LANDMARK VOLUNTEERS
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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!