In addition to offering teen community service programs of the highest quality since 1989, VISIONS also organizes custom programs for youth groups. These are short, intensive seven-to 10-day experiences that feature the same successful components of VISIONS’ summer community service programs for high school students: ambitious service work, culture and language immersion, and spirited exploration.

 

During the 2010 season, VISIONS collaborated with two different youth organizations to create custom programs. The B’nai Jeshurun Synagogue Youth Group in New York City spent seven days in Nicaragua in February constructing a long-awaited water system for the northern Nicaraguan village of Chaguite Grande. Villagers worked side-by-side with the B’nai Jeshurun youth, their chaperons, and VISIONS’ two leaders.

Most recently, VISIONS partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford, CT, for a week on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in early August.

 

For the most part VISIONS offers community service abroad for high school students. But VISIONS also offers teen volunteering programs in three U.S. locations: Alaska native villages, Montana Plains Indian communities, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Montana and Alaska are two of VISIONS oldest programs, in fact. VISIONS believes that a transformative and eye-opening service experience need not happen exclusively outside of our own country. Within America’s borders are noteworthy cultures and traditions far different and removed from mainstream American life. There is service to be done and different lives to learn about at home as well as abroad.

 

VISIONS operated its first summer community service program on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2006 in response to Hurricane Katrina. This summer (2010) after our month-long July program ended in Mississippi, another, smaller group of teens from the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford arrived.

 

From August 4 to August 9, in only a short span of time the seven young people constructed two new sets of wooden entrance steps and installed safety bars with handles in the bathroom of the home of a low-income elderly North Gulfport resident. And for another low-income family with a handicapped member, the group entirely re-configured a 30-ft. metal ramp, added extra supports and an additional 8-ft. extension ramp. Like all VISIONS programs, the young men and women helped set up and clean up all their meals, do a daily cleaning sweep of their home base residence in Moss Point, and had evening circle meetings.

 

The high school students spent lots of time meeting and visiting with local people in Moss Point and Turkey Creek (North Gulfport). Again, in so short a time, the group managed to have considerable fun as well. There were pot luck dinners with young and old Moss Point residents; a dancing and singing tournament; a nature-viewing boat ride on the bayou through our Audubon partner and a canoe trip down the Wolf River; a long day and night in New Orleans; and a lot of taking in local music regularly.

 

Month-long summer community service programs for high school students are challenging, rewarding and transformative experiences for teens who participate. Young people and leaders, who do not know each other before the program begins, and then spontaneously form a community committed to a common goal of service over the course of four weeks is very powerful.  We know also that the strong framework and thoughtful components that underpin VISIONS summer programs do ignite rewarding and illuminating short-term experiences as both of the two custom programs mentioned here confirm.