Service Overview
Overland offers a variety of service programs to students currently in 8th through 12th grades--including service in the Berkshires of New England, America's Southwest, Hawaii, the Alaskan outdoors, the Rockies, the Caribbean and Costa Rica. We structure our programs to provide safe, fun and carefully crafted challenges that engage and excite our students. Our service programs provide a life experience with value and resonance that extends far beyond the boundaries of a single summer.
New England Service is a two-week program based in Williamstown, Massachusetts, that offers students the chance to become a mentor, role model, reading tutor and friend to a younger buddy through our morning Reading & Recreation Camp. Afternoons bring opportunities for outdoor service projects including trail maintenance and river cleanups as well as exploration of Williamstown and the surrounding Berkshires.
Southwest Service is a two-week program in Santa Fe, New Mexico where groups participate in a wide variety of service projects to help this area of great need. Students reach out to the hungry, homeless and at-risk youth of Santa Fe as well as work to preserve the natural and historical beauty of this region. During the late afternoons and weekends, the group explores downtown Santa Fe and the surrounding beauty of America's Southwest.
Hawaii Service is a three-week program on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Based in the city of Honolulu, our group will work with children from the community, vounteering at both a summer school and a day care center. During our afternoons, we'll work to preserve Oahu's wilderness and trail system. On the weekends, the group will have the opportunity to relax on the beach, hike and snorkel.
Alaska Service is a three-week program focusing on protecting our nation's Last Frontier through trail maintenance in the wilderness outside Juneau. After a couple of day hikes to help bring the group together, we'll spend 10 days working to improve the trail systems in the Juneau area. In addition to the trail work, we'll visit a fish hatchery, explore Juneau and learn about the area's cultural heritage. Other highlight is three days of sea-kayaking along the coast on Berners Bay.
Rockies Service is a three-week program that offers students the unique and historic opportunity to help build the Contential Divide Trail. After an introductory backpacking trip, the group dedicates the next 10 days to building a section of the CDT. This demanding work is rewarded when the group hikes out on the trail they have built--a trail that will be part of the CDT forever. The program ends with a celebratory hike to the top of one of Colorado's 14ers and a rafting trip on the Arkansas River.
Virgin Islands Service is a three-week program that offers students the opportunity to serve St. Croix's disadvantaged populations and to help maintain and protect the Virgin Islands National Park's fragile ecosystem. During the first two weeks, we will volunteer with local organizations in St. Croix and for the last week, we will be on the island of St. John cleaning beaches, repairing hiking trails, camping beachside, swimming and snorkeling on St. John's beautiful north shore.
Costa Rica Service is a three-week program that focuses on working with local organizations to better the lives of various disadvantaged populations in Costa Rica. Based in San Isidro de Coronado, a small rural community just northeast of San José, groups work at a nearby understaffed orphanage, a day care center for children of low income families and a center for young adults with Down Syndrome. Afternoons bring time to explore the local area, take a Costa Rican cooking class and soak in the local culture. Groups also visit Costa Rica's Volcán Arenal, spend two days rafting on the Pacuare River and travel to the Caribbean coast to continue service in the town of Volio with the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation.
Language & Service Costa Rica: Three Weeks for 8th & 9th Graders is a three-week program that offers an unbeatable combination of native-speaker, classroom-based language instruction and meaningful community service projects to help disadvantaged Costa Rican communities and preserve the country's spectacular natural beauty to students in grades 8 and 9. Students stay in group accommodations for two weeks and experience a one-week homestay in a small Monteverde community. Please note that a minimum of one year of Spanish is required for Language & Service Costa Rica.
Language & Service Costa Rica: Four Weeks for 9th-12th Graders is a four-week program that offers an unbeatable combination of native-speaker, classroom-based language instruction and meaningful community service projects to help disadvantaged Costa Rican communities and preserve the country's spectacular natural beauty to students in grades 9 through 12. Students stay in group accommodations for three weeks and experience a one-week homestay in a small Monteverde community. Please note that a minimum of one year of high school Spanish is required for Language & Service Costa Rica.
If you need help choosing the right trip for you, please feel free to contact us.
