VISIONS Blog

A Teen Volunteer's Experience in the BVI

Posted on May 9, 2012

Take a look into the daily life of a VISIONS British Virgin Islands teen volunteer.

Video: Montana Blackfeet Reservation

Posted on May 3, 2012

Take a look inside VISIONS youth volunteers' experiences on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana.

Bird Like Me: "Daily Show" Profiles Neglected Black Town

Posted on April 20, 2012

Turkey Creek, Mississippi, has been hit hard by redevelopment, industrial pollution, and Hurricane Katrina. This "Daily Show" clip humorously features some of our friends and partners in Mississippi as they attempt to conserve Turkey Creek's natural and cultural heritage.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-24-2011/bird-like-me

VISIONS Passage Programs ~ Middle School Summer Travel Programs with a Purpose

Posted on April 13, 2012

VISIONS Passage Programs in the British Virgin Islands and Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation have the same framework as our teen summer travel programs. Middle-schoolers are fully engaged and age-appropriately challenged, mentored by sensitive summer leaders with experience working with youth.

Students and their leaders live, work, explore and achieve tangible goals together. Passage Programs help pave the way to the high school years just around the corner. But don’t take our word for it. We’ll let a few Passage Program participants and parents speak for themselves.

He LOVED it and plans to return next year. I'm not sure what you did with the other kids that went to Visions but I'll keep the one you sent home!
~ Parent Kelly Gift, Mechanicsburg, PA

TOP 10 Reasons to do Community Service in the U.S

Posted on April 13, 2012

1. To live among and befriend descendants of America’s indigenous people, hear their stories firsthand, discover their traditions in real time, learn how and in what ways their cultures have survived

2. To come under the spell of the Deep South without even realizing that you are being enchanted, so that when departure day approaches, it suddenly strikes you: “I’m so homesick just thinking about leaving here!”

3. To wake up in the morning, walk out into the crisp air and see nothing but nature, no buildings or houses, just wildflowers, a sparkling creek, and in the distance the Rocky Mountain Front and majestic peaks of Glacier National Park

Teen Volunteer Projects in Ghana 2012

Posted on March 27, 2012

My Visions Ghana experience has changed the way I look at life. ~Amanda McAneny, Chesapeake, MD (2011)

2012 marks VISIONS second season offering youth summer programs in Ghana’s Volta Region. We are home-based in Agbenexoe, a village of about 1000 people. The village is at the base of Mount Afadjato and right on Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, covering more than 3,200 square miles of the country.

Agbenexoe elders, with villagers’ blessings, have set aside 25 acres of land on which to build an orphanage and private school with dormitory facilities, a long-time dream of the community. VISIONS has forged a partnership with Agbenexoe to help bring the school complex to life. While there is a public school in the area, private school education can offer much more to community children.

“I want the simplicity of the town pump being a special treat.”

Posted on March 20, 2012

I find myself struggling to adjust to a life I left only two and a half weeks ago, and I think I’ve been fighting the adjustment. I don’t want to be surrounded by malls and traffic. I want to be around mountains. I don’t want “work” to mean school work or my job. I want “work” to be something more meaningful and rewarding. ...I want the simplicity of the town pump being a special treat. I don’t want to spend my nights out drinking or partying. I want to sit around and talk…maybe play cards…and have that still be a fun time. I don’t want to be surrounded by my [life at home]. I want to be with the family and support system I lived with in Browning [Blackfeet Indian reservation].

Although I have a new appreciation for clean clothes, my bed, my shower, and my food, I would probably trade these comforts in a heartbeat for more time in Montana.

“The only CD I listen to in my car now is Bob Marley”

Posted on March 20, 2012

Hey VISIONS!

I wanted to write to thank you so much for such an incredible time. I’m not trying to sound cheesy, but I can honestly say that my experience in Tortola was one of the best experiences of my life. I can’t thank you enough for the time and dedication you took in making the experience enjoyable for everyone... Every day when I see people in town and they ask about my summer, I can’t put into words the experience I had...

I finally today took the braids out of my hair. They had been there for weeks, and I had some Tortola sand in my hair…gross, huh?

I also filled up my Nalgene with our wonderful water the morning before we left, and to this day that water is still in there…my parents think I am crazy.

Thank You from Virgin Gorda (BVI) Animal Rescue

Posted on March 20, 2012

IB Summer Scholars TRAVEL THE WORLD

Posted on March 14, 2012

Below are two articles from the "Harrisburg Academy Newsletter" featuring VISIONS youth volunteers, Rose Levenson and Amna Elnour. Read the full issue.

VISIONS Blog

A Teen Volunteer's Experience in the BVI

Video: Montana Blackfeet Reservation

Bird Like Me: "Daily Show" Profiles Neglected Black Town

VISIONS Passage Programs ~ Middle School Summer Travel Programs with a Purpose

TOP 10 Reasons to do Community Service in the U.S

Teen Volunteer Projects in Ghana 2012

“I want the simplicity of the town pump being a special treat.”

“The only CD I listen to in my car now is Bob Marley”

Thank You from Virgin Gorda (BVI) Animal Rescue

IB Summer Scholars TRAVEL THE WORLD

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