Service Opportunities
Volunteering: Developing the knowledge, skills, and values for civic and career readiness!
The Office of Student Life, in partnership with student organizations across campus, provides opportunities for students to engage in their local communities. Through mutually beneficial volunteer projects, students are immersed in impactful direct service with members of the surrounding community.
Volunteering is a two way street, we are serving and learning simultaneously. Through volunteer projects not only are we able to address an immediate community need, but we are able to learn about important social issues, how they effect those around us, and how we can more deeply work toward long-term change.
Alternative Breaks
Applications close February 6th. Apply now!
Alternative Breaks engages students in capacity building, skill building, and identity development through community-based volunteer projects. Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a week-long service-learning experience, which immerses students in service within communities locally and around the country.
This year we are offering both distance and local trips, allowing students the choice of volunteering in different communities in Michigan and Chicago, IL.
All trips will take place March 2nd - March 6th.
Students in the distance (Chicago) trip must remain/sleep on site with the group for the duration of the trip. Students in the local trips may have the option to sleep at home or on site in Detroit.
Students choosing to stay at home during the week need to meet back on campus each morning before volunteering.
Trip Cost is 100$, with need based scholarships available. Scholarship Form
Cost covers transportation, dining, and housing for the week, and some activities.
Apply now!
Questions? Reach out to JaNai' James, [email protected].
Neighbors in Action: Growing Change in Detroit
(Local: Detroit, MI)
Trip Topic: Neighborhood Restoration & Community Building
Activities include: Community Garden Clean ups, Help out in Afterschool Tutoring Programs, Roller Skating,Explore Downtown Detroit
Housing: Students will have the choice to stay on campus at Camp Restore or return home each evening.
Join Detroit residents and community leaders who are rewriting the story of neighborhood strength. You’ll dig into community gardens, connect with youth in after-school programs, and support local efforts to address housing challenges and displacement. Get ready for powerful conversations, hands-on projects, and seeing grassroots justice in action. This trip is all about teamwork, Detroit pride, and being part of meaningful, people-powered change.
Camp Restore helps address communities in Detroit in three main areas:
- Environmental (Community Gardens, Neighborhoods clean-ups)
- Human Care (Children's Tutoring Programs, Soup Kitchen, Food Pantries, Women's Support)
- Construction (Home Restoration, Boarding Abandoned Homes)
Learn more about the Camp Restore's work and initiatives
University of Michigan-Dearborn students most recently participated in Alternative Breaks with this organization during Spring Break 2025. We are so excited to return!
Roots of Democracy: The People's Work
(Local: Dearborn, Lansing, Detroit, MI)
Trip Topic: Community Advocacy & Local Action
Activities include: Attend Town Hall Meetings, Run Voter Registration Drives, Visit Michigan State Capital, Explore Lansing, Explore Michigan Central Station, See the DIA
Housing: Students will return home each evening and meet back on campus in the morning to start the day.
Step inside the real-life engine of democracy! Meet the people shaping your community, explore the meaning of “Liberty and Justice for All”, sit in on city council meetings, and walk the halls of the state capitol. This trip is all about discovering how ordinary people make extraordinary civic change — and how you can, too.
Harvest for Hope: Sustainable Urban Growing
(Away: Chicago, IL)
Trip Topic: Sustainable Food Systems & Urban Farming
Activities include: Harvest Produce, Make Compost & Soil, Explore Downtown Chicago, See the Bean, Walk the Navy Pier, See the Stony Island Arts Bank
Housing: Students must remain with their group, housed in Chicago for the entire duration of the trip. Travel to and from Chicago is provided and will occur together as one group.
Step inside the real-life engine of democracy! Meet the people shaping your community, explore the meaning of “Liberty and Justice for All”, sit in on city council meetings, and walk the halls of the state capitol. This trip is all about discovering how ordinary people make extraordinary civic change — and how you can, too.
Questions? Stop by an Info Session!
Upcoming Alternative Break Info Sessions:
Virtual:
- January 29th, 5-6PM : Zoom Invite
- February 5th, 5-6PM : Zoom Invite
- February 6th, 5-6PM : Zoom Invite
None of these times work for you? Reach out to [email protected] with any questions or for more information!
More Ways to Get involved
Looking for ways to get involved? Our wonderful student staff put together a volunteer opportunities directory.
Know of an organization that’d be perfect to add to the list? Email [email protected] with the information listed on the directory.
**Please be aware that the information regarding each of these organizations was collected from their websites and can be subject to change.
1/20/2025: MLK Day of Service
- Help us celebrate during our Annual Day of Service! Look forward to opportunities On Campus, Off Campus at different organizations, or Remotely!