Day 1 :
Embark on your Service-Learning Trip to Houston, Texas
- Departure from home airport:
Relax and enjoy your scheduled flight.
- Upon arrival:
Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport and remain with your group until your final airport departure. You’ll also have a private coach and driver while touring for the next six days.
- Accommodations:
Your base for the next six nights will be in the Houston area, in dorm-style* accommodations where breakfast will be provided. *Hotel accommodations can be substituted upon request.
- City in brief:
Houston is a Texas metropolis, extending to Galveston Bay and closely linked with the Space Center Houston. The city's relatively compact downtown includes the Theater District, home to the renowned Houston Grand Opera, and the Historic District, featuring 19th-century architecture.
- Welcome and orientation session: :
This afternoon, you’ll have an orientation session with your Tour Director, who will cover the health and safety aspects of our program as well as explain plans for the week ahead.
- Group dinner:
Enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant this evening.
- Daily reflection and group discussion:
"We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." - John Dewey
Each evening of the program, we’ll set time aside to update your Reflection Journal and share thoughts and impressions that have come up during the day.
Day 2 :
Community Cornerstone: Community Infrastructure and Enrichment
- Project orientation:
Start the morning with a brief orientation, where you’ll discuss the day's service activity, the importance and relevance of the project, and how what you learn from the day can be applied to daily life when you return home. Note: Service activities can be developed based on group needs and requests.
- Housing and history:
Many cities have issues regarding affordable housing and homelessness, and natural disasters have only made the issue worse. These issues persist in different neighborhoods throughout Houston. Working on housing and homelessness is not only a great way to help the city rebuild but also an important way to learn about its history. Projects may include:
• Home rebuilding and construction
• Vacant lot clearing
• Assisting local homeless shelters
- Lunch:
Lunch will be provided at the project site.
- Walking tour:
Take a walking tour of Houston and see what makes this city so unique.
- Group dinner and reflection:
This evening, enjoy dinner as a group followed by some reflection on and discussion of the day's activities and what you learned.
- Evening activity:
After dinner, participate in a ballroom dancing class!
Day 3 :
Community Cornerstone: Community Infrastructure and Enrichment
- Project orientation:
Begin the day with a brief orientation to discuss the day's service activity, the importance and relevance of the project, and how what you learn from the day can be applied to daily life when you return home.
- Neighborhood revitalization:
A city is made up of many vibrant and unique neighborhoods, each with its own history, culture, highlights, and challenges. Neighborhood revitalization emphasizes residents’ quality of life, especially in low-income areas. This approach is a great way to support Houston while learning more about what makes the city special—its people and neighborhoods. Projects may include:
• Neighborhood and park beautification projects (murals, plantings, etc.)
• Park clean-up and planting
• Blighted property and lot clean-up
• Community center support
• Neighborhood canvassing and surveying
• Storm drain clearing
- Lunch:
Lunch will be provided at the project site.
- Boat excursion:
See the incredible Houston skyline on a boat tour.
- Group dinner:
Enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant.
- Evening activity and reflection:
Your group will be joined by a local educational speaker to discuss the importance of your service work and how it is benefiting the area. Afterward, there will be time for discussion and reflection.
Day 4 :
Community Cornerstone: Conservation and the Environment
- Project orientation:
Start the morning with a brief orientation, where you’ll discuss the day's service activity, the importance and relevance of the project, and how what you learn from the day can be applied to daily life when you return home.
- Environmental sustainability :
Environmental sustainability is one of the greatest challenges facing the country today. From rising sea levels to sinking wetlands and bayous to natural disasters, the future is dependent upon responding and adapting to climate change. Environmental sustainability projects not only have an immense impact on the community but also provide great educational opportunities for the volunteers. Projects may include:
• Working in public green spaces and urban gardens/farms
• Ecosystem restoration
• Conservation and disaster management projects
• Planting trees and rain gardens in flood-prone areas
- Lunch:
Lunch will be provided at the project site.
- Kemah Boardwalk:
The Kemah Boardwalk is a 60-acre Texas Gulf Coast theme park, approximately 30 miles southeast of Downtown Houston. The Boardwalk is built along the shores of Galveston Bay and Clear Lake and is among the country’s premier boardwalks.
- Group dinner:
Enjoy dinner as a group in a local restaurant.
- Evening activity and reflection:
This evening, you’ll view a documentary relating to Houston, the importance of your service work, and how it is benefiting the area. Afterward, there will be time for discussion and reflection.
Day 5 :
Community Cornerstone: Education and Literacy
- Project orientation:
Begin the day with a brief orientation to discuss the day's service activity, the importance and relevance of the project, and how what you learn from the day can be applied to daily life when you return home.
- Education service activity:
Education is a key component to the sustainability, long-term growth, and prosperity of a city. From elementary school to high school, a community can only go as far as the quality of its education system. Unfortunately, work is still needed at many schools across the country. Education-related volunteer projects not only provide short-and long-term benefits to the communities served but they also highlight the challenges and benefits of the education system. Projects may include:
• School and playground beautification
• Classroom and library organization
• Painting classrooms
• Technology support
- Lunch:
Lunch will be provided at the project site.
- Houston Space Center:
Spend time visiting the Space Center Houston, a leading science and space learning facility and NASA Johnson Space Center’s official visitor center. It features more than 400 artifacts, exhibits (both permanent and traveling), experiences, and theaters related to the remarkable past and exciting future of America's human space-flight program. Space Center Houston features the world's largest collection of moon rocks and lunar samples for public view.
- Group dinner and evening reflection:
Enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant followed by some reflection on and discussion of the day’s activities and what you learned.
Day 6 :
Community Cornerstone: Education and Literacy
- Project orientation:
Start the morning with a brief orientation, where you’ll discuss the day's service activity, the importance and relevance of the project, and how what you learn from the day can be applied to daily life when you return home.
- Arts & Culture service activity:
The arts have a tremendous ability to change individuals and groups in positive ways—investment in this area can improve the local economy and increase residents’ quality of life. Volunteer art projects can help cultivate community by communicating the area’s history and bridging the gap between different cultures. Projects may include:
• Mural painting
• Museum or community art center support
• Cemetery clean-up
• Working at a local art or music festival
- Lunch:
Lunch will be provided at the project site.
- Afternoon free time:
Spend the afternoon enjoying time with your peers.
- Group dinner:
This evening, have a group dinner in a local restaurant.
- Ghost tour:
Take a haunted ghost tour of Houston.
- Final reflection and discussion session:
This evening, you’ll make the final entries in your Reflection Journal and share some of the most significant observations and perspectives that have taken shape throughout your Service-Learning week in Houston. We’ll also discuss how these experiences may be most relevant for us all as we return home.
Day 7 :
Departure from Houston
- Depart for home:
Your rewarding and enjoyable Service-Learning in Houston program comes to an end as your Tour Director accompanies your group to the airport on your final day.
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