Upcoming Trips

Kenner, Louisiana

Participants will work with the Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Recovery Ministries to help re-build 20 minutes outside of New Orleans.

Jonestown, Mississippi

Participants will live in one of the nationï¿½s poorest communities. This town of 1500 is pre-dominantly African-American. Members will stay at a church on the outskirts of town, and spend a good deal of time interacting with and getting to know the community, especially the children. Over the past five Spring Breaks, groups have painted and fixed houses, created day camps for children, tutored at an elementary school, reconstructed a softball field, converted an old brothel into a community development center, and painted and cleaned the inside of a church.

Newark, New Jersey

Participants will focus on youth development and literacy, working with two Willamette University and TaB alumni. Participants will serve with Steve Malick, a Teach for America teacher, assisting in classrooms with his school. They will also serve with Insil Kang at the League. The LEAGUE has been developed to serve as a solution to the need of engaging youth on a massive scale in learning about their community and engaging in meaningful service. The LEAGUE is an exciting movement designed within schools to make it easy, fun, and rewarding for youth to be engaged in changing the world. The LEAGUE is a system for schools and students to engage in a series of service events in the community. The LEAGUE offers innovative teaching resources provided by Learning to Give for educators to teach the concepts of giving, serving, and the community related to these events. More information on the LEAGUE website

Weslaco, Texas

This trip was first organized for us two years ago by Willamette University alum who is a Teach for America teacher. Participants will focus on literacy and immigration while assisting in classrooms and working in local subsidized housing.

Oregon Fish & Forest

This trip will focus on the environmental and economic issues surrounding fish and forests in Oregon and Washington. Participants will look at multiple perspectives by reading a selection of works, discussing relevant topics with experts and serving with multiple agencies possibly including the Nature Conservancy, Bonneville Dam, Cascade Head Experimental Forest, and the North Coast Land Conservancy.

Oregon Sustainability

This trip will focus on local and organic food; the benefits of buying and eating local and organic food, learning how to grow crops, and hearing the perspectives of local farmers. Participants will also have the opportunity to go behind the scenes of Bon Appetit, volunteering on some of the farms that Bon Appetit gets their food from.

Chicago, Illinois

This trip will act as this yearï¿½s urban plunge trip, focusing on the issues of homelessness and economically challenged individuals in Chicago. Participants will take a look at the ways in which an urban environment helps and hinders the resolution of these issues. This trip will work with a variety of agencies in Chicago that work to assist the homeless and economically challenged.

Warm Springs, Oregon

The Warm Springs Reservation is located near Mt. Jefferson, in Central Oregon. The reservation is home to three tribes, the Wasco, Walla Walla, and the Paiute. Participants will learn about the tribal culture of each tribe, serve in the Early Childhood Education Center and with various projects, as well as learn about issues of oppression, poverty, and the importance of language to culture.

Portland, Oregon

This trip will explore issues facing different populations of people experiencing homelessness. We want to come to a greater understanding of contributing causes of homelessness and the resources available to these populations. We will examine our own stereotypes and assumptions through immersion in the urban community and serving in local organizations. Come experience Portland through new eyes.