Outstanding summer programs for teens since 1982
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Volunteer Partners & Projects

We work with longstanding non-profit organizations to develop meaningful service projects around the world.

Ways to Volunteer

Choose from 5 styles of service available on our Community Service summer programs. Together with the local communities, you’ll participate in projects that have a positive and lasting impact. Browse our service partners, project descriptions and available programs below.

 

Volunteer Partners

Youth Leadership

Keeping in mind that children are the future, there are many incredibly rewarding opportunities to care for youth. While visiting schools, orphanages and day camps, we interact with the local kids and put a smile on their faces as we coordinate fun activities and educational lessons. Acting as role models, we can promote positivity and hope, while making new friends.

Volunteer Partners

Infrastructure

From building homes for those in need to fixing the basic infrastructure for those affected by a disaster, these projects range from construction sites to beautification efforts. Whether you have a shovel, hammer or paintbrush in hand, you’ll get to see the transformation as you improve the surroundings for the local residents.

Volunteer Partners

Community Welfare

Benefiting the community as a whole, these projects help address issues that affect people from all walks of life in a given community, such as educating homeowners in low-income neighborhoods about fire safety, helping to provide for the homeless or improving communal resources.

Volunteer Partners

Environmental Sustainability

Protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility, so do your part as you learn applications of environmental sustainability, including sustainable farming and forestry. Help with reforestation efforts by planting indigenous trees and removing invasive species, learning about specific ecosystems and the delicate relationship playing out between humans and nature.

Volunteer Partners

Wildlife Conservation

For the love of animals, join the effort to help protect and care for endangered or vulnerable species. From visiting a rescue reserve and adopting an elephant for a day, to helping to protect the natural habitat for giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands, get up close to these unique creatures while helping their cause.

Volunteer Partners

Youth Leadership

 

Boys & Girls Club

Interact with local children as you organize and lead recreational activities for them.

Available on:
Hawaii Community Service – 20 days
Pre-College Enrichment Los Angeles – on the Campus of UCLA – 14 days or 21 days
Pre-College Enrichment Los Angeles – on the Campus of UCLA with Final Week in Santa Barbara & San Francisco – 28 days
Pre-College Enrichment Montreal – on the Campus of McGill – 14 days or 21 days

 


 

Children’s Camp

Take on various leadership roles running a camp and create warm relationships with children.

Available on:
Costa Rica: Children’s Camp Leadership – 17 days

 


 

Jose Toribio Polo School

Make friends with Peruvian students of the same age while interacting and playing games with a focus on the English language.

Available on:
Peru Community Service – 28 days

 


 

Marti-Codolar Youth Center

Make a difference by facilitating recreational programs, games, computer education and English classes for children in need.

Available on:
Pre-College Enrichment Barcelona – 14 days, 21 days or 28 days

 


 

Red Hill Community of Simon’s Town

Help the residents of this community through both beautification projects and positive interactions with local students.

Available on:
South Africa Community Service – 25 days

Volunteer Partners 4

Infrastructure

 

Adobe Brick Building with Cachiccata Community

Learn how to make adobe bricks and how to build an adobe-style structure. The resulting adobe bricks will be used to improve communal buildings and schools.

Available on:
Peru Community Service – 15 days or 28 days

 


 

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Work at the HFH ReStore, which sells donated building materials and items to provide additional funding for HFH build projects. Join the HFH team in their goal of building homes, supporting the community, and minimizing the use of natural resources.

Available on:
Hawaii Community Service – 20 days

 


 

MEDLIFE Development Project

Take part in a development project that will directly benefit the community. Past MEDLIFE projects include installing modernized bathrooms, basic kitchen upgrades, and putting in fencing to separate farm animals from living quarters.

Available on:
Ecuador: Medical Assistance – 11 days
Ecuador & the Galapagos Community Service – 21 days
Peru Community Service – 15 days or 28 days

 


 

Siempre Amigos (Always Friends) Social & Environmental Responsibility Program

Assist Siempre Amigos to support residents in the Flamingo community by restoring a home for a family in need.

Available on:
Costa Rica Community Service – 10 days, 21 days or 28 days

Volunteer Partners 3

Community Welfare

 

Amazon Community Project

In this indigenous community, work alongside the locals to improve their school through minor renovations & beautification of the building.

Available on:
Peru Community Service – 15 days or 28 days


 

Food Bank of Los Angeles

Help fight hunger in the community by sorting, inspecting and repackaging donated food items.

Available on:
Pre-College Enrichment Los Angeles – on the Campus of UCLA – 14 days or 21 days
Pre-College Enrichment Los Angeles – on the Campus of UCLA with Final Week in Santa Barbara & San Francisco – 28 days

 


 

Hogar de Ninos Especiales Orphanage

Bring cheer to the children of the orphanage, assist with beautification projects and work around the facility.

Available on:
Peru Community Service – 28 days

 


 

Khayelitsha in Cape Town

Volunteer in the Cape Flats communities including Khayelitsha, the second largest township in South Africa. With a population of roughly two million people, statistics relating to unemployment, HIV and orphaned & vulnerable children are very high. 

Available on:
South Africa Community Service – 25 days

 


 

MEDLIFE Mobile Clinics

Experience what it takes to run a mobile clinic in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador. MEDLIFE establishes mobile clinics to bring free healthcare directly to communities in need. You will learn under the guidance of MEDLIFE medical professionals in an effort to provide free healthcare.

You will assist with the following tasks:

  • Taking Baseline Vitals – shadow a doctor as you learn the professional manner to take a pulse, blood pressure and other measurements.
  • Health Education – witness how a physician educates patients on areas of health care and help provide information.
  • Pharmacy – learn about prescriptions and offer care to patients as you help to distribute medication.

Available on:
Ecuador: Medical Assistance – 11 days

 


 

San Juan De Yanayacu

Work with locals to improve their school through minor renovations and beautification of the building. Help improve the surrounding area by planting tropical plants and working on the trails.

Available on:
Peru Community Service – 15 days or 28 days

 


 

Siempre Amigos (Always Friends) Social & Environmental Responsibility Program

Assist Siempre Amigos to support residents in the Flamingo community by restoring a home for a family in need.

Available on:
Costa Rica Community Service – 10 days, 21 days or 28 days

 


 

Somos Picnic

You will work in food-insecure neighborhoods helping to bring sustainable nutrition to families in need both through direct contact and food banks. Volunteer by helping with the preparation of the food, distribution of meals, and helping to improve the infrastructure of the dining rooms.

Available on:
Costa Rica Community Service – 21 days or 28 days

Volunteer Partners 2

Environmental Sustainability

 

Amazon Quechua Community Development

Learn from indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest, who still follow traditional ways of life such as subsistence farming. Work alongside community members to help with a project, such as maintaining a nature trail.

Available on:
Ecuador & the Galapagos Community Service – 21 days

 


 

Conch Republic Marine Army (CRMA)

Our groups will help cleanup the canals in the Big Pine community. The CRMA’s mission is habitat restoration, and to clean up and protect the coasts, mangroves, and waterways of the Florida Keys. CRMA uses passive restoration techniques to reduce or eliminate the sources of degradation and permit enough recovery time to allow the site to naturally regenerate.

Available on:
Florida Keys: Marine & Wildlife Conservation – 18 days

 


 

Coral Restoration Foundation

Get up-close experience with scientific fieldwork and coral reef restoration. Snorkel for a unique “birds-eye” view of coral nurseries and active restoration sites on nearby reefs. Discuss coral tree and nursery advantages and disadvantages while exploring various aspects of maintenance & materials. Delve into outplanting techniques and methodology, invertebrate field guides, coral identification & biology.

Available on:
Florida Keys: Marine & Wildlife Conservation – 18 days

 


 

Eco Children

Support a local school project, such as a new Eco Village, by building vegetable gardens and improving the school’s environment, making it more conducive to learning.

Available on:
South Africa Community Service – 13 days or 25 days

 


 

Eco Maui

On this environmental community outreach program, learn about Maui’s natural environment and participate in a service learning project which will support an environmental or cultural restoration site.

Available on:
Hawaii Community Service – 10 days or 20 days

 


 

Enrich L.A.

With over 116 school gardens built in L.A., help care for a garden and engage with the students who benefit from eating its healthy produce.

Available on:
Pre-College Enrichment Los Angeles – on the Campus of UCLA – 14 days or 21 days
Pre-College Enrichment Los Angeles – on the Campus of UCLA with Final Week in Santa Barbara & San Francisco – 28 days

 


 

Life Monteverde Co-Op

Help promote sustainable living on this 42-acre farm by planting trees, taking care of the animals and helping with organic fertilizing.

Available on:
Costa Rica Community Service – 28 days

 


 

Maui Cultural Lands

Spend a day learning about marine ecosystems and coral ecology. Have fun getting into the ocean to do your part to help the reefs heal and ensure a healthy marine ecosystem for the future. Then head inland to the Honokowai Valley to visit one of the richest archeological sites of the Hawaiian people. Here you will help maintain the sites to keep them clean of invasive species.  You’ll also learn about Hawaiian medicinal plants and applications, and assist with their primary goal to reforest the Honokowai Valley with native and endemic Hawaiian plant species.

Available on:
Hawaii Community Service – 10 days or 20 days

 


 

Reef Environmental Education Foundation

Become a Citizen Scientist by taking part in the Volunteer Fish Survey Project, an effective and powerful ocean program that allows scientists and resource managers to use the data to better understand and protect ocean ecosystems worldwide. Explore South Florida’s diverse tropical ecosystems, understand their importance, and discover how individuals can make a difference in conservation while kayaking through John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

Available on:
Florida Keys: Marine & Wildlife Conservation – 18 days

Volunteer Partners 1

Wildlife Conservation

 

Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center

Volunteer at this animal sanctuary, where different animals and wildlife are rescued, rehabilitated, and released back into their natural habitat.

Available on:
Costa Rica Community Service – 10 days, 21 days or 28 days

 


 

Dolphins Plus: Marine Mammal Responder

The responsibilities handled by volunteers represent vital aspects of Dolphins Plus: Marine Mammal Responder operations. Volunteers may find themselves helping with facility maintenance such as canal clean up, seaweed removal, fence cleaning, painting and landscaping.

Available on:
Florida Keys: Marine & Wildlife Conservation – 18 days

 


 

Latin American Sea Turtles (LAST)

Help with various tasks with LAST including boat trips to conduct in-water studies, lending a helping hand in the sea turtle rescue center, work on mangrove reforestation project and with beach cleaning.

Available on:
Costa Rica Community Service – 28 days
Costa Rica: Sea Turtle Conservation – 14 days

 


 

Malama na Honu

Help protect threatened species of sea turtles by offering educational outreach to the public and engaging in hands on work to maintain clean beaches.

Available on:
Hawaii Community Service – 20 days