Trip Issues
Winter 2008 Issues
When: December 19-23, 2008
Children's Disabilities
Volunteers will work with children struggling with disabilities and provide much needed service to programs that support them. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in therapeutic activities provided by the organization and create more friendly environments for the children enrolled in them.
Health and Aging
Participants will work with the elderly community and provide love and friendship to those in need. They will learn how many elders do not have needed support from family and the difference it makes to have people around who care about them. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with a remarkable generation on a daily basis through direct service.
LGBTQ
Participants will learn about obstacles facing the LGBTQ community and work with an organization that seeks to alleviate them. Activities may include direct service with those that the organization supports as well projects within the organization, such as beautification, construction, and participation in education programs.
Weekend 2009 Issues
When: January 16-19, 2009
Low-income Housing
Participants on this trip will work with an organization(s) that provides permanent, affordable housing to homeless and low-income families. This trip will focus on the factors that affect obtaining and keeping housing for those families whose finances do not allow them to find affordable housing. Service may include landscaping, clean up, painting, installing appliances and other renovation services.
Environmental Preservation
Participants on this trip will have a long weekend ahead of them in which they can work in parks and preserves in order to participate in activities that will help to conserve the environment for decades to come. The trip will focus on ways in which one can leave a positive and lasting imprint on Florida's ecological systems.
Spring 2009 Issues
When: March 7-14, 2009
Native American Immersion
Participants will work with members of a Native American tribe. The service is varied, and will depend on what the tribe needs at the time. Besides learning how a Native American tribe runs, participants will aid by helping residents and learning about Native American culture. Past participants at this site said it was an extremely positive learning experience, and were able to maintain a relationship with the residents.
Animal Refuge
Participants will work with over 100 threatened and endangered carnivores at this site which emphasizes rebuilding gene pools to maintain healthy populations for years to come. Service may include habitat building and maintenance, along with feeding and providing stimulation for the animals there. Participants will learn about the role these animals play in our society and our world.
Community Medicine
Not everyone in the United States is able to afford the health care services that they desperately seek. During this trip, participants will be able to travel to rural areas and work with hospital and clinics that have the means to supply lower income families with the medical care they need.
Water Conservation
Participants on this trip will have the opportunity to work directly with professional ecologists and environmentalists. They will learn how to preserve the nation's resources, like our limited supply of pure water, and why this is essential. The week will be an open door to learning and understanding the different processes that are involved in supplying and purifying water systems in the US.
Financial Education
Participants will work with organizations that focus on helping their community become financially independent. Participants will learn what it means to be financially independent and what steps must be taken in order to gain autonomy. Participants will also learn about and work with the existing economic benefits programs that are available to low wage workers.
Disaster Recovery
Working with a relief organization, this trip will address the problems still faced by cities affected by Hurricane Katrina. The focus will be on rebuilding communities damaged by the storm. Service will be primarily composed of physical labor.
Homelessness and Poverty
Participants will be working in an urban area volunteering in service projects directly benefiting the local homeless population. The trip will focus on the relation between homelessness and poverty and the differences between the two statuses. Through interactive experiences, participants will gain valuable information to bring back to Gainesville that will help in our city's fight against homelessness.
Educational Inequality
Participants will volunteer at schools and organizations that work to close the inequality gap that exists in our education systems. Participants will gain hands on experience working with these organizations and the students affecting by inadequate attention and resources. This trip will examine the ways in which the education system does in fact leave students behind and will provide possible solutions to that problem.
Immigration Law
Participants will participate in hands on, interactive, activist work with immigration detainees and their families. In doing so, they will learn how the immigration system works in our country and they will learn of its effect on the families involved. Participants will also learn about the challenges in becoming an American citizen.
Youth Empowerment Through Sports
This trip will focus on how sports enrich the lives of youth and how sports can be used to empower youths to excel academically, athletically and in life. Participants will work with programs that are designed to help develop fitness, reduce of stress, and create an appreciation for teamwork. Participants will get a chance to mentor youth and serve as positive role models for them.
Mental Health
Participants will work closely with people aging out of foster care who have been struggling with mental health disabilities throughout their lives. Participants will become strong role models and help with the development of life skills. This trip will seek to erase the stigma of mental health disabilities and provide awareness about the issues affecting those with these disabilities.
Criminal Justice
Participants on this trip will work with people who have been or are currently part of our criminal justice system. Service will focus on understanding the needs and concerns of the affected parties including the treatment of inmates.
Children's Medicine (International)
This trip entails a one week long journey to help youth in impoverished nations who cannot afford healthcare or medical services. Participants will be able to work firsthand at free clinics and get directly involved with giving children a chance at staying healthy as they grow up.
Poverty and Development (International)
By working with organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and increasing development, participants will be able to understand what poverty looks like in an international setting. Participants will have a chance to work one on one with local communities members in another country on sustainable projects that benefit the families in that community long term. This trip will focus on the specific cultural, political, and social conditions that affect the economic development of the local community.
Water Conservation (International)
By working with international organizations dedicated to preserving one of our earth's most important resources, participants will learn about water conservation and its role in the global community. They will work both within organizations and in the field on conservation projects.