Last philanthropy Friday of the semester! This comes from Claire Sinz: My first exposure to Branch Out Alternative Breaks at William & Mary was a trip to NYC that focused on LGBT+youth homelessness over spring break last year. The trip was eye opening as I worked with our community partner and started to understand aspects of the social issue that were not apparent to me before this encounter. The stories revealed in conversations throughout the week by people impacted by youth homelessness related to their sexual or gender identity were both unsettling and inspiring. This year, I am excited to be co-leading a trip to Richmond focused on housing insecurity and homelessness with an amazingly diverse group of W&M students over our winter break. One of the awesome things about the Branch Out program is that it allows students to choose from a variety of social issues, but fosters the growth of students as active citizens similarly, regardless of subject matter. The picture above was taken during our site leader retreat earlier this semester. We partnered with Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center for the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup where we collected litter in Virginia Beach and shared a day in the company of fellow site leaders. While kayaking, Emily and I found an exotic bird in its natural habitat where we were collecting trash. I see this as a reminder of why our work is so important; whether human or bird, it is our lived experiences and personal connections that compel us all to help others and to know why it matters. (at Virginia Beach, Virginia)