Students discovered meaningful lessons during the Fall Alternative Break trip to Charlotte, where they focused on urban housing and homelessness through hands-on service and reflection.
Not every classroom has four walls. For students who participated in the Fall Alternative Break trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, lessons came in the form of building furniture, restocking classroom supplies and serving families experiencing housing insecurity.
Centered on the theme of Urban Housing and Homelessness, the experience challenged students to think differently about what community looks like and examine what it means to serve beyond volunteering. While it may not have been a typical way to spend Fall Break, the return on giving back was unmatched.
As the trip unfolded, Vaughn Cultrara ’27, Mikyra Elston ’29, Rose Fyffe ’27, Fritz Graham ’26 and Jenna Toms ’26 reflected on their motivations for attending, the moments that stood out to them and the lessons they’re carrying forward about service, connection and community.
What motivated you to take part in the Alternative Breaks trip on Urban Housing and Homelessness?
Vaughn Cultrara ’27: I’ve done a lot of volunteering in the past here at Elon. I’m part of the Periclean Scholar Program. It’s a three-year program dedicated to building sustainable partnerships locally and abroad. Back in Burlington, we are collaborating with the Al-Aqsa clinic by supporting their mission to provide healthcare and nutrition services to underserved community members. We also plan to connect local trade goods producers in Sri Lanka with markets for their products with help from our abroad partners and communities. So I like volunteering and doing this kind of work.
Mikyra Elston ’29: This is my first time going on an Alternative Break. In high school, I did a lot of service trips and worked at food banks, but I wanted to go on an actual trip like this. When I saw the opportunity, I thought, ‘Wow, I love that,’ so I signed up. I noticed it focused on homelessness and food insecurity, which I’ve heard are big issues in Charlotte, and I wanted to do my part to give back. I’m not even from here, so seeing that those challenges exist in this community too made me want give back.
Rosie Fyffe ’27:I’ve been on two Alternative Breaks before — one in Wilmington, North Carolina, and another in Charleston, South Carolina, both focused on environmental issues and sustainability. After those experiences, I knew I wanted to lead a trip myself. I’ve always been passionate about working with people, both locally and in other communities, and I thought being a coordinator would be a great way to keep learning.
I applied in my first year because I was struggling to find a sense of community. Elon Volunteers! and the Alternative Breaks program really helped me build that. One of my best friends here went on the Charleston trip with me, and we still talk almost every day.
Fritz Graham ’26: Honestly, I wanted to have an immediate impact in the community around me, because I’ve never done this sort of thing before. When we were building furniture with Beds for Kids, I felt an immediate impact. It really expanded my perspective on what I can do and how I can help the community at large.
I think it’s a civic duty for everyone living in a community to be aware of the issues and find ways to alleviate any negative symptoms that may arise within the city or community.
Jenna Toms ‘26: When I transferred to Elon, one of my main goals was to try and get involved across campus, and service is a really big part of that for me. As a student coordinator, we talked about it. And housing and homelessness as a public health major, it’s obviously something that we talk a lot about in class. I also lived in Charlotte for a while. This is where I transferred from, UNC-Charlotte. So definitely, I have seen it firsthand, and I think it kind of made sense for a Fall Break trip.
What moment from the service experience will stay with you?
Cultrara: I’ve really enjoyed this, (Classroom Central), and being able to organize and set up. I really like the goal of this organization, which is to make education equitable. There’s a lot of stuff out there for teachers in the area to come and get things for their students. I think that will stick with me, just knowing that there’s a program that looks out for teachers.
Elston: I would say volunteering with Beds for Kids. I was able to go into someone’s home and see the impact on the kids. Seeing their faces change when we walked in, and they literally felt joy just from having a bed. That was really special.
Fyffe: What stands out most isn’t one single moment but the connections you form with other students and with the community. We volunteered with Beds for Kids, and even though it was brief, getting to go into someone’s home, meeting their family, and seeing the impact that organization has on their lives was so meaningful. Those connections, whether they last a moment or a lifetime, are what stay with you.
Graham: Volunteering with Beds for Kids stuck with me. We were helping a homeless man by building beds for his kids. It wasn’t the process itself that had the biggest impact on me, but the realization that his kids would finally have beds to sleep in after sleeping on an air mattress for six months. I honestly felt a little emotional. You get to see the emotions on his face, like, once you build everything, he realizes his kids have a safe home and a safe bed to sleep on. I just thought that was pretty impactful.
Toms: Our group delivered and set up furniture for a family, and the worker from Beds for Kids told us the man we were helping had been homeless and was reuniting with his children in a new apartment. Hearing that already felt powerful.
When we got there, we talked with him while building bunk beds for his kids, joking that we hoped they’d like them. He smiled and said, “It’s much better than the air mattress I’ve been sleeping on.” That moment really stuck with me. During our reflection that night, others shared similar experiences of seeing the joy on a child’s face when they have a bed for the first time. Getting to witness that impact firsthand was incredibly special.
What does service really look like beyond volunteering?
Cultrara: I think it’s important to be knowledgeable in the right way. You’re not there to do everything for people. You’re more like a sidekick, supporting them and making sure they have what they need to move forward. It’s about being knowledgeable and intentional in how you serve.
Elston: Beyond volunteering, it’s about feeling the impact yourself and seeing the impact you make on others. Something Beds for Kids said that really stuck with me was that “they don’t care that we’re really here. They care about us, getting to know the families.” A big part of their mission is to really get to know the client. So I’ve been getting to know people, not just treating it like, “I’m doing my part and giving back,” but actually getting to know them.
Fyffe: I’m a Periclean Scholar, and what I love about the program is its focus on informed community engagement. We don’t go into communities assuming what people need. We build mutually beneficial relationships. That’s something I always keep in mind when I serve through Elon Volunteers! and as an Alternative Break coordinator.
Even (volunteering) at Beds for Kids, their mission really stood out to me. They said, “The least you can do is deliver the furniture, but the most you can do is engage with the community and have conversations.” As a Periclean scholar and person in general, that is something I really value.
Graham: The biggest thing you can do is to be there for someone and make sure that they know they’re heard. I feel that the biggest problems that arise in society are from people who feel that they aren’t heard. Giving them a voice or something to speak to is the biggest thing you can do.
Toms: I think it’s about being open and really willing to engage. When I was interviewing for this position (student coordinator), I talked about leadership and service, not just being about saying, “You all go do it,” but being willing to get your hands dirty, not just physically, but by truly understanding the communities you’re working with.
This trip has been a great example of that. We were actually in the community, in people’s homes, seeing what they’re experiencing and gaining that understanding firsthand.