“This was an opportunity for me to learn and grow closer with my community. I knew this would be a lot of fun because I would be learning right along with my participants.”
SHAWN HOPPES
Sophomore Studying Biochemistry
For more than 30 years, the VOLbreaks program has been instrumental in helping students live out the university’s mission of serving in the community. And now, the program is adapting to allow more students to participate in a VOLbreaks experience by offering Weekend VOLbreaks, mini-trips with a local focus.
Traditional VOLbreaks experiences take place over fall or spring break and span 4–7 days. Experiences also usually include travel to a major city, like Memphis, Chicago, or Charlotte, or to another regional area where a need exists. The innovFative new model of Weekend VOLbreaks will feature experiences over 2-3 days scheduled for other times during the fall or spring semesters and introduce students to a community partner right in UT’s backyard.
“Sometimes we hear from students that they have family plans or other engagements over major breaks that preclude them from participating in VOLbreaks,” says Grace Hicks, coordinator in the Jones Center for Leadership and Service (JCLS), the department that oversees the VOLbreaks program. “Offering shorter, weekend trips at other times throughout the fall or spring semester means those students can still take part in this storied Volunteer tradition.”
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
In spring 2025, 14 participants traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont for the first Weekend VOLbreaks in several years. The students completed trail construction and maintenance and stayed on-site overnight to combine community service with a relaxing hike to a waterfall in the national park. Students also disconnected from technology and focused on their mental well-being. All in all, the participants completed 128 cumulative community service hours.
After leading a VOLbreaks to Chicago that focused on youth development, Bella Bartolini chose to participate in the Weekend VOLbreaks trip to Tremont as well. She notes that not only do VOLbreaks students participate in community service and reflection, but the shared experiences lead to strong relationships with their peers.
“In Chicago, I loved the relationships my team had formed with each other, the ability to facilitate reflection over multiple days, and help expand the participants’ idea of sustainable service,” says Bartolini, a junior who is studying forensic anthropology and leadership studies. “And as much as I loved the service at Tremont and getting to see the progress that we made during our time there, the most impactful thing for me was the relationships I made.”
Regardless of the duration or location of a VOLbreaks experience, planning and executing the trips is completed by student leaders, like Bartolini, supporting skill development in areas like leading teams, logistics, communication, and conflict management.
“I truly love VOLbreaks and all of the experiences it has given me,” says Bartolini. “I have learned so much through planning and executing service, gained so many important skills, and felt a strong sense of belonging with the people on my trips.”
One of the strategic goals of the Jones Center for Leadership and Service is to match students to community service opportunities that they enjoy and will return to frequently, thus reducing the training burden community partners encounter when onboarding new volunteers. The Jones Center hopes to create that repeatable opportunity in spring 2026 with a second trip to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.
“There is always something to learn from the community partners we work with about the area of service that they engage in,” adds Bartolini. “VOLbreaks has also helped me understand the impact of sustainable service. Sustainable service is showing up to serve with the same organization on multiple occasions to help strengthen your understanding of the service and the relationships between you, the community, and the community partner.”
“As much as you think you may know, there is always something that you gain from serving your community, whether it be about the organization you are with or about the community you are serving.”
Bella Bartolini
Junior Studying Forensic Anthropology
Adapting the VOLbreaks program to include weekend opportunities supports this pipeline of connecting students with local community agencies where they can return to serve again and again.
JCLS VOLbreaks By the Numbers
In spring 2025, 14 Weekend VOLbreaks student participants completed 128 cumulative community service hours at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. And in fall 2025, 11 student participants completed 148 cumulative service hours at Hoof and Harness.
Hoof and Harness
During fall 2025, the Jones Center hosted a Weekend VOLbreaks to Hoof and Harness, an experiential learning facility that provides safe and effective equine-assisted learning to physically, emotionally, and mentally challenged individuals in East Tennessee. The facility aims to promote and enhance the quality of life experiences for these individuals through safe and effective physical interaction with equines.
For Shawn Hoppes co-leading the fall Weekend VOLbreaks alongside Bartolini introduced him to new opportunities in both learning and leadership.
“I had never served somewhere on the topic of equine therapy or disability advocacy,” says Hoppes, a sophomore studying biochemistry. “This was an opportunity for me to learn and grow closer with my community. I knew this would be a lot of fun because I would be learning right along with my participants.”
After a tour of the facility, Weekend VOLbreaks participants at Hoof and Harness completed trail construction and maintenance, built a creek trail for respite walks for parents and caregivers, and learned more about the facility’s activities from licensed trauma-informed care counselors. Over the span of three days, 11 student volunteers completed 148 cumulative service hours at the site. The projects completed by UT student volunteers will help future clients at Hoof and Harness, creating a truly rewarding experience for trip participants with a long-lasting impact.
Hoppes notes that he and other trip participants didn’t need to be experts on the topics of equine therapy or disability advocacy to make a difference. “We didn’t have to be certified or licensed to engage with an organization. We simply asked how we could best help them, and they met us exactly where we were.”
That ask is a crucial aspect of the Jones Center’s approach to service: relying on an understanding of community needs identified by trusted organizations. And through weekend trips like the one to Hoof and Harness, the Jones Center is creating more accessible experiences for students who may be new to community service.
Hoppes continues, “This really was unlike any other service I had done before. Hoof and Harness were just as excited as we were and made it such a valuable learning experience. This was not just a volunteer trip—we connected with a community partner who shared the same values as our participants and took the time to give us a fully immersive experience.”
