Serving and learning form the dual mission of a Miller Center trip. Students
work on projects that benefit communities suffering material or social disadvantages;
building relationships with those they serve, students learn about the world's needs
and gain vocational self-understanding. Through guided discussions and journal writing,
students explore their values and social concerns, beliefs and commitments, gifts
and limitations. Service teams may be hosted by churches or other faith communities;
however all activities are led in ways appropriate for individuals from any faith
or non-religious perspective.
Costs
Student costs listed for each trip include lodging, food, transportation, and
cultural outings. The costs also include any construction fees to the service agency.
Students will also be asked to pay for passport fees, visas, vaccinations and meals
in the airport. Personal spending money will also be needed.
Passport
A copy of an updated passport is required at the time of application for trips
outside the U.S. Applications for international trips without passport copy attached will not be considered,
and the passport must be valid six months beyond travel dates.
If you are abroad or on leave in the fall semester, you will not be able to apply
for the January trips. If you are abroad or on leave in the spring semester, you
will be unable to apply for the summer trips.
You must be a degree-seeking student at Hendrix to apply.
Application
2017 Service-Learning Trip Application
You can also pick up a hard copy in the Miller Center (SLTC 133) or email
millercenter@hendrix.edu.
Important Dates
- July 15
Applications available - September 13
Applications due by 3:30 pm - September 26 - October 10
Interviews - October 12
Notification of acceptance - October 19
Trip deposits due - December 4
Bahamas Orientation (6:00-9:00pm) - April 23
Birmingham, AL and Washington DC Orientations (6:00-9:00pm)
2017 Trips
Bahamas (Eleuthera Island)
January 8-15, 2017
Cost: $400 per student
Passport Required!
Spend a week of winter break on the Eleuthera Island
in the Bahamas. Yes, you will enjoy the famous Caribbean beaches;
however, this trip will be unlike any beach trip you have experienced.
Working side-by-side with island residents, students will repair houses,
tutor children, and assist in a number of important areas critical to the
empowerment of local people. Led by the staff of the non-profits One Eleuthera
and Island journeys, students will receive a hands-on introduction to how the community
itself understands issues effecting the economic stability and environmental
sustainability of the Islands. The group will stay at the Methodist
Mission House at Tarpum Bay.
Birmingham, AL
May 14-20, 2017
Cost: $100 per student
“I cannot
sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” These words were written
by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail.
The civil rights struggle for integration in the town of Birmingham, Alabama in
the late 1950’s and 1960’s was ugly and violent. Through their service work,
students will have an opportunity to see first-hand what Birmingham has done to
repent of its past and move toward a more just society. The group will work with the Urban
Mission of Birmingham to “offer dignity and compassion” to the underserved of
the city by painting homes, participating in after school tutoring and
recreation programs, and working in the West End Community Garden. Part of the
week will give the group time to explore significant sites of the civil rights
movement: the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, and the
16th Street Baptist Church.
Washington DC
May 14-20, 2017
Cost: $200 per student
Travel to our nation’s capital to learn about
poverty and homelessness at the heart of our national conscience. The trip will
include hands-on service work with agencies serving the homeless as well as
those doing political advocacy work on the Hill. We will learn about systemic
issues related to poverty and how we can work in our own communities and
through our elected officials to create a more just society for all. Our work
will be coordinated by the Church of the Pilgrims, just blocks away from DuPont
Circle in the heart of DC, and will include agencies working from a variety of
religious and non-religious perspectives.
Past Service-Learning Trips
- Chincha, Peru
Summer 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2008 - Kansas City, Missouri
Spring Break 2002
- Boston, Massachusetts
Spring Break 2003 & 2006 - Arlington, Texas
Spring Break 2003
- Tarpum Bay, Bahamas
Summer 2003, 2004, Spring Break 2008 & Summer 2012 - Taize, France
Summer 2003, 2005, 2009 & 2013
- Chicago, Illinois
Spring Break 2004 & 2012 - Shiprock/Santa Fe, New Mexico
Spring Break 2004 & 2009
- Quesada, Costa Rica
Summer 2004 & Winter Break 2006 - Ekaterinburg, Russia
Winter Break 2005
- San Diego, CA/Tijuana, Mexico
Spring Break 2005 & 2010
- San Francisco, California
Spring Break 2006, Winter Break 2009 & 2013 - La Paz, Bolivia
Summer 2006 & 2010 - New York, New York
Spring Break 2007 - Koinonia Farms, Georgia
Summer 2007 - Bagamoyo, Tanzania
Summer 2007 - Pascagoula, Mississippi
Spring Break 2008 - Beverly, Kentucky
Summer 2008, Summer 2016 - Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Summer 2009 - Dumas, Arkansas
Spring Break 2010 - Poland
Summer 2010 - Cuba
Winter Break 2011 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Winter Break 2011 - South Africa
Summer 2011 - Birmingham, Alabama
Summer 2011 - India
Winter Break 2012 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Summer 2012 - Epworth by the Sea
Spring Break 2013 - Alaska
Summer 2013 - Dominican Republic
Winter Break 2014 - Seattle, Washington
Spring Break 2014 - Kosovo
Summer 2014 - Guatemala
Winter Break 2015 - New Orleans
Spring Break 2015 - Arkansas Delta
Spring Break 2015 - Pine Ridge Reservation
Summer 2015 - Camp CAMP (San Antonio, TX)
Winter Break 2016 - DOOR (Hollywood CA)
Winter Break 2016 - Miami, FL
Summer 2016