Branch Out: Achieving Results
Branch Out Alternative Breaks exist to create a community of active and educated individuals dedicated to the pursuit of social justice. Our program outcomes are connected directly to that vision.
Program Outcomes
A Community of Active Individuals
Through participation in Branch Out, students will:
- Make a meaningful contribution to the communities in which they serve and on the issue (e.g. affordable housing, access to healthcare) they address
- Know how to take action on the issue in the future
- Share things they learn about the issue with others (friends, family, classmates)
- Develop an increased commitment to service
- Be more invested in service in their home communities
A Community of Educated Individuals
Through participation in Branch Out, students will:
- Gain knowledge on the issue their alternative break addresses
- Delve more deeply into the issues they address, asking about root causes and how it plays out in specific communities
- Make connections to the issues they address and their academic work on campus, as well as their future plans
- Increase their understanding of and ability to interact with people of different cultural and economic backgrounds
Program Results
Participants in Branch Out International and National Spring 2011 alternative breaks participated in pre- and post-surveys, which proved that we are achieving results with our program.
This graph shows the outcomes of pre-trip and post-trip surveys, in which participants in national and international alternative spring breaks ranked their self-assessment in these areas.
Abbreviated learning outcomes are on the x axis. The y axis denotes participants' self-reporting on a scale of "strongly disagree" or -2 value, to "strongly agree" or +2 value. As shown above, students self-reported overall improvement in every area of evaluation.
The most notable increases are in an understanding of root causes, sharing of new knowledge, and integrating this new passion into their future academic and career plans.
With each alternative break, we are closer to achieving our vision.
What People Say about Branch Out
"I want to say the whole part of this break has been indescribably amazing. It has been such as productive, educational, and heart-warming trip."
"[My advice for Branch Out participants would be to] have fun and learn from your teammates! Some of my fondest memories of WM come from alternative break trips. It's not often in life that you are immersed in a community that is fully dedicated and involved in all forms of activism. From my teammates and other leaders, I learned about issues that I would never have had the opportunity to discover on my own. Because of their passion and dedication to different causes, I am a more rounded citizen and more aware of the current issues of the world."
"I loved getting to know everyone that went on my trip. In just a week, I gained eleven new friends. Not only were we able to share our spring breaks, but we were also able to share our opinions on such a variety of topics, and those are the deep, meaningful conversations that I love the most."
"[My favorite part of my alternative break was] destroying the prejudices I didn't know I had."
"My favorite part of the entire alternative break is of course doing the service but, also making connections and bonds with people on my campus who I would have probably never met or had the opportunity to get to know. Meeting people with common passions and desires for learning about a social issue is very encouraging. I met eleven allies in the fight for social justice in one week. That's awesome."