Sites
A Day in the Life — San Juan, TX
Cost: $285
La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) was formed by the famous social rights activist César Chávez as an organization to empower the lower class to organize itself to fight against the forces which oppress it and express opinions on the themes which involve its people. With LUPE, participants will learn about community issues and engage with the border community in San Juan, TX on such projects related to affordable housing, land ownership, and ESL and GED education. Participants should have an understanding of the Spanish language.
A Whole New World — Xela, Guatemala
Cost: $750
Primeros Pasos is a clinic in Xela, Guatemala, founded in part by a Vanderbilt graduate and medical student who traveled to Xela and could not bear to see people live with such horrible health care. Working in communities where families would otherwise not be able to afford doctor visits and medical care, Primeros Pasos provides preventative and primary care through direct medical services and health education. Participants take part in a truly impactful experience by shadowing nurses and doctors in the clinic, helping to provide very basic healthcare that changes lives in this poverty stricken area.
All You Need Is Love — Beaufort, SC
Cost: $260
For participants enthusiastic about serving the underprivileged and eager to work with children, this site will offer both. Located in the Low Country of South Carolina, Beaufort is a community known for its antebellum homes and waterfront beauty. However, many Beaufort residents are gripped by poverty and are struggling to educate their children in an overcrowded school system. During the week, participants will tutor children in elementary school classrooms, getting to know them and serving as friends and mentors. Participants will also tutor and play with children at the Boys and Girls Club of Beaufort. This site has the privilege to make an impact on a unique community that continually confronts issues of religion, race, and poverty in the South.
Beautiful Soul — Green Cove Springs, FL
Cost: $285
Special needs children sometimes require more help than the public school system can offer. Participants on this site will work with Challenge Enterprises to fill in the gaps left by public education. Through various tutoring and mentoring services, participants will work with Challenge Enterprises to provide vocational, residential, and job training to people with disabilities in Northeast Florida.
Big Yellow Taxi — Everglades National Park, FL
Cost: $285
Not only one of the most beautiful ecosystems in our country, but also one of the most fragile, the Everglades support rare and endangered species that exist nowhere else in the world. Despite being protected, this environment and its wildlife are faltering from human impact and the ever-encroaching civilization which has pushed the Everglades to the tip of Florida, edging out wetlands which used to cover half of the state. The Everglades are the remaining 1.6 million acres of wilderness at the southern end of Florida with nine distinct habitats. Participants on this site will focus on conservation education and environmental service, which may include manatee watching, snorkeling to observe aquatic restoration, seabird rescue, mangrove planting, working in a recycling center, and coral reef preservation.
Cowboy, Take Me Away — Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Cost: $700
The most visited national park in United States and the favorite of President Teddy Roosevelt, Grand Canyon National Park is a majestic and even overwhelming landscape. Its immense chasm—277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep—was formed by the Colorado River over a period now estimated to be 17 million years. The canyon reveals nearly two billion years of the earth’s history in the exposed layers of rock. A protected site, Grand Canyon National Park nonetheless suffers from erosion due to air pollution from coal-burning power plants, and it relies on volunteers to remove non-native species and maintain its visitor-friendly park resources. While camping in this beautiful national park, participants will work with Ranger Todd to protect and beautify the environment.
Don’t Stop Believin’ — Washington, D.C.
Cost: $285
More than 37,000 people are diagnosed with AIDS every year, and roughly 7,000 people a year die from the incurable disease. Metropolitan areas are the worst hit, with areas like Washington DC ranking 3rd in infection rates and very high in deaths as well. Participants on this site will work with Metro Teen Aids to educate and reach out to the youth of Washington DC who are the most vulnerable, and will also work with Food and Friends to deliver nutritious food to those who have already contracted AIDS.
Follow Me — White Oak, TN
Cost: $260
Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians, White Oak is a town stricken by poverty and the accompanying social ills of bad health care and poor schools. Participants will learn about issues surrounding poverty and rural medicine and will be exposed to the unique Appalachian culture. This site will work with students in the classrooms at Jellico High School, participating in various in-school and after-school educational and athletic activities. Participants on this site will also shadow doctors at the Day Spring Family Health Center which provides discounted health care to the White Oak area.
Get Up, Stand Up — St. Paul, MN
Cost: $285
Tibetans around the world, led by the Dalai Lama, have continued their nonviolent struggle for independence from China for the past 50 years. The Tibetan community in St. Paul, MN is the second largest Tibetan enclave in the United States, and the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in Minnesota is extremely active. Participants on this site will help prepare for Tibetan National Uprising Day, meet Tibetan monks in a local monastery, work with the Tibetan women’s association, and learn about Tibetan art and culture
Good Vibrations — Athens, OH
Cost: $285
Participants on this site will inevitably feel the “good vibrations” by volunteering with Goodworks, an organization that aids impoverished families and individuals in rural Appalachia. In addition to providing meals, childcare, and love to the residents of the Timothy House shelter, Goodworks also works with the community of Athens County by aiding widows, senior citizens and people with disabilities who are no longer able to care for their property and do not have the income to pay someone to do the work for them.
Hakuna Matata — Seguin, TX
Cost: $285
Southern Animal Rescue Association, SARA, provides homeless companion animals with unconditional life and love in a no-kill shelter which gives food, protection, and care in a permanent, safe, and healthy environment, despite special health needs or temperament. SARA seeks loving, adoptive homes for animals, but when adoption is impossible, the animals live the rest of their natural lives at the sanctuary in the company of other animals and human caregivers. Participants will feed, clean, and socialize with hundreds of dogs, cats, and farm animals ranging from goats to pigs to donkeys just outside of San Antonio, Texas, learning from the experienced staff while living in a literal animal kingdom.
Hangin’ Around — Kyle, SD
Cost: $285
Native Americans are now one of the smallest and most forgotten minorities in America. Many still live on reservations with little or no economic development, resulting in a cycle of poverty which remains unbroken for the children that live there. In Kyle, SD, the local population is 95% Lakota Sioux, and the unemployment is high, with median incomes well below the South Dakota average. Participants on this site will help teach students at the Porcupine Elementary School during the day, and in the evenings will get to experience the proud and vibrant culture of the Lakota Sioux.
Help! — Washington, D.C.
Cost: $285
To delve into the complex issue of homelessness, participants on this site will participate in a week of intense service, education and experiential learning with D.C.’s homeless population. Participants will volunteer at the largest homeless shelter in the United States, prepare and deliver food, and spend time meeting homeless men and women. Students will also examine homelessness from a policy perspective, attending speakers’ panels and advocacy workshops. The trip will culminate in the “Urban Plunge,” in which participants will spend 48 hours living, homeless, on the streets of our nation’s capitol. This is a unique opportunity for Vanderbilt students to gain personal insight into the lives of the homeless, giving each participant a perspective on the issue they are unlikely to ever forget.
How to Save a Life — Boston, MA
Cost: $285
A division of Dr. Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health organization, the PACT (Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment) project seeks to ensure that Boston’s poorest residents have access to healthcare services for HIV and AIDS. Participants on this site will work directly with PACT’s patients while also gaining experiential learning about the movement against HIV and AIDS in one of America’s largest urban areas.
I Believe I Can Fly — St. Louis, MO
Cost: $260
Wings of Hope is an organization that specializes in poverty reduction strategies for rural areas all over the world. The organization repairs and uses old airplanes to fly humanitarian aid, especially healthcare, to rural areas that would otherwise have no access to medical aid. Participants will work alongside trained professionals at the main Wings of Hope hangar in St. Louis, MO to help repair airplanes which will be used for humanitarian flights.
I Hope — New Orleans, LA
Cost: $285
Hurricane Katrina struck the United States with such force that it shook our social order to the very core. For days, we watched in horror as tens of thousands of people suffered, starved, and struggled to survive. Many doubted that New Orleans or other Gulf Coast towns would ever rise again. Now, over three years later, they still need help. With the St. Bernard Project, a new kind of disaster relief organization that seeks to fill gaps in traditional relief models by working to rehabilitate communities, not just individuals, participants will work with and for residents and those still trying to resettle.
Island in the Sun — Andros Island, Bahamas
Cost: $700
Located in the beautiful Caribbean Ocean, Andros Island, the largest but most sparsely-populated island in the Bahamas, has a soul all its own but a struggling education system as well. Working with International Field Studies, participants will help to improve the island’s schools by implementing a library system and by volunteering with various after-school programs. Participants will also have the opportunity to interact with the environment and the native people of the island and their children to gain a better knowledge of the social, cultural, environmental, and economic dichotomies on Andros Island.
Jungle Gym — Kansas City, MO
Cost: $285
Poverty is a terrible social ill, but it hits children the hardest both physically and psychologically. Participants on this site will work with Operation Breakthrough and Niles Home for Children to help house and educate poor children in Kansas City. Operation Breakthrough cares each weekday for more than 600 children, ages 6 weeks to 18 years. All but 2% of the enrolled families live below federal poverty guidelines, most far below them and roughly 25% of the children are homeless at any given time, living in homeless or battered women’s shelters or transitional living programs, sleeping on the sofas of friends or relatives, sometimes even living in cars, rundown hotels or abandoned buildings. The Niles Home for Children provides residential treatment, day treatment and education services to over 150 children, annually.
Just What I Needed — Greenfield, NH
Cost: $285
Crotched Mountain Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization serving children and adults with disabilities and their families since 1953. Their 1,400-acre residential campus includes a school, hospital, outpatient clinic, brain injury center, media center, an athletic complex and New Hampshire’s first wheelchair accessible tree house. Participants will shadow students at the school throughout a day of classes, working as mentors while living alongside wonderful children who are working hard to be able to fit into the outside world.
Lean On Me – Talladega, AL
Cost: $285
The MGH Special Equestrians Arena was founded by Marilyn and Pat Greene in memory of their daughter Marianna to promote well-being in students at the nearby Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB). After a modest start, this therapeutic riding program now operates out of a 39,000 square foot facility and serves nearly 400 children who are either blind, deaf, or have multiple disabilities. Volunteers with MGH will assist in caring for the horses, as well as working with sensory-impaired children.
Like a Prayer — Huntsville, AL
Cost: $260
Destination: Huntsville! Although the original capital of Alabama boasts some of the highest per capita incomes in the state, stubborn pockets of poverty remain. The Lincoln Mill Project – named to recognize the village where mill workers lived 100 years ago – was initiated to break the cycle of poverty. Its mission is to provide whatever it takes for one generation to make it into the middle class. So far, hundreds of volunteers from across the country have renovated mill houses, tutored children, weeded gardens, organized street fairs, and held dance and art camps. Volunteers are still needed to work alongside residents in all of these areas, and interaction within the community will be a top priority.
Lovin’ Spoonful – Utuado, Puerto Rico
Cost: $700
Located on a 375-acre property in the mountains of Puerto Rico, Hacienda Verde seeks to promote a holistic understanding, appreciation, and preservation of a unique and vanishing ecosystem. Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn more about green development and sustainable agriculture through work on the property’s coffee farm, as well as foster personal growth in an unparalleled example of the natural world at its most beautiful.
Man in the Mirror — Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $575
In a city known for both the mansions of Beverly Hills and the impoverished slums of Skid Row, Los Angeles’s vast discrepancies in privilege are a significant problem. While staying at St. Vincent’s Cardinal Manning homeless shelter and forming relationships with its people, participants will also serve another of LA’s marginalized communities: the terminally ill. Working on behalf of the HIV+ and those living with AIDS, participants will volunteer for Project Angel Food, making meals for individuals who are homebound by disease. This site will also work with AIDS Project Los Angeles in its efforts to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, as well as Being Alive, an organization which offers support and creative therapies for those living with HIV and AIDS.
Pretty Woman — Atlanta, GA
Cost: $260
Many women today face a complex range of pressures from poverty, racism, and pregnancy which often overwhelms young girls as they mature through grade school. Cool Girls, Inc. confronts these issues by instilling confidence and providing exposure to a broader world of opportunity through mentoring relationships, field trips, health and life skills education and academic support. Participants will work alongside mentors in the Cool Girls organization to provide meaningful and life changing experiences to girls in the Metro Atlanta area. Participants will also get the chance to work with Planned Parenthood to continue to improve women’s sexual health education.
**This is a women only site**
Shine a Light — Horse Cave, KY
Cost: $260
If spelunking for service sounds appealing, then consider this site! Caves are an extraordinary environment, living pieces of geologic history, and the protection of their underground worlds is a significant concern. Participants will volunteer for the American Cave Conservation Association, which works to conserve caves, karstlands, and their resources. Projects will include cave restoration and sinkhole clean-ups, and the site will have the opportunity to visit the American Cave Museum, and, of course, explore many caves.
Somebody to Love – Evanston, IL
Cost: $285
The plight of children in some urban areas remains a pressing issue in the United States, with abuse, neglect, and a lack of basic resources to promote well-being wreaking havoc on the youngest generation. At the Rice Children’s Center outside of Chicago, students will have the opportunity to volunteer at a facility that serves children with mental, emotional, social, and/or educational problems stemming from these issues. Along with the Children’s Home Aid Society of Illinois, the Rice Children’s Center uses a family-focused approach to give troubled children the opportunity to thrive.
Talkin’ Bout a Revolution — Immokalee, FL
Cost: $285
Southwest Florida is the state’s most important center for agricultural production, and Immokalee is the state’s largest farm worker community. More than 2,500 laborers work for large agricultural corporations in the tomato and citrus harvests, traveling along the entire East Coast following the harvest in season. This cycle is extremely difficult to break, as the wages paid to migrant laborers barely provide sustenance, let alone money for education or savings. Participants will work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Immokalee Friendship House, and the Guadalupe Center of Immokalee Soup Kitchen in order to experience the plight of migrant workers and help to reduce the financial pressures upon them.
Talk to the Stars — Harrodsburg, KY
Cost: $260
As part of the resident camp program with Open Ground, a creatively-minded social activism group which directs its programs towards those with special needs, participants on this site will blend camp and service. The Open Ground community, which offers programs in ecology, diversity, building personal skills, and much more, is a safe and supportive outlet for marginalized individuals or groups, encouraging leadership and expression.
That’s Why God Made Mexico — Brownsville, TX
Cost: $285
Millions of people immigrate to the United States each year looking for opportunity, family, or to flee political and social upheavals. Many of these people are either too poor or uneducated to go through a complex naturalization process and end up in poverty on one side of the border or the other. Participants on this site will have the opportunity to truly make a difference in these peoples’ lives. La Esperanza, a home for young boys detained at the border, is an incredible organization devoted to providing these children with the help they need until they are placed back with their families. Participants will work directly with these boys both in and out of the classroom, teaching English, math, and basic sciences. Additionally, they will work with Brownsville Youth Build to provide affordable housing and basic education for troubled youth.
Under the Sea — Monterey, CA
Cost: $700
The Central California Pacific Coast is one of the West Coast’s most beautiful natural environments. But like any environment, it is threatened by its proximity to human society. Participants on this trip will camp along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, spending a day touring and learning about sea life at the famed Monterey Bay Aquarium, but also directly serving the environment which will host them for a week. Through the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, which protects the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay, a home to hundreds of species of plants and animals, and the Big Sur Land Trust, which conserves the lands and waters of the Central Coast, participants will work on a range of projects from trail and plant maintenance to invasive species control.
Wagon Wheel — Jamestown, ND
Cost: $285
Hitch up and volunteer with Farm Rescue, an organization that dispatches volunteers to farms whose main provider can no longer farm due to terminal illness or injury. Participants on this site will perform all the necessary farming tasks for the family in need while also developing a relationship with that family and learning more about America’s farming community and the hardships that they face.
Welcome, This is a Farmhouse — Wellington, CO
Cost: $285
Harvest Farm is a branch of the Denver Rescue Mission, an organization that provides various outreach programs to men, women, and families. The farm, located 40 miles north of Denver, is a program dedicated to rehabilitating men who are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. As residents, the men engage physically, mentally, and emotionally, working on the farm while taking addiction education classes. Participants will take part in all aspects of daily life on the farm, ranging from hands-on work to attending a class to sharing meals with the residents, with the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the distance. This site offers the unique opportunity to participate in physical service while interacting with the men on the farm who eagerly share their life stories and goals.
Wide Open Spaces — Saguaro National Park, AZ
Cost: $600
Saguaro National Park is situated at the doorstep of Tucson, AZ. The park, named for the giant saguaro cacti which cover the area, acts as a refuge for the many plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert. Participants will work with Ranger Jeremy for a week of environmentally-conscious camping and park restoration. This site will camp under the stars at night, and by day, remove invasive species from the park and clear some of the 150 miles of hiking trails which span Saguaro National Park.
Wild Thing — Pittsboro, NC
Cost: $260
As volunteers at the Carnivore Preservation Trust, participants on this site will get up close and personal with tigers, leopards, jaguars, servals, ocelots, kinkajous, caracals, and binturongs as they work and learn at this unique wildlife sanctuary. Most of the animals are rescued, and some were originally bred to preserve waning carnivorous species like caracals and binturongs. A refuge and not a zoo, the Carnivore Preservation Trust emphasizes education and respect, which allows visitors to get much closer to the animals. Participants on this site will work to maintain and improve the sanctuary facilities… big cats need to roam in a well-kept home!
Will You Be There? — Neah, WA
Cost: $700
If Free Willy was ever your favorite movie, this might be the site for you. The Makah tribe is famous for their traditional whaling technique, but much of the culture on the Makah reservation is vanishing. Participants on this site will aid the tribe elders, who still have full knowledge of the language and cultural traditions of the Makah people, by working with the Makah Seniors Program, the Makah Veterans Program, and the Chemical Dependency Program.
You’ve Got a Friend — Dallas, TX
Cost: $285
Families coping with HIV/AIDS as well as other serious medical issues have a hard time taking care of children with stringent medical requirements. In June 1987, Stefanie Held and Nurse Lydia Allen recognized the need for care for HIV-infected children and were deeply concerned about the absence of such services. They created Bryan’s House in order to respond to the needs of children and their families by providing medically-managed child care, adolescent programming, and community-based, family-centered support services. Participants will provide much needed volunteer assistance by helping to organize and conduct educational and recreational activities for children living in Bryan’s House.
