So before I came to college, I kind of
had this notion that college was a place that we come into.
And we're here for four or more years.
And then we leave.
But the truth is that, we're here in Providence
whether we like it or not.
And we're members of this community.
And I think with that comes responsibility.
How would you like to spend a week of your winter break
studying social justice issues, sleeping
in the basement of a church with 35 of your friends?
This is what the Winter Breaks Project is.
Come learn more about us.
The Winter Break Projects is an opportunity
to put a face behind social justice.
You're exploring one issue per day, like in Providence
and in Rhode Island, be it education or public health
or refugee settlements, to environmental justice to even
homelessness.
And it's really exploring people's lives that
are affected by this issue.
You can say that, like, you may understand that to be a refugee
means that you need to create a new life.
But you don't think that it also entails, like, you know,
you don't think about the salt and pepper shakers
that you need to buy for your house.
Like, it's just so many different layers.
And I just started to like, kind of pierce the surface of that.
She has amazing artwork.
And she has just this amazing way of unifying people
through artwork.
But she's not just the one making the artwork.
She's making the community make the artwork
and engage with the environment.
Thirty-five undergraduates live and learn
in the basement of a church in downtown Providence.
We cook together and provide family-style dinners
and we have lots of fun.
By cooking, cleaning, living together,
we develop this community that is very tight-knit
and ultimately results in lifelong friendships.
In the evenings, we have group discussions,
reflecting upon the day's events.
And even guest speakers from local nonprofits, community
members, and even politicians working
to address these issues, which provides
a holistic approach to understanding
these social justice concerns.
It was eye opening because I didn't realize how creative you
have to be with federal dollars and how restrictive it is
and how much of a business side there is to non-profits.
I really just thought it was as if, you know,
you just have an unlimited number of funders
and they just give you money to do your work.
Because like, all work is great, but I
didn't realize how stressful it can be,
especially when things like budget cuts
happen and then you have to cut really amazing programs.
So that was really eye-opening to me.
Winter Breaks Project was just a life-changing experience.
I've never felt so connected to the Providence community.
I would say it was one of the richest learning experiences I
had while at Brown.
I think it's a really engaging and meaningful way for students
to learn about pressing issues in Providence
and figure out how they can make a change and make an impact,
both in their own lives and the lives
of other folks in Providence.
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