Breaks are open to all JMU students (and even student organizations). Check out the details below for how and when to register for each time of year breaks are offered.

Find out how to sign up to participate.

For details about each specific break’s community, service focus, and potential projects, check out the break descriptions.

**Would you like your student organization to have an experience just for them? Proposals are typically due in early April for the following academic year. Email apb@jmu.edu for details.

Dukes Making a Difference (DMAD) brings 100 New Dukes together before Weeks of Welcome. You'll volunteer with a non-profit partner in a small group led by students and CS-L staff. You'll have the opportunity to meet other service-minded New Dukes, to learn about Harrisonburg's most pressing social issues, and to interact with some of the amazing individuals and organizations making your new home a better place for all of its residents. You'll also get to explore Harrisonburg, including its diverse and delicious local restaurants.

Fall Break (AFB) is open to everyone - undergrad and grad students alike! It mirrors the ASB service concept, but we commit to working closer to campus (within about a 4-hour radius), taking a larger team to serve (30-50 that break into smaller groups of 10 to work on specific projects), and is offered for 3-4 days. This break is a little closer and shorter because the academic break is 2 days in October versus a full week. 

Alternative Spring Breaks (ASB) are opportunities for groups of 10-12 college students to serve across the US and Central and South Americas for a week instead of doing a "typical college" spring break. Alternative Breaks challenge students to critically think and react to concerns identified by local community partners they serve. Each break has a focus on a particular social issue such as (but not limited to) poverty, education reform, refugee resettlement, prison reintegration, youth, animal welfare, homelessness, and the environment. Students learn about social issues and contribute to week-long projects with local non-profit community partners. Being immersed in diverse environments enables participants to experience, discuss, and understand social issues in a significant way. Breaks are also drug and alcohol-free experiences, with a heavy emphasis on group and individual reflection. You meet with your team before the break to prepare and get all the details. You meet with your team after the break to reorient from the experience.