Center for Social Justice Programs

The Center for Social Justice (CSJ) is a hub through which students, faculty and staff engage in Washington, DC through activism, advocacy, service, volunteer projects and community-based learning and research opportunities. Whether a student wants to get involved for a day of service, for a week-long Alternative Break trip, for a full semester through one of CSJ’s signature programs, by taking a course, or as a member of a student organization, CSJ offers diverse opportunities for students to engage in communities through social justice and service work.

Alternative Breaks Program

The ABP traces its rich history back to 1975, when a group of Georgetown students elected to spend their spring break in Appalachia. Since its founding, Alternative Breaks has expanded to connect Georgetown students, faculty, and staff to over fifty different domestic and international communities. ABP provides students with opportunities for social justice immersion in communities across the United States throughout the year. Currently, the Program supports 23 trips that examine a diverse set of social justice issues ranging from poverty to prison reform.

No matter how far participants travel on Alternative Breaks, whether it may be to Detroit, New Orleans, Tucson, or to Wheeling, West Virginia, all participants travel and serve under the guidance of the same five Alternative Breaks pillars: justice immersion, cultural immersion, service, reflection, and substance-free fun.

DC Reads

Georgetown DC Reads is a tutoring, mentoring, and advocacy program for 1st-3rd grade students who are a grade level or more behind in literacy skills. The program began in 1997 as the University’s response to the passage of the America Reads Act, a literacy initiative established to improve reading proficiency for all elementary students by engaging college students as volunteer and Federal Work Study-funded tutors. A team of student coordinators lead the program through which over 150 Georgetown students a semester have weekly tutoring commitments at eight sites in Ward 7.