Sites
YOU FOUND ME
Nashville, TN
Across Tennessee, pitching a tent on public land outside of designated campsites is a felony offense. Tennessee is the first state in the country to criminalize homelessness in an effort to reduce the number of unhoused people sleeping on the streets, at bus stops, and in city parks. Despite a lack of affordable housing and shelter space, many cities have chosen to criminally punish people living on the street for doing what any human being must do to survive. On this site, participants will work with a variety of organizations addressing homelessness. They’ll volunteer with Open Table Nashville, an organization that advocates for the unhoused, and provides basic and long-term aid, as well as with Room in the Inn, an organization that seeks to serve the homeless by offering food, clothing, and shelter, and The Contributor, a homeless street newspaper that helps our homeless neighbors establish their own micro-businesses and work their way into housing. Students will help out at Safe Haven, a shelter for families experiencing homelessness, and the Nashville Food Project, Second Harvest, and Loaves and Fishes, organizations committed to alleviating food insecurity. Throughout the week, students will engage in several educational immersion experiences in which they interact with the unhoused community and learn about homelessness within their own city.
Site Leaders: Gabrielle Beck and Shayaan Essani
Site Cost: $265
WELCOME, THIS IS A FARMHOUSE
Fort Collins, CO
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 faith-based program dedicated to rehabilitating men who are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. As residents, the men engage physically, mentally, and emotionally by 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.
Site Leaders: Lan Yao and Grecia Ayala
Site Cost: $375
YOU’LL BE IN MY HEART
Baltimore, MD
Participants on this site will volunteer with Asylee Women Enterprise (AWE), an organization that provides transitional housing, companionship, and community to refugees and asylum seekers. AWE is a program that uniquely offers wraparound services in navigating the immigration legal process, healing from past trauma, and rebuilding asylum seekers’ lives in Baltimore. Participants will do facilities work at AWE as well as interacting with asylum seekers of different backgrounds. They will also visit the community center to assist refugees in settling into the Baltimore community. AWE will also provide educational resources for participants to leave with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by refugees in the United States today.
Site Leaders: North Hopper and Angelina Ma
Site Cost: $310
Mr. Blue Sky
Rock Hill, SC
Catawba Native Americans have lived alongside the banks of the Catawba River for at least 6000 years. Colonial pressures forced their numbers to dwindle and threatened the unity of the Nation during the 18th century, but tribal members persevered, and today the reservation stands on the Nation’s ancestral lands near the current South Carolina city of Rock Hill. The Catawba Cultural Preservation Project aims to preserve and promote the rich culture and heritage of the Catawba Indian Nation, and participants will have the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of services during a week spent with the Cultural Center. In terms of physical labor, they’ll beautify the historic Yehasuri Trail, plant indigenous fruit and nut trees, prepare a garden for the planting season, and do building maintenance. They’ll also engage in relationship-based service, spending time with the elderly at the Catawba Senior Center and teaching tribal youth a gardening lesson in their after-school program. Throughout the week, time will be dedicated to educating participants on the history of the Nation and the ecology of its ancestral lands through various activities including a special visit from Chief William Harris, the tribe’s elected chief. Participants will emerge from the week better able to understand the pride members of the Catawba Nation take in their identity as well as the importance of protecting a cultural heritage.
Site Leaders: Rosa Liu and Aidan Voorhis-Allen
Site Cost: $305
Sunrise
Tahlequah, OK
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: to keep each person it serves in their home for the last years of their life. Participants on this site will have the opportunity to jump into Cherokee history at the local cultural center, to gain an understanding of the context in which Cherokee Elder Care operates, and to 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.
Site Leaders: Drew Woodward and Madonna Agaiby
Site Cost: $335
One Day
Chicago, IL
Years after the tragedies of the Holocaust, many survivors rely on community centers for resources, financial assistance, and support. Since 1999, Holocaust Community Services (HCS) has helped ensure that the Chicago Holocaust survivor community and their families can continue to live independently and with dignity. Through Holocaust Community Services, participants will work directly with survivors to help share their stories through art therapy, culminating in the creation of an art exhibit for Friday night Shabbat. Participants will also partner with EZRA, whose mission is to prevent homelessness and isolation for Jewish people, to assist with ESL classes and stock and organize the food pantry. Since the vast majority of survivors who receive support from HCS have immigrated from the former Soviet Union, this site will explore the role of creative work as a unique method to overcome language barriers.
Site Leaders: Yuting Liu
Site Cost: $305
LEAN ON ME
Talladega, AL
The MGH Special Equestrians Arena was founded to promote the well-being of students at the nearby Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB). This therapeutic horse-riding program operates out of a 39,000 square foot facility and serves nearly 400 children who have either a visual impairment, hearing impairment, or multiple disabilities. Each activity in the equine-centered program targets an aspect of physical and/or emotional wellbeing, leaving AIDB students with improved balance and motor skills, verbal skills, and self-esteem. Volunteers at MGH will assist in caring for the horses, work on several maintenance projects in the barn, and mentor children with sensory impairments in riding classes. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of a multi-faceted, animal-centered approach to therapy, colored by those who love and care for it.
Site Leader: Tom No and Selina Ji
Site Cost: $280
LIFE IN COLOR
Austin, TX
Art can serve as a powerful outlet for expression and self-discovery, particularly for individuals with disabilities. Few places promote the benefits of art as well as Austin, Texas. In this cultural hub, participants will start off the week with Imagine Art, which provides a free fine arts studio, community garden, and support groups for artists with a wide spectrum of disabilities. Part of the week will be spent at Arc of the Capital Area, an organization that offers comprehensive support to adults with disabilities. The Arc provides its artists with classes, studio space, and art shows that are designed to stimulate creativity, boost feelings of self-worth, and increase independence. One of the nights, participants may help staff one of their annual art show fundraisers. By both learning about and serving in these dynamic art galleries, participants will gain an enriched understanding of inclusive art.
Site Leaders: Riddhi Singhania
Site Cost: $310
LOOK THROUGH MY EYES
Howenwald, TN
Since 1995, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has served as a refuge for elephants rescued from circuses, zoos, and other animal entertainment industries. Spanning over 2,700 acres, the Sanctuary provides the elephants with protected, natural habitats and a chance to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Participants will volunteer at the Sanctuary for the entirety of the week and work on projects such as landscaping, painting, and creating habitat-enrichment devices. NOTE: Participants will not be interacting with the elephants directly. However, volunteers have typically been able to spot elephants at some point over the course of the week.
Site Leaders: Angela Yan
Site Cost: $250
COUNTING STARS
Corpus Christi, TX
Separating the Gulf of Mexico from the Laguna Madre, the Padre Island National Seashore features 70 miles of coastline, dunes, prairies, and wind-tidal flats teeming with life. It is a nesting ground for sea turtles and a haven for 380 bird species. On this site, participants will contribute to the National Park Service’s mission to preserve the natural and cultural elements of the landscape. The week’s major project will be to build a corral protecting nests of local endangered sea turtles from human interference, weather, and predators, but participants should also expect to clean a sea turtle lab and pick up trash from the beach. Weather permitting, participants will camp on the same land on which they work, sleeping beneath a starry sky.
Site Leaders: David Guiracocha and Ommay Farah
Site Cost: $315