Service Locations and Descriptions
Spring Break:
1. Exploring the Roots of our Nation
Where: Pine Ridge, SD With Whom: Re-Member
Participants will gain a better insight into the lives of the Oglala Lakota people living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation through learning of their culture and history as well as interacting with members of the tribe. Service will focus on construction, maintenance, and building projects throughout the poverty stricken reservation.
2. Uphill Both Ways: Elderly Living in America
Where: Charlotte, NC With Whom: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Rehabilitation Center
Participants will have the opportunity to interact with the elderly participating in the Senior Games program offered through the Department of Social Services at several nutrition sites throughout Charlotte. Participants will also volunteer at a nursing home socializing with the elderly while playing games and assisting with other social activities.
3. Building for Tornado Relief
Where: Athens, AL With Whom: First Presbyterian Church of Athens
Participants will work to rebuild the areas of Northern Alabama overwhelmingly struck by the tornadoes of April 2011. Service will include debris removal and general clean up of the region as well as construction and rebuilding of affected areas.
4. Going Green in the City
Where: Austin, TX With Whom: Green Gate Farms
Participants will work at Green Gate Farms, an urban farm dedicated to providing community-supported agriculture in urban Austin. In addition to daily farm work, participants will have the opportunity to learn about other green initiatives in Austin, such as urban beekeeping and learning about Austin's recycling system.
5. Community Development
Where: Hagley Gap, Jamaica With Whom: Blue Mountain Project
Participants will work with the Blue Mountain Project, an organization dedicated to providing medical care and basic services to the people of Hagley Gap. Participants will have the opportunity to work in both the local schools and medical clinic during their stay, as well as visit local sustainability projects such as a fruit farm. This trip places a strong emphasis on community interaction, and participants will have the opportunity to stay and eat with local families.
6. Factory Farming: The Rights and Welfare of Farm Animals
Where: Watkins Glen, NY With Whom: Farm Sanctuary
Participants will work at Farm Sanctuary, an organization dedicated to rescuing animals from factory farms and providing them with a life free from suffering and abuse. Participants will help with daily farm work and animal care, as well as work on improvement projects throughout the farm. This trip will also feature several educational programs, allow time for getting to know the animals, and requires all participants to live a vegan lifestyle while on the trip.
7. Conservation of Our Native Ecosystems
Where: Catalina Island, CA With whom: Catalina Island Conservatory
Volunteers will engage in various ecological projects such as removing non-invasive plant species, securing the habitat for native animals, and maintaining hiking trails and other conservatory-operated facilities. During the trip volunteers will learn firsthand about protecting their environment by living on a camp at the conservatory.
8. The Many Layers of Issues in Hunger and Homelessness
Where: Baltimore, MD With whom: Catholic Charities
Volunteers will work with Catholic Charities of Baltimore. They will be working with various volunteer organizations such as food pantries, shelters, education programs, and housing services. The volunteers will learn about homelessness through interaction with the homeless population in urban Baltimore.
9. The Rights and Protection of All People: LGBTQ Issues
Where: San Francisco, CA With whom: TBA
Volunteers will work with LGBTQ community centers and activism organizations. Through talking with community members the volunteers will get a well rounded look at all the issues facing the LGBTQ community in both San Francisco and the world.
10. Education and Community Outreach
Where: Guatemala City, Guatemala With Whom: Service for Peace
Participants will work in poor urban or rural indigenous Mayan communities building, painting, gardening, remodeling, and cleaning elementary schools or libraries. They will also be working with children to promote environmental sustainability and community development.
11. Finding Justice in the Prison System
Where: Chicago, IL With Whom: St. Leonard’s
Participants will work and learn about the prison system alongside men in a halfway house. A day will also be spent with women in their halfway house. An immersion experience in a prison will also educate participants about the realities of prison life.
12. Substance Abuse: Prevention and Treatment Education
Where: Wellington, CO With Whom: Harvest Farm
Students will explore the issue of substance abuse and the effect that it has on communities and families. Participants will labor on a rehabilitation farm, performing tasks with the men that live there. Harvest Farm focuses on community outreach, prevention, and treatments (both long-term and short-term).
13. The Affects of Gangs
Where: Albany, NY With Whom: New York State Gang Prevention
Students will work with NY State Gang Prevention to learn about gang violence issues in inner city Albany. Projects will include working in community centers and shelters and participants will have the opportunity to accompany police cruisers. Students will also have the opportunity to learn from leading gang prevention specialists.
14. MYSTERY TRIP- Supersized: Food Issues in America
Where: Somewhere, USA With Whom: ???
Participants will work and learn about the many problems with food production, distribution, and consumption in America.
15. Restoration and Conservation in Our National Parks
Where: Florida City, FL With Whom: Biscayne and Everglades National Parks
Service will include working on several projects including park clean up, removal of invasive species, habitat restoration, and the preservation of diverse wildlife with various National Parks in the Everglades and surrounding areas.
16. The Contrast of Inner- and Outer-City Education
Where: Cincinnati, OH With Whom: Various public schools and after-school programs
Participants will gain a better understanding of the public school system by working hands-on in the classrooms and having personal interaction with the students.
17. Rebuilding the Heart of the Gulf Coast
Where: New Orleans, LA With Whom: Common Ground Relief
Volunteers will work with Common Ground Relief in the Lower Ninth Ward to help rebuild homes and provide emergency relief for victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast Region.
18. Adult Disabilities
Where: Mobile, AL With Whom: L’Arche Mobile
Through service work, attending educational gatherings, and interaction with the “core members” or disabled adults in the L’Arche community, volunteers will be immersed in the community’s culture and will see the mission of L’Arche in action.
19. The Inaccessibility of Communities
Where: Nashville, TN With Whom: United Cerebral Palsy
Participants will have the opportunity to work in different communities constructing wheelchair ramps at various homes. Along with this service, the group will explore the issues of accessibility in communities as well as have the opportunity to participate in a wheelchair basketball program
20. The Invisible American
Where: San Diego, CA With Whom: Border Angels
Participants will have the opportunity to explore and learn of some of the struggles that immigrants face. Through a series of speakers, experiences, and service, the students will get a glimpse of the incredible journey that so many men, women, and children make across the desert in order to come into the United States. This group will also have a chance to take a tour of the United States Border Patrol in San Diego.
21. Refugee Resettlement in a Metropolitan Area
Where: Atlanta, GA With Whom: Lutheran Services of Georgia
The group will have a chance to learn about the unique struggles that refugees from around the world face when they come to the United States. The group will also be able to work with some children in an after school setting and will be able to learn from their experiences.
22. Appalachian Cultures and Sustainable Living
Where: Spencer, WV With Whom: Appalachian Catholic Worker
Through service work, community interaction, and field trips, participants will learn about the many environmental and societal causes of this region’s poverty and wealth. This trip explores sustainable living and how it can relieve Appalachia’s poverty, even from home. The majority of the service for this trip includes chopping wood, fixing fences, gardening, and basic farming.
Summer Trips
23. A Glimpse into the Life of Low Income Inner-City Youth (MAY 7th – 14th)
Where: West Milford, NJ With Whom: Camp Vacamas
Established in 1924 by a group of New York City Teachers, Vacamas was designed to be a place where children could go to enjoy their summers. Participants will experience working with after school and/or weekend education programs for underserved inner-city youth, hands on experiences and fun evening activities hosted by Camp Vacamas are also offered.
24. Appalachian Cultures and Sustainable Living (MAY 7th – 14th)
Where: Spencer, WV With Whom: Appalachian Catholic Worker
Through service work, community interaction, and field trips, participants will learn about the many environmental and societal causes of this region’s poverty and wealth. This trip explores sustainable living and how it can relieve Appalachia’s poverty, even from home. The majority of the service for this trip includes chopping wood, fixing fences, gardening, and basic farming.
25. What does it take to Sustain a Community? (MAY 7th – 18th)
Where: San Salvador, El Salvador With Whom: Crispaz
Participants will have the chance to view a community and the reality of those living in poverty. Participants will work with members who are the poorest of the poor and will also meet with those which impact the community a great deal such as the business community (economic analysts, union workers, labor rights activists, etc.), community members, and leaders and representatives. Participants will travel to rural areas while also visiting the city. While in the city, groups can meet with local developmental agencies, USAID, environmental organizations, and others engaged in addressing the issues facing rural communities.