SHARON, Pa. – Penn State will celebrate its 11th GivingTuesday on Dec. 2, and Penn State Shenango is inviting alumni and friends to be a part of the event by making a gift to support the upcoming Alternative Spring Break service-learning opportunity for students to travel and assist with humanitarian projects in Peru in March 2026.
The Alternative Spring Break 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 will kick off early, at 6:55 p.m. Dec. 1. 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.
“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,” said Chuck Greggs, Penn State Shenango director of enrollment management and interim regional student aid coordinator. “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 Andy Puleo, regional director of student affairs, 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.