Grinnell College Alternative Break (GCAB) seeks to provide direct service opportunities to students during their Fall and Spring breaks. To accomplish this, GCAB creates intentional communities of service composed of students that live and work in the communities they serve during their break. The trips are to be composed entirely of students, as GCAB believes that students will learn and grow the most when serving in an unbrokered environment, one that contains no faculty or staff, in which students have full responsibilty for their decisions and actions, and in which students must be responsible for the creation of a community amongst themselves.

Creating a community of active citizens

Alternative Break is a student-run organization that offers students the opportunity to travel as members of a fun and safe intentional community of service in order to develop new perspectives, enhance leadership skills, and participate in educational and hands-on community service during college breaks