Service Learning in Hawaii

Paula received a Farther Foundation scholarship to travel to Hawaii where she provided volunteer service to the community and challenged herself physically with outdoor adventure activities. Here are excerpts from her essay about her program.

My experience in Hawaii has inspired me to make changes in my life and my plans for the future. After being in Hawaii for three weeks I have become much more aware of my surroundings.  I have learned a lot about the negative affects people can have on the environment and I would like to make a conscious effort to have less of an impact.  Coming into contact with native peoples of the islands has helped to expand my horizons and to be a little more patient. The trip has also encouraged me to take initiative and volunteer whenever I can.

Reading about the negative effects people have on the environment out of a text book is nothing compared to experiencing it with your own eyes.  The growth of invasive species that have taken over Hawaii is devastating.  Trying to restore its natural beauty is also not the easiest work.  On the trip I learned a lot about the problems the Hawaiian Islands are experiencing with garbage and landfills and the importance of recycling.  Being mindful of recycling and producing unnecessary waste has prompted me to be more conscious with the choices I make that effect the environment.

Learning about the Hawaiian culture was one of the advantages of this trip.  I not only learned about their culture I also learned to be mindful of the affect my presence could have on them and to respect the customs and traditions of the place we were in. It was truly an intriguing experience to give thanks for our food in Hawaiian! Even though that is not something I am accustomed to, it is a part of Hawaiian culture and was much appreciated. Reflecting on this trip I feel that I have become even more open and understanding to people and other cultures.

I was excited to get to volunteer to help the people and the community of Hawaii. As soon as the labor began though, it was sweat and physical labor like I had never done before; working with Habitat for Humanity was a demanding job. Working to restore indigenous species at Waipa was not any easier, while strenuously working in the summer heat, the pleasure in volunteering can be hard to find. At the end of each day though, when we could see the result and look at it with pride, we all felt rewarded for the effort we had put in and we each knew that we had made a difference in someone’s life. I admire the people who work that hard every day. It has inspired me to seek out volunteer work to help the people and communities around me.

I met so many new people and learned many things about myself. I pushed myself to test my limits, I surfed and kayaked and saw a whole other world in what the United States calls their fiftieth state. Hawaii is so much more, and it has shown and taught me more than I could have hoped for.

Student traveler returns inspired

Farther Foundation helps deserving students learn, serve, grow and thrive through educational travel. Elizabeth was awarded a Farther Foundation scholarship to travel to Vietnam with Putney Student Travel. Here are excerpts from Elizabeth’s essay for Farther Foundation.

Before my trip to Vietnam, I believed that people’s lives from the other side of the world were entirely different. I was convinced that their sense of style, their taste in music, the food they consumed, the parties they held, and their telling of jokes was different from what I’m accustomed to. But after my one month stay in Vietnam, I was surprised at how similar people’s lives are compared to where I live.

“This looks like what my mom makes back home,” is what I told my group every time I ate or saw food that looked like my mom’s cooking. I was stunned at the number of times Vietnamese food reminded me of the cultural foods I’m use to eating. But to my surprise, the food wasn’t the only thing that looked familiar. Their clothing wasn’t much different. The village people wear more conservative clothes than the city people. Yet both of their styles are similar to what I wear on an every day basis. We even bought ourselves t-shirts, skirts, and dresses to take home.

The things they do for fun are not much different from what I do. The best thing to do when you’re bored is tell jokes. On our daily brakes we would pull out our translation books and tell jokes. There were many times when I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. As we told jokes, we taught them English and they taught us Vietnamese. We even got as far as teaching them Spanish and French!

The people are not much different either. Take for example Tien. Tien is a little Vietnamese boy that I was helping build a house for. He reminded me of my nephew. It was the way he smiled and played with people. Then there was a little girl who reminded me of my niece. The little girl had a little brother and she was really protective of him, the way my niece is towards my nephew.

Anne Frank once said, “We all live with the object of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.” The lives of Vietnamese people are the same compared to where I live, with just a little twist. I noticed more similarities than differences. We all have goals, expectations, jokes, fears, needs, desires and strive to live a happy life. I use to say that part of home was in Vietnam but now I say that part of Vietnam is here at home.

Travel Off the Radar

Farther Foundation is proud to have been recently featured on Off the Radar with an interview of Farther Foundation founder, David Weindling. Most of our supporters are avid travelers and we are pleased to have this opportunity to inform more travelers about our organization, its mission and programs.

Off the Radar is an online magazine and newsletter for adventure travelers providing reliable information about destinations and companies that offer guests a genuine, personal experience. It is also a lively and informative publication with striking photography.

This past week was highlighted not only by my Off the Radar interview, but my daughter also received good news about her SAT college exam scores and then departed for Paris to take part in a month-long language immersion program.

Our family is proud of my daughter’s success and grateful that we have been able to help her participate in an educational travel program. Both these factors will help her be accepted at the college of her choice when the application and admissions process starts next year. We don’t take for granted her successes or opportunities, but our family does live in a socio-cultural environment where it is reasonable to have these expectations.

At Farther Foundation, we support students who are as eager and able as my daughter, but do not enjoy the same socio-economic opportunities. The cost of educational travel programs is out of reach, and research has indicated that standardized test results may be affected by socio-economic status. Farther Foundation seeks to address both these factors by not only providing student scholarships for educational travel programs, but by partnering with schools and community organizations that are actively supporting students with tutoring, mentoring and college preparatory work.

With our support, deserving students will have every chance to succeed that my daughter has, and their ultimate success will be based upon their own initiative and ability.

Go Farther!

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences. www.fartherfoundation.org.

Old School, New School

Farther Foundation Founder, David Weindling

I read where a travel magazine sent travelers out armed with either a trusty, old-school guide book or wired up with modern electronic communications, and asked them to accomplish a set of typical tourism tasks. Turned out, the guidebook wielding traveler more often than not completed their tasks more quickly than their wired counterpart.

One reason postulated for the success of the guidebook toting traveler’s success was that they relied more on the local people for help. At Farther Foundation we are fond of programs that give our sponsored students the opportunity to engage the local people and culture. This is often accomplished via home-stays with local families, classes with local instructors and service projects in local communities.

I’m not one to disparage technology. My daughter is traveling on her own this summer and we will be able to communicate with her in so many ways we never could before, including face-to-face via webcams. The rest of the family is preparing to travel to Europe and the internet has allowed us to plan so much of our trip with the confidence that we will get what we expect. But, it’s often the unexpected that provides the most interesting experiences and durable memories.

We’ve been asked to do a favor in Copenhagen, Denmark. A colleague of mine lived there for a period of time and would like to be remembered to a friend whom he is no longer able to reach via phone or internet, so we have the rather old-fashioned errand of delivering a letter. Perhaps we’ll stop by and nobody will be home, but maybe we will get to meet a resident of Copenhagen and have one of those unexpected experiences. If so, it will be because we unplugged from technology for a while and said hello.

Go Farther!

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences. www.fartherfoundation.org.

Making it work for hard-working students

A couple of weeks ago Farther Foundation had the honor of attending a celebration dinner for the graduating class of one of our Education partners HighSight.

Diamond is a HighSight Scholar and a Farther Foundation scholarship recipient

We are pleased to be working with HighSight and its students again this year. Diamond, a junior with a 3.6 grade point average at a highly competitive high school, will be travelling to Costa Rica this summer to experience the language and culture of a new country and to engage in service projects in a community she will call home for 30 days.

HighSight’s mission is to provide academic and social support to Chicago high school students. HighSight provides scholarships, tutoring and mentoring to enable its students to attend and succeed at the high school of their choice. HighSight, like Farther Foundation, also believes in giving its students the opportunity for personal development by participating in unique educational travel programs.

At the celebration dinner we had the pleasure of meeting and hearing from the 29 students in the graduating class. As each student reminisced about their key moments and awakening experiences at HighSight, many thanked their own families and made special mention of their family of tutors, mentors and supporters at HighSight. But especially meaningful to us at Farther Foundation, was that many were particularly grateful for the opportunity they had to step into new worlds, new activities and new relationships through their summer travel programs.

All of the 29 seniors we met that night are going on to higher education. Twenty-seven of the 29 are going to four year colleges, several to highly selective and competitive institutions such as Pomona College, Carleton College and Notre Dame.

Farther Foundation partners with organizations like HighSight so that we can work with students who are well supported and prepared to take advantage of rare and unique opportunities. We list on our website many Chicago area schools and organizations that are supporting hard-working and well-deserving students every day. If you are not among those listed, we are happy to visit with you to learn more about your programs.

Go Farther!

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences. www.fartherfoundation.org.

Congratulations 2009 Farther Foundation Scholars

16 well deserving students have been awarded Farther Foundation Scholarships to participate in educational travel programs this summer.

Lawrence volunteers with Ghanian Children

Congratulations to Lawrence, Chelsea, Jazmin, Maritza, Anna, Paula, Monica, Natasha, Diamond, Elizabeth, David, Nitza, Brenda, Cynthia, Myriam and Eddie.

They will participate in programs that take them to five different continents and give them the opportunity to learn, grow, engage in service, broaden their horizons and develop greater expectations and aspirations for their lives.

Our scholars have chosen several dynamic programs that will provide a variety of unique, challenging and life changing experiences for them.

• Lawrence traveled to Ghana, Africa and attended Kokrobitey Institute to learn about Ghanaian history, arts and culture.
• Chelsea will be in an intensive pre-college medical program at Vanderbilt University.
• Maritza and Cynthia will travel to Italy with AFS, live with host families and immerse themselves in language and culture. Nitza will join AFS in Argentina, and Brenda will go to Japan.
• Jazmin will join top national and international students for an academic summer at Choate Rosemary Hall prep school in Connecticut.
• Paula will be in Hawaii with the Road Less Traveled pursuing outdoor adventure, eco-system restoration and home building projects.
• Monica will learn outdoor leadership skills at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
• Natasha will spend the summer at Putney School in Vermont developing her artistic skills in a pastoral setting.
• Diamond, Elizabeth and David will journey with Putney Student Travel to Costa Rica, Vietnam and El Salvador respectively where they will learn about native cultures and engage in service projects.
• Anna will combine service, language and culture in Peru on her program with Visions Service Adventures.
• Myriam and Eddie will travel to the Pacific Northwest with OpenRoads to learn documentary arts while adventuring in the outdoors.

Check out these program providers and the wonderful experiences they offer. Here at Farther Foundation we are proud to work with these great companies and organizations who believe in the talents and promise of students from underserved communities and partner with them and us to make these experiences possible.

Go Farther!

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences. www.fartherfoundation.org.

Unlikely point of departure for adventure travel

Farther Foundation just received a few photos from Jim, Director of the Road Less Traveled, a teen travel program provider. The Road Less Traveled offers Service Learning, Language and Service, Adventure Expeditions, Global Perspectives, Leadership Training and Family Service programs for students ages 13-19 and families in some of the most spectacular places on earth.

Service Learning with Road Less Traveled

Usually when one thinks of points of departure for outdoor adventure the mind runs to cities in the West or in the mountainous and coastal areas of the Northeast. For exotic international excursions you think of departing from major coastal cities like New York and San Francisco.

Road Less Traveled however has its home in Chicago. I would never sell Chicago short; it’s been my home for most of my life. It’s a world class city with a diverse population and boasts a long and beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline. But, we are a long haul from a mountain, an ocean or an international border.

RLT proves however, that where you come from is not as important as where you are going and what your expectations and aspirations are.

RLT says, “Global travel allows us to take ourselves out of our usual environment and see life from a different perspective. Removing ourselves from the comforts of the familiar provides the opportunity to explore not only the landscapes and wonders of the world, but also ourselves.”

Farther Foundation echoes, “Travel is singular in its ability to open the eyes and unbind the aspirations of students whose experiences rarely escape the boundaries of their own neighborhoods. Inspired by experience students become active and engaged learners, full of potential and more fully aware of the world and its opportunities.”

Taking a Bold Leap

Farther Foundation is pleased to be providing a scholarship that will enable a most deserving student to travel to Hawaii with RLT this summer, where in addition to active outdoor adventures, the group will build homes with Habitat for Humanity and join native Hawaiians in ecosystem restoration. Our scholarship recipient, Paula has overcome economic disadvantages to become an eager and high achieving student a one of the most competitive high schools in Chicago.

When you leave home to travel, wherever your home might be, what are you hoping to learn, see or do that you could not do at home?

Go Farther!

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences. www.fartherfoundation.org.

New Blog, New Opportunities to Go Farther

Welcome to the Farther Foundation blog –Blog Farther. We hope this will be a fun and easy way to share news, information, advice and above all stories about the benefits of educational travel and experiential learning. We will be telling our stories, and we want to hear from you as well. Like most blogs, you are free to comment in response to any posting we make. We also want to invite you to be a guest blogger if you share our passion for travel, education and service to the community. Contact us at gofarther@fartherfoundation.org.

The world is waiting

Farther Foundation’s mission is to enable students from economically disadvantaged circumstances to explore interests, expand horizons, gain inspiration and elevate aspirations for leadership and success.

We do this by providing scholarships and support for students to participate in educational travel experiences that are significant and potentially life changing.  They participate in programs which enable them to become immersed in new cultures and experiences, learn and develop skills, provide service, cultivate leadership potential and attain personal growth.

Travel is singular in its ability to open the eyes and unbind the aspirations of students whose experiences rarely escape the boundaries of their own neighborhoods. Inspired by experience students become active and engaged learners, full of potential and more fully aware of the world and its opportunities.

We invite you to share:

• Your travel stories and experiences:  What have you learned?
• Your advice or opportunities you offer:  How can you help a deserving student?
• Your mission:  How does your organization support deserving students?
• Your support:  Please make a contribution to Farther Foundation.

Go Farther!

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences. www.fartherfoundation.org.