LANDMARK VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer camp

Ann Barrett, Director

P.O. Box 455

Sheffield, MA 01257

(413) 229-0255

landmark@volunteers.com

www.volunteers.com

QUICK TAKE: A program focused on the joy of community

service, offering opportunities for work to preserve our

country’s national landmarks. Kids leave this program having

put in an incredible number of community service hours, yet

having had fun at the same time. A typical program might

include working on the Cumberland Trail in Tennessee.

AGE REQUIREMENT: 15 and older

FEES: Boarding program, $735. A $50 fee is incurred if application

is not received before April 1. Financial aid is based on

need and merit.

BACKGROUND: In 1990, a group of educators and community

leaders founded Landmark Volunteers to encourage community

service. The program has locations in almost every state.

Its purpose is to maintain and improve our country’s national

landmark sites. Work could include anything from making the

site handicapped accessible to actually working on the site.

DESCRIPTION: The nationwide program offers two sessions,

each lasting two weeks, in June, July, or August. Students

engage in service for six days the first week and five days

the second. In total, they earn eighty hours of community

service! The kids are organized into teams of 13 under the

supervision of one adult volunteer. The teams have myriad

service jobs to accomplish, ranging from trail building to

taking inventory of species. The schedule varies in each

camp, but all offer recreational activities in addition to the

work.

OUR TAKE: The Landmark Volunteers mean business when it

comes to community service, and they expect the most out

of students. This is a great opportunity for students who need

to complete community service hours for high school credit.

The small teams are a great place for your student to meet

and make friends as well. Kids leave the program with a feeling

of accomplishment. The team experience alone will be an

excellent opportunity for your kid to find great friends.

OUR RECOMMENDATION: Landmark Volunteers is one of the

best kept secrets around. It will build character, inner strength,

and maturity. Students traveling to the camp by public transportation

will be met by a counselor.

SIDWELL FRIEND’S COMMUNITY

SERVICE PROGRAMS

Janet Carter, Director

3825 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20016

(202) 537-8133

Fax: (202)537-2483

sidwellsummer@yahoo.com

www.sidwell.edu/summer/summercommunityservice

QUICK TAKE: Sidwell Friend’s Community Service Programs

present many stimulating community service opportunities,

ranging from elder care to environmental clean up to language

exchange with different cultures. Through a number

of workshops, Sidwell Friend’s School offers something for

every child and an ideal, positive way for your child to spend

his or her summer.

AGE REQUIREMENT: Camp Lend-a-Hand at Riverview (grades

5–10); Costa Rica (ages 13–18); Hawaii (ages 13–18); Spanish

Service (grades 9–12); ASL (American Sign Language), Helping

Hands, Clean Up!, A, B, C’s of Community Service with

Infants/Toddlers (grades 5–8); Little Hands, Big Hearts (grades

2–5).

FEES: Call for information.

SPONSORSHIP/OWNERSHIP/ACCREDITATION: Sidwell Friend’s

School

BACKGROUND: Sidwell Friend’s Community Service Programs

workshops have been going on for varying durations.

DESCRIPTION: All workshops occur during the summer

months. Every workshop includes various components and

experiences. Below is a brief overview of each.

Overnight Community Service Workshops

Camp Lend-A-Hand at Riverview: A week-long camp that combines

service opportunities with traditional camp experiences.

Campers participate in daily projects that include

working with different types of service organizations,

assisting the elderly, helping local not-for-profit organizations,

and cleaning up parks, hiking trails, and other public

spaces. One day during the week, the campers will take

a break from community service projects to join in an outdoor

activity, such as rafting or a ropes course. This camp

is held at St. Margaret’s School. Transportation is provided

from Sidwell Friend’s School to St. Margaret’s.

Costa Rica: Participants will have the opportunity to explore

the rich culture of Costa Rica, to learn and use Spanish,

and participate in outdoor activities, such as waterfall

swimming, rafting, boating, and horseback riding. Participants

also complete five days of service projects that

might include such activities as building a community center,

working at a school, or teaching local children.

Hawaii: This workshop fosters learning about activities

to save Hawaii’s native plants and animals. Participants

contribute toward conservation and preservation efforts.

Most of their time is spent in two wildlife sanctuaries:

Koke’e State Park on the island of Kauai and Hakalau

National Wildlife Refuge in the mountain forests of the

island of Hawaii. In both of these sanctuaries, participants

help staff eliminate alien vegetation and re-establish native

plants. Participants receive a letter from Sidwell Friend’s

describing their community service to their schools.

Workshops for High School

Spanish Service: Students in this workshop have the opportunity

to improve their Spanish language skills. They work

on their pronunciation in a “language laboratory” and participate

in dialogs and role plays, write compositions, and

give oral reports. Students also have the opportunity to

work in service organizations in the Latino community of

Washington, DC.

Workshops for Middle School

ASL (American Sign Language): This workshop provides the

opportunity to learn and explore the third most common

language in the United States. Students will learn how to

communicate using signs, facial expressions, and gestures

the way most people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing

do. Deaf Culture and its many aspects will also be discussed

and examined. A field trip to a school for the deaf

or a similar site will allow students to practice what they

have learned.

Helping Hands: A one-week, full-day workshop that provides

hands-on community service opportunities and time

for classroom learning and group reflection. During the

week, students volunteer at various not-for-profit organizations,

such as nursing homes, day care centers, homeless

services providers, or environmental agencies. The

morning begins in a Sidwell classroom discussing issues

important to the service project of the day.

Clear Up!: This workshop engages participants in such activities

as cleaning up local parks, beaches, and bays.

Participants learn about the environment and their relationship

to it in class, through visits to local farms, and by

taking canoe trips to view local ecosystems and the systems’

impact on native wildlife.

A, B, Cs of Community Service with Infants/Toddlers: In this

two-week workshop, participants intern in local daycare

centers, spending four hours daily working with infants

and children up to age five and their caregivers. They

develop activities and assist with a variety of classroom

functions. They explore interactions, situations encountered,

and learning about early childhood development.

Workshops for Elementary School

Little Hands, Big Hearts: A part of the Explorer Day Camp,

this afternoon workshop introduces children to community

service. Activities may include art projects for the

elderly, a visit to a daycare center to perform a skit,

making sandwiches for a shelter, cleaning up a park, and

creating stories about how people can help others.

OUR TAKE: With such a wide variety of programs and experiences,

a child of any age will benefit greatly from the opportunity

to participate in any one of these workshops. This is a great

way for your child to gain a healthy sense of altruism, contribute

positively and fruitfully to the community, meet new

friends, and feel good about himself or herself as an individual.

These workshops provide unlimited resources and opportunities

for personal growth and heighten your child’s levels of

community, cultural, environmental, and social awareness.

OUR RECOMMENDATION: The program has more than enough

activities for any kid to have a good time. This is a great

way for your student to show his or her involvement in the

community.

VOLUNTEERS FOR PEACE INTERNATIONAL

WORK CAMP

International community service camp

Amy Bannon, Outgoing Placement or Peter Coldwell, Director

1034 Tiffany Road

Belmont, VT 05730

(802) 259-2759

vfp@vfp.org

www.vfp.org

QUICK TAKE: This program is definitely for the independent

mature kid. The decision to participate must be driven by

the teenager. The child must travel to the work camp destination

by himself or herself, where he or she will meet and

work with other teens who speak different languages. Usually

there are only a few English-speaking teens in a group.

You have to be a certain type of kid to love this journey. It’s

hard work. The kids will travel to interesting countries, meet

the people, learn about the culture, and engage in community

service.

AGE REQUIREMENT: 15 and older for most programs; a few

programs each year for 14-year olds.

FEES: Vary with location and length of session: airfare plus

$250 registration fee. Check out the Web site for more information

on the various camps and prices.

SPONSORSHIP/OWNERSHIP/ACCREDITATION: Volunteers for

Peace

BACKGROUND: Since 1982, Volunteers for Peace has been a

not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to connect students

in countries around the world. The camp’s goal is to

promote peace and understanding through more interaction

among people of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures.

DESCRIPTION: Kids have the opportunity to choose from a

number of great locations around the world. Each location

offers different workshops and interesting projects. There

will also be time to visit with people native to the country and

make new friends. Students will also get the chance to learn

about the culture and pick up a little of the language. Students

have the option of earning college credit through this

program.

OUR TAKE: Independent travel is required, and the child must

be willing to put up with language barriers. Usually programs

go Germany and France, but some are in Estonia and Italy.

If your child is on the way to the Peace Corps, let him or her

have a look at this camp. This is a great way for students to

study abroad and learn about different cultures as they help

a community and have a great time. College credit is an

added bonus.

OUR RECOMMENDATION: The decision to go on this type of

trip must be made by the child. NOTE: Parents who are Peace

Corps wannabes—don’t live vicariously through your child.

It takes a mature, independent, and energetic kid to make

this summer work. These qualities are essential to a successful

summer for your child. They have an immense amount of

credentials and opportunities for the volunteer student. This

program gives students the opportunity to explore a new

place and feel the joy and rewards of volunteer work. Its goal

is to help kids learn more about other countries, along with a

camp experience that they’ll never forget!