, join in the work and learn how environmental justice is shaped through action, collaboration and its contributions to social equity. This trip is perfect if you’re curious about how environmental issues connect to everything else—social justice, community organizing, food access, you name it. You’ll come back with stories your friends actually want to hear, a better understanding of how change really happens, and maybe a slight obsession with environmental restoration work. Fair warning: we will get dirty, we will sweat, and we will definitely see LA in a completely new way.

• Trip Leaders: Munira Nurbhai ’28, Juma Elisama ’28, Doreen Ngemera ’28

• Community Partner(s): Mud Town Farms, Tree People

Rebuilding for Community Resilience (Saint Petersburg, FL): We’re headed to Saint Petersburg / Tampa, Florida, to join SBP  for a week of rebuilding homes, rebuilding spirits, and possibly rebuilding your faith in humanity (or at least in SPF 50). If you’ve never heard of SBP, they’re a nonprofit that responds to natural disasters by rebuilding homes, restoring safety, and strengthening communities, especially in regions that are plagued by hurricanes, flooding, and systemic neglect. Their Florida division focuses on helping neighborhoods recover from storms, improve infrastructure, and prepare for future climate shocks.SBP’s Florida operations are working in neighborhoods hard hit by recent storms and flooding. Our project base will be in Saint Petersburg, and from there we’ll travel to nearby areas where SBP needs volunteers to help with home repair, cleanup, and resilience projects.

• Trip Leaders: Sam Loescher ’28, Camiel Schroder ’26.5
• Community Partner(s): SBP

Youth Empowerment and Education (Dominican Republic): We all have a right to education; this is a vital need for every human being. Inspired by the fourth Sustainable Development Goal, “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education,” we will be working with the Mariposa Foundation. This Dominican organization creates sustainable solutions to end generational poverty by educating local girls to become empowered young women to strive beyond societal boundaries. We will work alongside Mariposa staff, contributing to a curriculum that steps out of the traditional classroom with immersive, hands-on teaching and learning. This will be a meaningful and reflective journey, where participants will bond with the team and form new connections between each other and the Dominican youth, while simultaneously exploring and navigating a new environment and educational experience. 

• Trip Leaders: Houda Saliba ’28, Anastasiia Demchenko ’28, Alvaro Micocci ’28
• Community Partner(s): Mariposa Foundation

Previous Trips

In February 2025, there were four MAlt trips. These trips traveled to:

• Los Angeles, CA (Environmental Justice)

• Washington DC (Immigration Advocacy)

• New York City, NY (Socially Conscious Art and Performance)

• Puerto Rico (Housing Advocacy)

Trip Leaders

Trip leaders engage in facilitation, leadership training, and trip planning year-round through summer work, a half-credit course in the fall, and spring reflection events. You may apply to lead a trip in groups of two or three. Each leader team designs their trip’s theme in collaboration with community partners.

Trip leader applications open in the spring semester. Check back in spring 2026 for information about applying to become a 2027 trip leader!