Student travel usually brings up images of backpacking through Europe or enjoying long days on a Mexican beach. But as volunteerism rises, a growing number of young people are looking to bring back more from their vacations than a tan. Several options allow students to combine the seemingly competing desires to volunteer and travel.
Alternative spring break
Alternative spring break trips take students to needy areas which may be across the nation or in a foreign land. They are planned during a school's spring break week as an "alternative" to the partying stereotypes of most spring break vacations. Volunteers may work on a specific project, such as construction, or they may simply give a week's worth of aid to a volunteer organization. They can usually work during the day and enjoy vacation time at night or during planned excursions. While the alternative spring break concept began on college campuses, it has since spread to high schools. Alternative spring break trips are usually planned by an umbrella organization or a community service office that you can contact to sign up. If an organization or office doesn't already exist at your school, talk to a faculty member about starting one.
Mission trips
Mission trips involve a combination of religious outreach and community service. A church group might build homes in the morning and lead a Bible school in the afternoon. While these activities could be accomplished in volunteers' home cities, traveling to a new locale adds extra interest to otherwise typical volunteer work and allows those involved to broaden their horizons. Students of all ages can take part in mission trips. Talk to your minister or youth director about your interest in a mission trip.
Peace Corps
This is the ultimate volunteer traveling adventure. However, it's not an experience to be entered into lightly. Live in an exotic locale and make a real difference in the world. Placements vary greatly according to the needs of a particular location and the skills of volunteers, but projects include everything from education to agriculture to information technology. Volunteers must make a two-year commitment to the program and receive a monthly living stipend. You can get more information on the Peace Corps from the organization's website or from on-campus visits and programs at your college or university.
Americorps/Teach for America
If you would like to travel to a new area in the United States, then the Americorps and Teach for America programs will let you see new sights while lending vital help to low-income, often inner-city areas. Americorps assignments can be anything from tutoring children to building homes and typically require a ten-month to one-year commitment. Americorps workers receive a living stipend and an educational reward at the end of the program. Americorps eligibility requirements vary by project, but there are opportunities for students straight out of high school and college graduates. After an intensive summer training session, Teach for America members are placed in low-income schools throughout the nation. Teach for America requires a college degree, but no formal education training, and members are paid a regular teaching salary during their time in the classroom. If you become a Teach for America member, you make a two-year commitment to teach in your placement. Check out the programs' websites for more information.
