What is a Community Service Learning Project?

Community service learning projects are planned, organized and voluntary efforts designed to address a problem or need in the community. They involve a reciprocal exchange of powerful learning and meaningful work that serves vital community needs. The community service learning project you choose to do should also reflect your personal interests and skills. In addition, worthwhile community service learning projects require an on-going commitment on your part.

Below are a list of summer Community Service Learning Projects that you may consider. Also, check out our LEADERSHIP programs (see list at left). Most of these programs will help you to fulfill your High School Community Service requirements. Call us if you have questions about a specific community service project listed here or if you would like help designing a community service or Leadership project of your own.

Leadership and Community Service programs provide hands on training for learning to become effective educators and for understanding the potential and value of service learning.

There are many wonderful organizations that offer community service programs, so we are honored that you are considering Windsor Mountain. At Windsor Mountain, we have been combining student travel with Community Service projects since 1961. Traveling is an art. It can teach you how to be open and adaptable to the world around you. Everything that takes place on a Windsor Mountain program can be viewed as experiential learning as each moment provides another opportunity for you to expand your horizons. You will also find the opportunity to provide community service to the communities you visit on every program we offer. Even programs which are not community service specific will offer some sort of Community Service opportinity.

Windsor Mountain places educational goals as one of the top priorities of our community service travel programs. For us, learning goes beyond academic textbooks. Windsor Mountain programs are created to facilitate the goals of promoting cultural sensitivity, environmental awareness, self-growth, group development, and the importance of giving back. Each program is designed with an eye to safety, care, and detail. We encourage and expect our leaders and students to work together to mold the itinerary, thus enhancing the opportunities for discovery. As always, it is important that you embrace a willingness to explore, discover, learn, and share your enthusiasm with the group.

Take risks; bring an open mind and genuine curiosity.

Windsor Mountain students are expected to take risks, try new things, and make important contributions to all aspects of group living. This may involve stepping outside of your comfort zone, perhaps confronting your own shortcomings and possibly restructuring your work ethic or priorities. By challenging yourself physically, opening yourself to new ideas as well as respecting and exploring different cultures, you can grow and discover new parts of yourself. We hope you will bring a curiosity for learning about culture, the environment, and the specific skill set focus your program provides.

Traveling with a group means living with a group; not only through the adventures, but in the day-to-day chores that keep a group operating with energy and enthusiasm. Accept these responsibilities as a part of the overall experience. Contribute to creating menus and preparing the meals for the entire group. Share family recipes that are tried and true or experiment with new foods and new recipes that are brought to the group by others.

Enjoy a simple lifestyle. Windsor Mountain students live in simple accommodations, (sometimes youth hostels, often in a tent, other times with host families). It is a part of the overall experience. A tent is a home in any environment if it is properly set up and responsibly maintained. An equipment list will be sent to you outlining the appropriate clothing and gear you will need. Rise to the challenge of carrying everything you bring in your own pack.

Be open to participation in the giving and receiving of feedback. Though your leaders have structured written feedback in their program plans, it is expected that you will take the time to create opportunities to share concerns, issues and affirmations with one another as a part of the journey.

Develop respect.
With Windsor Mountain, it is as much about giving as it is receiving.

The purpose of your journey is to gain perspective on the world and yourself as you experience a different style of living. This will allow you to take risks such as trying different foods, speaking a different language, or taking part in cultural traditions. You will be asked to give of yourself to the communities you visit. The service will be diverse in nature and will vary among the programs. In every case, the sharing of physical labor, insightful ideas, and emotional support to a community will shape that community’s opinion of the visiting students.

Community is central to a Windsor Mountain experience. When possible, Windsor Mountain incorporates homestays. The homestays are with families that have been carefully chosen through our many contacts throughout the world. Families are selected for not only having the right aged children in the home, but for their willingness to involve you as a member of their family and to allow you to see their culture at its day-to-day finest.

Windsor Mountain uses the Magical Mystery Tour as a learning tool wherever we travel. An MMT encourages you to explore and discover communities and people around the world through grassroots interactions, reaching out to people to gain an appreciation of who they are and how they live their lives.

Be responsible, be a leader, and recognize your place in the world.

Your leaders will be role models, teaching you the responsibilities of safe and respectful travel. They will nurture understanding, exposing you to differences among people and helping you to both accept and appreciate these differences. They will provide open and honest feedback and seek the same from you. Windsor Mountain has an exceptional reputation in the field of experiential education. Therefore we have the luxury to select from a pool of experienced, dynamic leaders and we further invest in their training with a ten-day orientation prior to their program to review the following values and expectations: All of our Student Travel leaders are at least 23 years old, with the average age of 27, and each holds current certifications in First Aid, CPR, and life guarding. If the program they are leading has a backcountry element, they will be expected to have Wilderness First Responder certification as well.

Behave in a way that is consistent with Windsor Mountain’s goal to create a healthy and supportive environment. There are three non-negotiable rules that could lead to a student being dismissed if they are intentionally broken.

• Use or possession of any tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, possession and/or use of illegal drugs.
  
• Unauthorized and/or unexcused absence from the group.
  
• Exclusive relations with another person.
  

Discuss these expectations with your family and leaders. We are sure you will agree they offer a nice framework for a successful experience.

Complete the process.

We are always happy to talk with you and answer any questions you may have about any of our many Windsor Mountain programs. Please feel free to call or e-mail Windsor Mountain with your questions.

Phone: 603-478-3166
E-Mail: mail@WindsorMountain.org

If you do not have an enrollment application you may refer to our website at www.WindsorMountain.org.

It is important to remember that rigid itineraries are not typical of experiential education programs. Windsor Mountain programs are distinctive because of their spontaneity and educational focus. You and your leaders will collaborate on decisions about daily choices for what to do or where to explore. You share in the responsibilities and the rewards. Therefore, while the quality of the program will be carefully maintained, you can expect some variation in your activities.