Lynx Alternative Breaks

If I am a Service Learning project coordinator, I would pick taking care of elderly. When people willing to invest a lot of time in taking care of elderly, they receive unimaginable knowledge in return. For college students who participate, this project will help them developing patience, seeing things differently, and learning another's perspective. When I was taking care of my grandma, she taught me principles that I couldn't learn it myself. Because they lived longer and experienced things we never experience which take their whole life to learn, and saved me many time to learn so. The purpose of Service Learning is to combine learning with community service activities that get students involved and applying the experiences to their academic.

The cultural experience that I decided to participate in was volunteering at a nursing home. Hospice centers focus on the care of chronically or terminally ill patients. Volunteering at such a center would require training and certification and a clean bill of health. Nursing homes require similar training for some forms of volunteer service, however there are other options available that still allow direct interaction with residents. I chose to volunteer at the LakePoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that is located in my hometown. My goal was to directly engage with the residents there so that I could better understand their experiences and overcome my feelings of discomfort.

Growing up with very little money, I realized at a young age how vital it is for families, and communities as a whole to come together to help one another. Without the support of many people, I personally would not be where I am today, a senior in college with the world at my feet. To know this, is to know how important it is to help others, whether that means through small daily acts, or in large ways, such as this experience would be. While I would like to say that joining the Peace Corps is for all altruistic reasons, it is not. To have this experience would broaden my knowledge of the world around me, and strengthen my ability to be empathetic as a Psychologist in the future.

If you placed a ticket in my hand that could take me to any destination of my choosing, I would not waste the opportunity. I want to take my love for traveling, helping others, and expanding my knowledge on others' way of life all the way to a third world country. I would take me and my ticket of endless possibilities to Liberia. While I'm in Liberia, I do not foresee myself staying in a hotel like housing. Staying in a village will open more opportunities to the experience I crave. I would love to teach new things to the children, teens, adults, and elders as well as engage in their culture and routines, to learn from them. I quite enjoy learning how others live, not only because it enhances my understanding of the world and others, but also

533). Furthermore, tourists that often go on such volunteering trips are young graduates with minimal knowledge and skills about the outer world and cultures (Wearing 2001, p. 146). This could potentially lead to generalised views of other cultures and may even lead to imposing their own culture on others, with or without intention. It is essential that volunteers are appropriately qualified and prepared so that they are perceived positively by their hosts and can make a genuine contribution, rather than simply absorbing time and resources (Raymond and Hall 2008, p. 531). Without the fundamental material and understanding the plight of people in poor lands, the promise of good outcomes would be counter-productive and may only serve to imprint power and authority (McGloin, & Georgeou 2015, p. 409). Reinforcing the fact that people in the slums may comprehend the status of visitors and their dominance over their constructions, which influences their poverty and underpins their lack of power in society (Raymond and Hall 2008, p. 533). Voluntourism, when combined with unskilled tourists in this imperialistic world, becomes very exploitative. In other words, through the modern-day practice of voluntourism ideas of imperialism is still very much alive and present.

I have volunteered twice on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota with an organization called Re-member. Both times my tasks involved providing service to the indigenous community by getting them crucial supplies and by aiding in repairing their homes. Just this last summer I volunteered in Panama with an organization called Global Brigades. Here I was also providing service to the indigenous communities in the Darien region of Panama, but it was slightly different from my experience in Pine Ridge. We were working in collaboration with businesses that the indigenous people had already set up with the goal of getting them to a place where they are self-sustaining and don’t require our service anymore. This included a cultural immersion

Most recently, I participated in community service projects (approximately 100 hours over my four years) while a student at Saint Mary's College in the following clubs and committees: Member of SMC Stand UP; Member of Residence Hall Association; Formal Committee; Improvements Board Committee; Fundraising Committee and Member of Varsity Tennis Team. The projects I participated in included involvement in local nursing homes, Riley Hospital for Children, Hannah's House (women's care center) and tennis camps.

Restoring archeological sites in Machu Picchu. Maintaining trails in Patagonia. Organic gardening in Taiwan. Although it may not seem like it, these three destinations have something in common: They’re all sites that cater to volunteer tourists. Volunteer tourism counts as one of the most unique branches of tourism that exists. It combines adventure travel with altruism. It’s an excellent way to acquire new skills, to exercise existing ones, and to leave your mark on the world.

Vacationers choosing to spend their limited holiday time and vacation budget journeying across the world to perform volunteer service are a very recent concept. Over the past 15 years, it has grown with such momentum that both non-profit organizations and for-profit advisory services and tour operators are scrambling to match many different agendas.

Have you ever thought of visiting a poor country or area in need of help for survival? Well you can go on these trips and help the families in need. Slum tours should be allowed because it is cash inflow coming in for the people which means more money for schools and healthcare. Another reason is you may have other people go on these trips after you go and they can experience it for themselves and possibly donate some more money. Finally, It's good for people to know what's going on other than in their little world it's a reality check which can help local charities to be created to help out more of these places.

Everyone will tell you to go volunteer because it looks good on a resume or looks good for graduate school, but not too many people say go volunteer for the joy of it. By doing this certificate you will realize how much true love you have for helping others. Upon completing this you will want to help others for the fun of it and from the heart. Though it does look amazing on resumes, for graduate school, and etc. It means more when you are able to do it from the heart.

While the size, scope, and net impact of individual PCV projects vary greatly, all projects work towards developing and bettering the demographic and geographic communities they serve. PCVs have the opportunity to directly impact a foreign community in need, and I want to be one of those on-the-ground volunteers who dedicate themselves to their project and the community they find themselves in.

To be honest, when I started to dive into this whole process, I had no idea what I was truly interested in. I was only taking this social work class a a very general way to get engaged with the community, though I had little idea what that would mean or what it truly entailed. So when I finally discovered that there was a mandatory volunteer requirement for this class, I was both excited and nervous at the same time, as it would be my first time going through such a process without my parents help. It was not until I discovered the “Give Kids the World Village” that I began to get a better understanding of what this would really mean for me. To begin with, the Give Kids the World Village was created by its Founder Henri Landwirth. Henri would ultimately create the Give Kids the World because of the unfortunate events that happened to his beloved Amy. Amy was a young girl who Henri cherished dearly, however Amy was suffering from a terminal illness, leukemia, and it was her last wish was to go to the parks and meet her favorite characters. However, due to many complications regarding travel, Amy passed away before her dream was accomplished. From there, Henri would work towards making an organization that would handle the costs and complications of travel, so that no other parent should suffer his fate. [1]And thus, the “Give Kids the World Village” was founded, and with it, it’s only major goal. Which is simply to provide everything families need to make their trip, and to

Service-learning often leads to an opportunity to enjoy formal and informal networks which lead to employment, leadership opportunities, and an expansion of cultural knowledge. It may be meaningful to consider how parents and residents of economically disadvantaged neighborhoods might similarly benefit from providing services to local schools.

It is called university social service activities carried out by students who have begun the study of a degree (including medical careers or some engineering) for the benefit of the community, and that at the same time are part of their professional and civic training, as established by UNESCO.