* DOCUMENTED COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS AWARDED

This program is not available in 2008.
For similar programs focusing on service learning,, cross-cultural arts and exchange and adventure please check out the following:

New England Traveling Theatre
New England Adventure
Bridge Hawaii
Bridge Caribbean
Bridge Puerto Rico
Bridge Peru
Bridge China

Or call us to discuss options that might be right for you.

Angus Whyte, Student Travel Coordinator, 1-800-862-7760
angus@WindsorMountain.org

This "journey of the heart" will take you throughout New England as you spread the message of kindness to different communities and random people whom you meet. By doing things for others you help build relationships, foster connections, and inspire others. Discover for yourself, the power of kindness to create positive social change as people continue to pay it forward. In the process, you will be integrated into the life of the communities you serve, and learn what is important to them. Not only will you serve dinner at the homeless shelter, but you will also learn about the issues of homelessness and poverty. Constructing arts and crafts alongside people with disabilities is an opportunity to examine how accessible our world is to those with different abilities. Working on environmental projects will be in association with the organizations that are trying to protect our valuable resources. In addition to all the volunteer work, lots of lively outdoor adventures are included in the mix: sea kayaking coastal islands, swimming at local watering holes, and camping on the mountainside. Just as you spread cheer to the people you meet, you create a sense of kindness and friendship within your group as you work together to plan your route, create the menu, set up camp, and tackle all the exciting challenges of living and traveling together as a close-knit group. By the end of the program you will have the satisfaction of knowing you made a difference in the lives of your newfound friends as well as strangers you may never see again.

Program Details:

Dates:
Tuition: $
Group Size: students and 2 professional leaders
Student Grade Level: Finishing Grades
Starting/Ending Point:
Accommodations: Camping
Major Equipment Needs: Sleeping bag and pad, day pack, good walking or hiking shoes

Tuition for this program is due in full by April 1, 2009. Travel expenses to and from the starting and ending points are the responsibility of the participant and are not included in the tuition. Windsor Mountain's travel consultant can help you in securing the most reasonable plan for coordinating your travel itinerary.

Orientation: Spend the first two days camping in the foothills of southern New Hampshire. During this time, learn how to set up your tents and cook delicious meals on a small camp stove or fire. Get accustomed to the routine of preparing meals and packing up for the day's activities. Start planning your menu and mapping your route before you strike out on the road toward a community service adventure. Here you will start getting to know one another and adjusting to group living. New games, initiatives, and goal setting will help build group spirit. You might choose to gather around the glowing embers of a fire in a tipi or spend an afternoon swimming at the lake.

Contribute to the Moosilauke Community: Come out with the staff of Moosilauke and learn how to do some trail work. In trail work, learn great skills and move big rocks or swing tools around to get out all your stress. Come on out and show us what you've got!

Work at Crotched Mountain: a non-profit organization offering rehabilitation and education, helping children and young adults with special needs to prepare for adult life. Get involved in all aspects of their lives including making arts and crafts and organizing games while supporting the residential staff in their work.

Boston: Experience community service in an urban environment working in a Boston brown–lot garden.  Participate in the entire service process by planting and harvesting vegetables, donating food to community kitchens and serving food at the shelter. More than 6,000 people in the Boston area have no place to call home. On any given night, over 850 of these men and women sleep in one of the emergency shelters run by the partnership between Friends of Boston's Homeless and Boston Public Health Commission's Homeless Services. They come from all over the Boston metro–area, primarily from low-income communities. They are predominantly minority and they are relatively young, the average age being just 24 years old.

Service Learning: Volunteering gives you the opportunity to participate in a community in a meaningful way.  You will be amazed at what you and your team can accomplish in just one morning, and how you can quickly create close connections with people.  Some of the projects being planned for the summer include: making arts and crafts with children with disabilities, serving dinner at a homeless shelter, helping improve and maintain the outdoor environment, and teaching games at a day camp for low-income children.  Uncover the great spirit that is alive when people come together and work in collaboration.  Each day brings a new adventure volunteering in different communities, both urban and rural.  Some days, your body will be tired from the hard physical work.  Other days you will be worn out from keeping up with energetic kids all day.  Whatever the adventure, you will tell stories in the evening about your day and share ideas about the projects to come.