Our Crowdfunding Groups
Buck-I-SERV is Ohio State University’s Alternative Break Program coordinated through the Office of Student Life’s Leadership and Community Engagement department. Beginning as a student initiative with a single trip in 2003, Buck-I-SERV has grown to provide over 1,000 trips serving alongside 150+ community partners in the past 20 years to over 30 states and 14 countries. Buck-I-SERV provides students with a challenging and engaging opportunity to lead and learn through direct service experiences.
Over winter break 2024, Buck-I-SERV facilitated nine trips to three states, Washington DC and two international locations for over 80 participants. Together, they collectively completed over 250 hours of service. Our alternative break participants supported community-based efforts focused on poverty alleviation, access to housing and resources, special needs youth, survivors of human trafficking, youth experiencing incarceration and more. Throughout their trips, students engaged in dialogue and reflection designed to prepare them to continue their commitment to service when they return to campus.
For more information about Buck-I-SERV and our impact, please visit our website.
How will my gift support the Buck-I-SERV Program?
By giving to the Buck-I-SERV Program, your contribution will support our programmatic priority of increasing students' ability to participate in our alternative break trips by decreasing financial barriers. This priority is accomplished through two major efforts:
On average, a domestic trip costs around $10,000 for Buck-I-SERV to facilitate. This cost includes all travel-related expenses, lodging, community partner program fees or donations, pre-trip events and trainings, trip supplies, all group meals during the trip and a small budget for activities.
Buck-I-SERV is generously funded in part by the Student Activity Fee, which allows us to subsidize the cost of our trips for students by approximately 50%. However, we do rely upon student participant fees to cover remaining costs. For the 2024-2025 academic year, all domestic trip participant fees are $500.
In an effort to address affordability, Buck-I-SERV launched our Access Fund initiative in spring 2024. Through the Buck-I-SERV Access Fund, we are able to use gift/donor funding to cover up to 100% of individual students' trip participant fees. Our priority is decreasing barriers for students who may not be able to access our programming otherwise to empower them to take part in a mutually transformative service-learning experience both for the communities they serve alongside and themselves.
Since the Access Fund was established, we have received over 105 applications from students seeking financial support to participate in our trips. We have been able to fully or partially fund many participants, but our current financial resources are not able to meet all our students' needs. In order to sustain the Access Fund and ensure that it is a resource for years to come, more funding is vital.
Our ultimate goal is to raise $10,000 during this campaign which would allow us to fully fund participation in a domestic trip for 20 students (two full trips)!
Please help us reach our goal! Any and all support is greatly appreciated and will directly impact student access.
"Service can look like many different things to different people. Given individuals' unique strengths and talents, there is always something we can be doing to better our community and to work towards addressing various social justice issues. From my Buck-I-SERV experience, I have a greater appreciation for the privileges I hold and the positions of power these put me in. After learning more about various social justice topics, I now understand how this puts me in a unique role to serve others.” ~ Minnesota: One Heartland Trip Leader
We greatly appreciate your time and consideration. Spread the word and give to Buck-I-SERV today!
In recognition of over 100 students who have applied for support from the Access Fund since spring 2024.
Covers the cost of one student leader's domestic trip fees OR half of one student's participant trip fees.
Covers the full cost of one student's domestic trip participant fees.
Covers the cost of one student's international trip participant fees.
Covers the cost of all student participant fees for an entire domestic trip.
