Service Learning

Service Trips: New Orleans and Dominican Republic

11/2/2017

Tower Hill is offering two service trips in March. Domestically, New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 18-24, and internationally, the Dominican Republic from March 24-31. Below you will find descriptions and sample itineraries of both trips as well as estimated costs and due dates for deposits.

New Orleans

New Orleans is one of the most unique and culturally diverse cities in our country. It is home to gumbo, crab boils, etouffée, Café Du Monde beignets, jambalaya, voodoo queens, creole, zydeco and the best music east and west of the Mississippi!

NOLA-March 18-24. New Orleans continues to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, as well as a recent EF3 tornado that left many houses in East New Orleans in need of repair. We will be volunteering with the St. Bernard Project, an organization Tower Hill students worked with in 2011. We will be assisting homeowners in the rebuilding or repairing of houses that have been affected by these storms. We will begin our work day at 7 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. leaving time in the afternoon for additional volunteering (TBD) as well as sight seeing. We will bed down at Camp Restore, a facility that opens its doors to volunteers and provides low-cost housing and home-cooked meals.

Tentative itinerary:

Depart 3/18 BWI-MSY approx 8:30 a.m. (Rental van will transport two chaperones and eight students to Camp Restore) After settling in at Camp Restore we will take in the “City of New Orleans.”
Work days begin on 3/19-23 from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. with additional volunteering and/or sighting seeing later in the afternoon.
Depart 3/24 MSY-BWI approx 9:30 a.m..

Approximate total cost: $1,000.00 (includes all transportation, meals and lodging)

Deposit due: 11/1/17 $420.00

Dominican Republic-Cabarete, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (March 24-31, 2018)

We will be traveling to the Dominican Republic to participate in service learning opportunities with our new partner, The Mariposa Foundation. This trip is open to all students. Please see sample itinerary below.

The Mariposa Foundation states:

“Educate, Empower, Employ: Our philosophy is grounded in the belief that it takes a holistic approach to make a real difference in the lives of girls. We achieve lasting results by engaging the entire family and community, making a girl’s education, health and safety of the utmost importance. We give girls the knowledge, resources, and self-confidence to be successful and disrupt the cycle of poverty.”

The estimated cost of this trip is $2550.00 (includes air-fare, ground transportation, lodging and meals)

Deposit due: ~$500 11/15/17

Mariposa DR Foundation

SERVICE TRIPS AND EDUCATIONAL TOURS

Proposed Itinerary - Cabarete

Day 1

2:00 pm Arrival into Puerto Plata International Airport

Transfer via air-conditioned bus to Cabarete

3:30 pm Check in, unpack, & settle-into The Blue Moon Retreat, a peaceful hilltop bed and breakfast located in the breathtaking Dominican countryside

Optional dip in the pool.

5:00 pm Orientation at Blue Moon

7:00 pm Dinner at Blue Moon and Q & A session with in-country guides

Day 2

7:30 am Tropical buffet breakfast at Blue Moon

8:30 am Depart in air-conditioned bus to worksite

9:00 am Community tour and orientation: We will wander through the local community, visiting the public school as well as the homes of the Dominican children who attend them. Throughout the next several days we will learn to understand the meaning of family as viewed through the eyes of Dominicans and Haitians. We will learn how their homes are built and the significance of the fruit trees and coconut palms that grow around them.

10:00 am Begin work on service project

12:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm Continue project work

4:30 pm Return to Blue Moon

5:00 pm Free-time

7:00 pm Dinner at Blue Moon

Day 3

7:30 am Tropical buffet breakfast at Blue Moon

8:30 am Depart in air-conditioned bus to worksite

9:00 am Continue project work

12:00pm Lunch

1:00 pm Continue project work