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Spring Trips

AIDS Project | Los Angeles, CA

HIV/AIDS

Students will work inside the agency. They will have the chance to learn about this disease, meet clients, and be a part of an exciting event the organization has planned for the week!

Each year hundreds of people are diagnosed as HIV positive. AIDS Project Los Angeles is dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by HIV disease, reducing the incidence of HIV infection, and advocating for fair and effective HIV-related public policy. Students will be working inside the agency, while directly learning about it. An HIV 101 session will be given to volunteers, and they will help with greeting clients, and any events which may be held the week of the visit.

Anathoth Community Farms | Luck, WI

Sustainable Agriculture

Students will learn what life is like on a sustainable farm run by a community of individuals dedicated to non-violence. Activities may include sap collecting & maple syrup producing, educational workshops on sustainability, solar power, composting toilets, the nuclear world, and non-violence training.

Participants will learn about non-violent means of protest, current political issues, sustainable living, and agriculture. The week will include a non-violence training day, workshops on sustainability, a tour of the houses on the farm, sessions on economy, food, and the nuclear world.

Appalachia Service Project | Jonesville, VA

Rural Poverty

Volunteers will be doing home repairs and interacting directly with low income families who need these emergency home repairs. These repairs are necessary because their homes are unsafe or unhealthy to live in.

From fixing caved in floors and patching leaky roofs to installing bathrooms and room additions: Appalachia Service Project volunteers help impoverished families with the emergency home repairs they need. NO construction knowledge is necessary since experienced staff members guide the volunteers through every step of the process. Volunteers will work directly with family members to help make that family's home, “warmer, safer and drier."

Children's Outreach Project | Denver, CO

Youth and Community Development

The Children's Outreach Project works with all types of children in the Denver metro area. Volunteers will work with typical, gifted, and with disabilities in a school in the surrounding area.

The Children's Outreach Project has provided diverse and integrated early childhood education to children who are typical, accelerated, and with disabilities in the Denver metro area. Therapeutic services are also provided to children who may exhibit a need. The Children's Outreach project works to better improve all aspects of a child: social, emotional, physical, intellectual, sensory, and language. All activities are geared toward the emotional and social growth of each young child. Volunteers will help assist with the children and within the classrooms, helping out in a setting that may be different than the schooling system here in Illinois.

Colorado Progressive Union | Denver, CO

Political Activism

The Colorado Progressive Coalition is an organization that works to build Colorado's progressive movement and are a voice for civil rights, economic justice, health care for all, and environmental justice. Students on this trip will be working on several legislative campaigns, by doing field work, research, and possibly lobbying outside the Denver capitol building.

This a statewide, progressive values-driven organization and an anchor for Colorado's grassroots progressive community. The Coalition is working to build Colorado's progressive movement and are a leading local and national voice for civil rights and racial justice, economic justice and corporate accountability, health care for all, environmental justice, and an open and accountable democracy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy or the well-connected. Students on this trip will be working on several legislative campaigns, by doing field work, research, and possibly lobbying outside the Denver capitol building.

Heifer International | Rutland, MA

Sustainable Agriculture

Heifer International, a non profit organization, was founded on a simple belief, ending hunger begins with giving people the means to feed themselves. Students will participate in a variety of service projects, as well as hands on learning experience regarding sustainable agriculture.

One of Heifer's projects, Overlook farms, works toward educating visitors about Heifer's efforts to eliminate hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture. Participant acitivities include the Global Village Meal (which demonstrates subsistence-level agricultural practices of farmers in other countries), Overlook Farm tour, educational activities and service projects.

High Rocks Academy | Hillsboro, WV

Youth and Womens Rights

High Rocks Academy is an organization that strives to support and strengthen women from all walks of life. They want to educate and empower the women to live an active and productive life. Participants on this trip will assist in service oriented projects, tutoring in the schools, and spending time with the women.

High Rocks is a place of freedom and acceptance. At High Rocks no one cares if you are rich or poor. Money does not matter. "We are a family, an ultimate support system, but above all we are sisters!" High Rocks Academy is an organization which strives to support and strengthen young West Virginian women from all walks of life. They hope to educate and empower women by giving them the confidence to lead active lives and work toward the betterment of their community. The organization encompasses a variety of activities, from holding summer camps to tutoring, to service learning and mentoring. Volunteers will help assist in a variety of activities including service oriented projects, as well as tutoring in schools. No matter who you are, everyone can learn things to empower themselves, and that is exactly the goal of this organization.

Homes of Hope | Greenville, SC

Affordable Housing

Students will work directly with men currently going through drug and alcohol rehabilitation to work on homes for those with health or economical difficulties. Work will include painting, sanding, building wheelchair ramps and other construction projects.

Homes of Hope exists to provide safe, affordable housing for homeless and low-income families or individuals, while also providing job training/mentoring for men overcoming drug and alcohol addictions. Rentals and home ownership are only two of the possibilities to house individuals. Students will be working directly with the men in the rehab program building these houses to be lived in. Students should be prepared for manual labor, such as painting, sanding, and other construction projects to help build a house.

Lake Metroparks | Willoughby, OH

Environment

Lake Metroparks is an organization that works to preserve land for future parks and to build a stronger community through recreational activities. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with the environment doing post-winter conservation and clean-up in parks.

Lake Metroparks was established in 1958 as a way to preserve land for future parks. Today, it is dedicated to conserving/preserving the natural resources within its boundaries as well as providing a variety of educational opportunities and activities to the surrounding communities. Participants will have the opportunity to work directly with the environment, doing a variety of post-winter conservation and clean-up jobs.

National Coalition for the Homeless | Washington D.C.

Hunger and Homelessness

Students will experience homelessness firsthand by participating in the Urban Plunge, volunteering in soup kitchens, and working in shelters in the area.

Daily activities will vary from serving meals in a soup kitchen or shelter to selling copies of Street Sense, a newspaper written by and benefiting the homeless. The highlight of the trip is a 48 hour Urban Plunge during which students will live as a homeless individual in the Nation's capitol alongside homeless guides. Participants will leave this trip with a new understanding of homelessness and a sensitivity to this often overlooked population.

Sioux YMCA | Dupree, SD

Native American Culture and Children

The Sioux YMCA is the only YMCA in the U.S. on an Indian Reservation. Located on the Cheyenne River, Sioux Reservation serve Lakota youth and their families. Come to this amazing organization to help with work on the property, run daily after school programs, spend time with the Lakota children, and learn more about the tribe.

The Sioux YMCA is the only YMCA in the U.S. on an Indian Reservation. Located on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation they mostly serve Lakota youth and their families. Volunteers will be working on programs for the kids and the community. An annual trip of Illinois ASB, Dupree is an amazing experience for both the first timer and the veteran of the organization. Activities include running different after school programs for the youth of the area. This entails events such as Teen Night, possible events at the local school, and a daily after school program with the younger children. The after school program contains everything from various games outside to arts and crafts sessions indoors. The preparation for these events along with possible chores around the property of the Y make this trip include a variety of activities and experiences. The educational portion can open the eyes of any volunteer to the immense culture of the Lakota Tribe. Most importantly, the smiles on the faces of the children playing at the YMCA breeds memories that will last a lifetime.

The Sanctuary | Troy, NY

Independent Media

The Sanctuary is a telecommunication production facility that offers training, resources, and events for independent media makers. Participants will help to host workshops, screenings, production, and performance facilities for artists, activists, and community members.

Be the Media! This isn't just a message for The Sanctuary, a telecommunications production facility in upstate New York, but a commitment to make it happen by offering training, resources, and events for independent media makers of all kinds. Based in an historic former church in a "rustbelt" city that has struggled since its 1910 zenith, this center for community media is part of a larger international movement dedicated to fairness, diversity, and open access to the media.

United Cerebral Palsy | Nashville, TN

Disability Awareness

United Cerebral Palsy is an organization that works to advance the independence of people with disabilities. Participants will get to build wheelchair ramps for families with disabilities, and they will get a chance to meet the people they are building the ramps for.

UCP has been a standing organization in Nashville, TN for many years. Participants will not only get to go to the homes to build wheelchair ramps for families with disabilities, but they also get a chance to meet the people they are building the ramps for. It is a very educational trip because participants will get to understand the problems that Nashville goes through in helping these families. In addition, participants will get to play wheelchair basketball with people who have disabilities. UCP is a great organization to work with, and it is a very educational interactive trip!

Victory Living | Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Disability Awareness

Victory Living is a non-profit agency which serves adults with a variety of disabilities. This organization focuses on promoting and helping to provide independent living and life skills, employment, and community supports for the adults in the program. Participants will assist the adults in learning how to cook, work in the garden center, and help in recreation and leisure activities.

The organization includes a semi independent training center, independent living in the community with supports, and employment services. Victory Living provides daily living skills enhancement, functional education and training, employment services and general supervision. This organization stresses self reliance as a goal for its clients. During their stay, volunteers will assist individuals in learning to cook and creating menus, working in the garden center, as well as possibly planning their own event for the members in the program. Recreation and leisure activities are important for everyone, and volunteers provide a great help in assisting some of these individuals to help them reach independence.

Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation | Kendalia, TX

Animal Rights

Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation (WRR) exists to do exactly as their name suggests. Participants will learn about the native wildlife of Texas, as well as the exotic species they manage. WRR will allow participants to interact with native baby animals that are brought to WRR, including feeding, cleaning cages, and general interaction with the animals.

Participants will also help out with general land management. The exotic species that WRR is home to include jaguars, African lions, capuchin monkeys, lemurs, various wolves, and black bears. WRR also adopts out cats and dogs, and has a general love for the animals in the community, as they take in any native animal that is in need of help, and rehabilitate it to release it back into the wild. WRR is an amazing organization that would provide a super educational and amazing experience for willing volunteers!