Mizzou Alternative Breaks (MAB) sends groups of students to serve across the United States and abroad during academic breaks. MAB trips are student-led and self-funded by the students participating. As a program, MAB aims to be accessible to all students. Unfortunately, students traveling with disabilities are often faced with the added cost of accessibility. Basic travel necessities for their MAB trip, such as a place to stay and transportation, become more expensive when these amenities need to be accessible. This fund will directly offset the additional cost of accessibility needs for MAB trips and individual students in need of accommodations.
This fund was named in honor of Madison (Madi) Lawson. Madi is a fierce advocate for disability justice and left her mark on Mizzou Alternative Breaks when she applied to participate on a Thanksgiving trip in the fall of 2017.
“MAB trips are student funded trips, so when I applied as the first student who is in a wheelchair, our financial planning had to include a wheelchair accessible van which are more expensive than the vehicles without wheelchair lifts. Able-bodied students attending these trips don’t have to think about the cost of their needs exceeding the needs of the other attending participants. Donating to this accessibility fund will help cut some of those costs so more students like me don’t have to think about it either. Every student deserves equal access, it’s more than transportation, it’s equal access to going on a trip with complete strangers who if you are lucky, can turn into some of your best friends that you never would have met without MAB.” – Madi Lawson, MAB Participant, 2017