Teach for America in New Orleans, Louisiana Over 13 million children are growing up in poverty in the United States. Statistically, only have of them will graduate from high school and even fewer will get a college degree. Teach For America is a non-profit organization that recruits top college graduates to teach in low income school districts for two years. The idea is to help these kids get an education that can help them improve their opportunities and quality of life. We will have the opportunity to help Teach For America teachers in their classrooms around New Orleans- a place that desperately needs dedicated individuals to help rebuild it. For more information about Teach for America, visit the website at www.teachforamerica.org.  For more information about this trip contact site leader Rebecca Elrod at relrod@smu.edu.

 

Habitat for Humanity in Taos, New Mexico The mission of Taos Habitat for Humanity is “in partnership with people from all walks of life to build houses, hope, and community with people in need, and by doing so, witness God’s love in action." Taos Habitat for Humanity has built 24 homes so far. A number of families would not be living in decent housing if it wasn’t for Taos Habitat's volunteers. This trip is also particularly exciting because students will get the opportunity to stay at the SMU-in-Taos campus in Taos, New Mexico. This is an opportunity to give back to a community that has given so much to SMU, as well as visit a beautiful part of the country. For more information visit the Taos Habitat for Humanity website at http://www.taoshabitat.org/ or contact site leader Bryan Shnider at bshnider@smu.edu.

 

National Wildlife Refuge in St. Mark’s, Florida The St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1931 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds. It encompasses 68,000 acres and is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. We will get hands-on working experience with the day-to-day activities of the St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge. We will help with wildlife inventories, presenting interpretive programs, or with park maintenance. For more information visit their website at http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks, or contact Will Dudding at wdudding@smu.edu.

 

Children’s Outreach Project in Denver, Colorado The Children’s Outreach Project’s mission is to “offer an integrated, quality, early childhood and kindergarten education to typical, gifted, and developmentally delayed children in the north metro Denver area. We will assist in classroom activities, field trips, and tutoring. For more information visit their website at http://childrensoutreachproject.org/ or contact site leader Jessica Arechiga at jarechig@smu.edu.