What if?
What if there was a kind of Peace Corps experience for teens? A summer program of ambitious service projects, rooted in cross-cultural communities, with doses of adventure. Unlike the solo experience of the Peace Corps, however, this would be a group of teenagers and leaders living and working together in a host community. And unlike a traditional youth summer camp or teen tour, students would be exposed firsthand to the challenges that global communities face regarding poverty and lack of common resources.
That is what VISIONS founders set out to create—taking experiential education to another level by tapping into teens’ abilities and their desire to be part of something bigger. Today, 1100 construction projects later, VISIONS high school and middle school students still are engaging in the same way they did twenty-five years ago. We are proud that programs continue to inspire life-changing shifts in perspective, deepen cultural understanding, and foster friendships that last long after summer ends.
VISIONS keeps learning and striving to be a creative and evolving organization. There is one unchanging constant, however, that keeps us on track and makes VISIONS as rewarding today as it was our first season. A quote posted at our home office since way back when says it best:
Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
