Penn State Shenango to raise support for Alt Spring Break on GivingTuesday

SHARON, Pa. - Penn State will celebrate its 11th GivingTuesday on Dec. 2 - and Penn State Shenango invites alumni and friends to be a part of the event by making a gift to support the upcoming Alternative Spring Break (ASB) service-learning opportunity for students to travel and assist with humanitarian projects in Peru in March 2026.

The ASB program allows students to participate in cultural immersion activities focusing on local community interaction to better understand different ways of living. In March, students will explore the imperial city of Cusco, along with the Misminay Community located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

The spring 2026 ASB service trip is the first such experience that Shenango students will embark on since the Covid-19 pandemic and is the second time with Peru as the destination, which the program visited in 2011. Funds raised on GivingTuesday will help cover travel expenses for the students and employee chaperones.

True to Penn State GivingTuesday tradition, the celebration is kicking off early on Monday, Dec. 1, at 18:55 (6:55 p.m. EST) - a nod to the year in which the University was founded. Those interested in contributing to Penn State Shenango's Alternative Spring Break before December can make an early gift on Penn State's GivingTuesday event page.

For Chuck Greggs, Penn State Shenango's director of enrollment management and interim regional student aid coordinator, the chance to travel internationally and experience a different culture while doing some good is an opportunity that can't be passed up.

"Being able to contribute to an international community's growth and prosperity is something that has stuck with me over the years, and that will be something these students can be proud of," Greggs said. "Immersing yourself in a different culture in this way is a true bonding experience for everyone involved."

Greggs served as an employee chaperone to Peru in 2011, as well as on other ASB service trips, and he is participating in this year's program as well. The 2011 Shenango cohort assisted with the construction of in-home brick cooking stoves in a remote Peruvian village. This year's service-learning project will be determined closer to the travel date by the facilitating travel organization, Kaya Responsible Travel.

"Many students attend Penn State Shenango because it's close to home for them and they don't have to travel far to get a world-class education. So, offering this once-in-a-lifetime international travel opportunity is part of what makes a fulfilling college experience for our students," said Regional Director of Student Affairs Andy Puleo, whose office is overseeing the planning and preparation for ASB.

Alternative Spring Break aligns with the University's scheduled spring break, March 7-15, 2026.

Gifts made on GivingTuesday advance the University's historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University's impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.