Sites

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Unless otherwise noted, first deposits are $100. See Financial Policy for more information about financial aid.

A Day in the Life — San Juan, TX
Site Leaders: Amy Lanza & Joey Flaxer
Cost: $315
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 that oppress it and to express opinions on the themes that 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 and land ownership. Participants will also work with La Posada, a shelter for undocumented immigrants who are otherwise homeless or in need of a transitional home. Participants should have an understanding of the Spanish language.

All You Need Is Love — Beaufort, SC
Site Leaders: Laura Bowling & Travis Meyer
Cost: $285
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.

Animal — Saugerties, NY
Site Leader: Madeline Whitaker & Andrew Youssef
Cost: $295
Located two hours north of New York City, Catskill Animal Sanctuary provides a safe and loving haven for abused horses and farm animals – animals that have never known warm shelter, spacious pastures, good food, or the touch of a kind hand. Since 2001, CAS has provided refuge for over 1,700 animals and served as a center to raise awareness of animal mistreatment and its impact on all of us. On this site, participants will help out with animal care and building projects and will participate in educational presentations, such as vegetarian cooking classes.

Beautiful Soul — Green Cove Springs, FL
Site Leaders: Ashley Wenger & Sarah Kenny
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
Site Leaders: Valerie Kuznik & Matt Genova
Cost: $295
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.

Brand New Day — Detroit, MI
Site Leaders: Danielle Larsen & Will Yue
Cost: $285
While Detroit was once renowned for its booming car business, Detroit has fallen under the radar as a result of a steep economic decline spanning the past few decades. Over the course of the week, this group will immerse themselves in an urban environment, getting a real taste for community development within the inner city of Detroit. Students on this site will volunteer at a variety of organizations including the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, the Baldwin Center, and the Detroit Community Initiative.

Come Together — Montreal, Canada
Site Leaders: Lexi Zarecky & Kelsey Gonzenbach
Cost: $325
Parlez-vous français? Founded in 1988, Dans la rue is a grassroots, community-based organization that works with street kids and at-risk youth aged 12 to 25. Participants will work to educate young people about the risks and consequences of life on the street through various prevention programs at high schools, youth centers and community centers across the city. Participants will spend time in the Day Center working with youth first hand to help discourage high-risk behaviors through organized activities. Additionally, volunteers will devote time in the warehouse to help stage the various outreaches of the Dans la rue. Participants should have an understanding of the French language.

Country Road — Beards Fork, West Virginia
Site Leaders: Robin Frazer & David Dipanfilo
Cost: $285
The Southern Appalachian Labor School (SALS) provides education, research, and linkages for working class and disenfranchised people in order to promote understanding, empowerment, and change. SALS programs include: Youth Build, a program which provides empowerment, job training, quality housing, and education for 17-25 year old high school drop outs; New River Safe Housing, a program that pairs Youth Build volunteers with college students to construct a new housing development for low-income families in the former coal camp community of Page, WV; and Coalfield Housing, a program similar to New River Safe Housing. Additionally, SALS promotes unity of area communities, health care reform, election reform, senior health, and environmental and economic justice.

Cowboy, Take Me Away — Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, UT/AZ
Site Leaders: Mallie Froehlich & Roo George-Warren
Cost: $575
Situated on the Northern edge of the Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area preserves and protects 1.2 million acres of the Colorado Plateau, a vast landscape of colorful buttes, mesas, canyons, and cliffs. Arid to semi-arid, the region supports a complex and often fragile ecosystem. A protected site, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area nonetheless suffers from invasive non-native plant species and relies on volunteers to control these species and maintain its visitor-friendly park resources. While camping in this beautiful national recreation area, participants will work with Lonnie Pilkington to protect and beautify the environment.
*First deposit is $200.

Don’t Stop Believin’ — Washington, D.C.
Site Leaders: Lusi Zheng & Grant Avritt
Cost: $295
More than 39,000 Americans are diagnosed with HIV every year, and roughly 7,000 die annually from the incurable disease. Metropolitan communities are the worst hit, and Washington, D.C. is no exception, with the highest AIDS case rate in the nation. Participants on this site will work with Food & Friends, Community Education Group, and Pediatric HIV/AIDS in an effort to aid individuals afflicted by this disease. Whether through assembling preventative information packets to give to community members or delivering groceries to the families, participants will gain a greater understanding of the initiatives taken to fight against HIV/AIDS in an urban setting.

Feelin’ Alright — St. Louis, MO
Site Leaders: Ashley Byrd & Neelam Mohammed
Cost: $250
St. Louis’ historical College Hill neighborhood has a rich heritage but now finds itself riddled with racial tension and socioeconomic disparities. Participants will work with the Jubilee Christian Development Corporation to restore and rebuild houses in North St. Louis, a largely segregated and impoverished part of the city. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage St. Louis’ growing refugee population, directly assisting them with acclimating to American culture.

Follow Me — White Oak, TN
Site Leaders: Jennifer Grasch & Nick Arnold
Cost: $250
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
Site Leaders: Katie Pons & Mark Cherry
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
Site Leaders: Bryanna Jew & Heather Dunham
Cost: $265
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
Site Leaders: Lori Weinstein & Elise Burgett
Cost: $315
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
Site Leaders: Naomi Siegel & Noelle Swarez
Cost: $325
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.
Site Leaders: Natalie Smith & Jake Brady
Cost: $315
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 Father McKenna Center serving meals and spending 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 an issue they are unlikely to ever forget.

How to Save a Life — Boston, MA
Site Leaders: Molly Morley & Dasha Klebaner
Cost: $315
While HIV/AIDS has spread throughout this country and each affected area has grappled with questions of prevention and treatment, Boston has responded in unique and progressive ways. Participants of this site will be able to serve with two organizations, Community Servings and Boston Living Center, while also gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the disease with visits to a free HIV clinic, a needle exchange program, an LGBT community center and a methadone clinic. Service at Community Servings and Boston Living Center will allow participants to directly serve Boston’s HIV+ population, with all the organizations providing experiential learning about the movement against HIV/AIDS in one of America’s largest urban areas.

Island in the Sun — Andros Island, Bahamas
Site Leaders: James Litzow & Kim Ingraham
Cost: $875
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.
*First deposit is $250.

Jungle Gym — Kansas City, MO
Site Leaders: Megan Twomey & Laura Kaufman
Cost: $275
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
Site Leaders: Christina Snider & Daniel Kish
Cost: $295
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
Site Leaders: Patricia Soo & Peter Canning
Cost: $250
The MGH Special Equestrians Arena was founded by Marilyn and Pat Greene in memory of their daughter Marianna to promote the well-being of 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. Additionally, some projects around the arena will be centered on disaster relief following the Alabama tornados earlier this year.

Light Up My Life — New Orleans, LA
Site Leaders: Emily Hobbs & Aaron Nehamkin
Cost: $285
Green Light New Orleans invests energy in people by assisting New Orleans residents one household at a time. Volunteers will install free energy efficient light bulbs to demonstrate that a mass movement of individual actions creates a significant impact on the environment and community. Volunteers will shift gears in the afternoons, devoting their time in a community garden to help encourage revitalizing the city with healthy and fresh foods.

Like a Prayer — Huntsville, AL
Site Leaders: Maryli Cheng & Prithvi Mudanna
Cost: $275
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.

Love is my Religion — Jamaica
Site Leaders: Brittany Cowfer & Ian Simoy
Cost: $850
Participants will spend the week working with VIJON, an organization whose primary focus area is education. Most of the work week will be spent assisting in a basic school, not only in the classroom, but also with an infrastructure project that will allow you to truly “leave your mark” on the island. Participants will also learn about the Jamaican culture by participating in nightly cultural activities.
*First deposit is $250.

Man in the Mirror — Los Angeles, CA
Site Leaders: Sarah Roper & Chris Adkins
Cost: $600
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 Clean Needles Now, an organization that aims to lessen the spread of HIV/AIDS by providing clean needles and other supplies to drug addicts in the LA area.
*First deposit is $200.

Save Me, San Francisco — San Francisco, CA
Site Leaders: Allie O’Neil & Josh Shin
Cost: $600
Situated near the heart of San Francisco’s financial district, the Tenderloin district sits in stark comparison to its surrounding affluent neighborhoods. Although it is a vibrant hub for ethnic diversity, the Tenderloin is also one of the most impoverished and crime-ridden parts of San Francisco. Participants on this site will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the unique culture of the area, as well as come face to face with the realities of life in the Tenderloin. They will work with Glide, an organization that has served the people of the Tenderloin for over 40 years by providing meals, medical clinics, drug use programs, and many more services free of charge. The site will also participate in a justice education program put on by St. Anthony’s Foundation, which will allow them to serve the Tenderloin residents on the streets where they live.
*First deposit is $200.

Somebody to Love – Evanston, IL
Site Leaders: Hannah Pauly & Latoya Wade
Cost: $275
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. Participants will be able to spend time in afternoon and after-school programs with these children, while using their mornings to lend a hand at Connections for the Homeless. Connections provide services to homeless families, and participants will be able to witness firsthand how this organization links families with necessary resources while also directly serving these families.

Sunrise — Tahlequa, OK
Site Leaders: Melanie Gonzalez & Sarah Corapi
Cost: $275
Combining two highly under-served populations in our country, Native Americans and the elderly, Cherokee Elder Care goes about its work with a unique mission: keep each person it serves in his or her home for the last years of their lives. Participants on this site will have the opportunity to jump into Cherokee culture at the local cultural center, to gain an understanding of the context in which Cherokee Elder Care operates and deepen their understanding of the modern Cherokee experience. They will also participate in home visits, assist individual members of the elderly Cherokee community and hold activities for the community that Cherokee Elder Care serves.

Talkin’ Bout a Revolution — Immokalee, FL
Site Leaders: Olivia Rosenberg & Whitley O’Conner
Cost: $295
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.

Teenage Dream — Denver, CO
Site Leaders: Ginny Hornblower & Garrett LeDonne
Cost:$325
Florence Crittenton Services of Colorado’s primary goal is to help teen parents raise healthy families. Through a variety of programs offering support for teen parent, Florence Crittenton empowers struggling teen families to be productive members of the community. Volunteers will have the chance to work in the Early Childhood Center classrooms, interact with the families, and help organize the variety of spaces used for the children and parents.

That’s Why God Made Mexico — Brownsville, TX
Site Leaders: Laura Silliman & Alok Patel
Cost: $315
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. Participants should have an understanding of the Spanish language.

Up on the Ridge — Rocky Knob, Virginia
Site Leaders: Christine Ko & Rohan Kedar
Cost: $285
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a national parkway and all-American road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles, mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Participants on this site will volunteer with the Rocky Knob Chapter of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education. Students will do trail work, learn about, and experience the culture of the Appalachian people.

Walking On Sunshine — Granada, Nicaragua
Site Leaders: Oakleigh Folkes & Trevor Geller
Cost: $900
La Esperanza Granada is a volunteer group focusing on children’s education. Volunteers will go out into rural schools and assist the teachers, tutor young children, run sports programs, introduce children to computers, and help stimulate an interest in learning. Participants will stay on site and should develop a strong connection with the assigned program over the course of the week. Participants should have an understanding of the Spanish language.
*First deposit is $250.

Welcome, This is a Farmhouse — Wellington, CO
Site Leaders: Sarah Hart & Andrew Hall
Cost: $325
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.

Welcome to Atlanta — Atlanta, GA
Site Leaders: Sushma Boppana & James Forbes
Cost: $250
In metro Atlanta, an estimated 21,600 individuals experience homelessness during the course of a year. More children live in poverty in Atlanta than in any other city in the United States. Participants on this site will volunteer with City of Refuge, an organization that offers both life saving resources and life building tools to individuals and families in Atlanta who are living on the margin. Their services range from providing food, clothing and shelter to helping with job training, placement, housing, healthcare and education. Participants will also work with other local nonprofits in the area that work to alleviate homelessness and poverty.

Work It Out — Douglasville, GA
Site Leaders: Nicole Liberio & Adesewa Adelekun
Cost: $250
Youth Villages – Inner Harbour is dedicated to helping youth and families confront and respond to life’s challenges in a safe and unique environment. This campus specializes in treating children and adolescents with significant psychiatric illness and behavioral, emotional or social impairment, but tackles each obstacle in a unique way. As a residential treatment center, Inner Harbour offers full educational services along with immersing young people in activities ranging from African drumming to rock climbing to art classes to horseback riding, all of which serve to challenge and build them socially, emotionally, mentally and physically. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in classes alongside the Inner Harbour residents and develop relationships through this shared experience, while also assisting in campus up-keep projects throughout the week.

You’ve Got a Friend — Dallas, TX
Site Leaders: Julia Peredo & Bowie Han
Cost: $295
Working primarily with Wipe Out Kids Cancer, participants get a comprehensive overview of the effects of pediatric cancer on patients and their families. As an affiliate of the Children’s Medical Center, volunteers will work with children in the oncology playrooms and have the opportunity to shadow physicians. Participants will also work with the nearby Ronald McDonald House, providing much needed volunteer assistance by helping to organize and conduct recreational activities and cook meals for families staying at the home.

**These prices are subject to slight changes.**