University of Miami Alternative Breaks - UMAB

Apply today to become part of this special experience, give back to the South Florida community, and make meaningful connections with other UM students.

Register for our GBM on November 7th (this Saturday) to get a free UMAB T-Shirt and learn about volunteer opportunities from our guest speaker, Friends of Miami Animals Foundation 🙌

Gain volunteer hours, learn about prominent social justice issues and become an active citizen in just three hours at UMAB's Virtual Symposium! We are so excited to feature knowledgable guest speakers to discuss the special needs community, animal welfare and equity in education. Register FOR FREE at bit.ly/UMAB2020 (link in bio) & DM us with any questions!

Hey guys! Join us on November 7th for a virtual conference where you can learn from various community partners about different social issues!!!

Hello everyone!! Today is Giving Day 🧡. If you are passionate about UMAB’s cause and service trips, donate to our organization using the link in our bio to donate to Give Kids the World and the CLEO Institute, two of our organizations we have served and given back to on past UMAB trips 🙌. Be on the look out for more updates on our plans for Fall 2020 and more 🔖.

Hello everyone!! Today is Giving Day 🧡. If you are passionate about UMAB’s cause and service trips, donate to our organization using the link in our bio to help fund UMAB Spring Break Trips and support our programming 🙌. Be on the look out for more updates on our plans for Fall 2020 and more 🔖.

Hello everyone!! Today is Giving Day 🧡. If you are passionate about UMAB’s cause and service trips, donate to our organization using the link in our bio to help fund UMAB Spring Break Trips and support our programming 🙌. Be on the look out for more updates on our plans for Fall 2020 and more 🔖.

Meet Alexander Walch, another Site Leader Education Co-Chair!!! 🙌

Majors: Spanish and International Studies
Minors: Economics and Portugese.
Hobbies: Working Out, Exploring & Taking Pictures, and Hanging Out with Family, Friends, & Dogs.
Other Involvements: Resident Assistant at Stanford, College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Ambassador, and Hammond Scholar.
Past UMAB Trips: Give Kids the World
Why I Love UMAB: Because it is a great way to truly understand how you can give back to the community and learn/grow/make connections.
I loved Give Kids the World because it stressed making kids with disabilities feel as normal as possible, which is something we don't often do and also helping the parents enjoy a vacation.

Meet Hadieh Zolfaghari, one of our Site Leader Education Co-Chairs 🙌

Majors: Anthropology and Psychology
Minor: Spanish
Hometown: Princeton, NJ
Hobbies/Other Involvements: I have a YouTube channel where I post videos about college life, travel, etc.
Past UMAB Trips: Homeless Empowerment Program in Tampa, FL and Cultivate Abundance in Immokalee, FL.
Why I Love UMAB: Because you can become close friends with people they probably wouldn't have met otherwise, open your eyes to different parts of the world/different lifestyles, and it's a fulfilling and enjoyable way to spend fall or spring break because it combines travel and service. I definitely recommend joining UMAB, you won't regret it!

Let’s welcome E-board’s fundraising co-chair: Victoria Torrego!!! Victoria is a junior double majoring in economics and international studies and minoring in French. She aspires to work in international development for the government or an NGO. Victoria is also the Vice President of MIRA( the Miami International Relations Association) and volunteers giving tutoring sessions to a refugee through Church World Services. Her hobbies include dancing (pre-professionally for a long time) biking, and traveling. During spring break 2019, Victoria took part in UMAB’s Camp camp trip where she formed bonds with her camper and other students from UM.

Victoria believes “that UMAB has a unique way of inspiring the individuals who go on the trips to grow and step outside of their comfort zone to help others and address pressing social issues. The personal growth the students on the trips have inspire them to continue to enact change and help others beyond their alternative break.” Our volunteers couldn’t agree more 🙌

Next in our E-Board spotlight: Isabella Lopez!! As our PR chair, she’s responsible for navigating our social media and website updates, as well as representing and advocating for UMAB online. Isabella is a Miami native currently studying biochem and physics with aspirations for the biomedical field. She’s also an active volunteer within the South Florida and UM community.

When we asked her what makes UMAB an influential and wonderful experience, she told us that “this organization helps build meaningful connections among participants, informs them about local or national social issues, and helps mold active citizenship.” We’re happy to have her on our team!!!

Our vice-chair Bao Duong created a Miami based website with a list of cohesive ways for us to engage in active citizenship on-campus, off-campus and nationally. Check out umally.carrd.co for easy ways to get involved. It is our civic duty.