This summer, West Potomac High School students Peyton Burns and Brian Williams will travel to Peru and the British Virgin Islands, respectively with VISIONS Service Adventures, an international community service program for teens. They will join other high school students from around the world in these locations, where they will live in the community, get to know the local customs and traditions, and tackle ambitious service projects that demonstrate the power of teens working for change.

“Students arrive with the intent of contributing to underserved communities, and end up a part of that community,” says Katherine Dayton, Executive Director of VISIONS. “They build relationships with other participants, mentors and community members, and step out of their comfort zones and into experiences that create lifelong impact.”

All programs are overseen by adult leaders and long-time local partners, who guide and teach the students in hands-on construction and other development projects. Beyond completing service projects, the summer is an opportunity for students to explore the idea of community in both a local and global sense. “VISIONS is not about construction projects,” explains long-time program leader David Kramer. “It is about deconstructing how we view the world and then framing a new vision upon the foundation of real experience with a global perspective.”

VISIONS has been running high school and middle school volunteer travel experiences since 1989, and is well known for programs that are centered on community driven projects in cross-cultural settings. Locations include Alaska, the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, Mississippi, the Montana Blackfeet and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations, Myanmar (Burma), the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Nicaragua, Peru and Guadeloupe. 

For more information about these trips and VISIONS, visit www.visions-service.com, or contact Trace at @email or (406) 551-4423.