
Service Vacations Can Be an Educational and Character-Building Experience for Teens and Tweens
Add “community service” to reading, writing and arithmetic. It’s one of the requirements that many high schoolers must fulfill in order to get their diploma. But even those young people who don’t have to prove they’ve done good to graduate are finding that they want to have more meaningful vacations.

Gap Semesters: Hitting ‘Pause’ Before College
Emily O’Kelly of St. Helena, California experienced life in Southeast Asia last year through what is called a Gap Semester. O’Kelly made the decision to defer college for a year while jumping 14,000 feet out of a plane. “After registering the fact that I just skydived for the first time, I immediately felt a surge of panic as I realized the path I was taking wasn’t the one I necessarily wanted to. As soon as I got home, I ran to my mom and asked, ‘Is it too late to take a Gap Semester with Adventures Cross-Country?’” Underscoring that deciding on a gap program “turned out to be the best decision I have yet made,” she is now in Ghana working for a social fashion company called Global Mamas.

Teen Tour Company Offers Parents Tips for Preparing their Teen for Overseas Travel this Summer
“Health precautions, securing documents, packing and communications are at the top of every traveler’s list. There are so many things parents can do in advance of a trip to help things go smoothly,” says Scott von Eschen, President of Adventures Cross-Country.

Service Vacations Can Be an Educational and Character-Building Experience for Teens and Tweens
Add “community service” to reading, writing and arithmetic. It’s one of the requirements that many high schoolers must fulfill in order to get their diploma. But even those young people who don’t have to prove they’ve done good to graduate are finding that they want to have more meaningful vacations.