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Millennia of rule by a long list of conquerors including the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spanish give Sicily a culture like no other and a wealth of ancient ruins. Sicily in the summer also means warm sun and unspoiled beaches with turquoise water. |
You will earn 40 hours of community service credit and must have completed the 10th grade by June 2009 to participate in this program. Housing for our group is in the main house with separate facilities for boys and girls. Sleeping quarters are fairly rustic but not primitive with comfortable beds, dorm style, and indoor showers/facilities. Our group has the use of the restored country kitchen and the newly added patio, contributed by volunteers before us. |
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Our project includes a variety of tasks such as painting, building stone walls, maintaining olive trees and grapevines, tiling bathrooms, using shovels and other tools, cleaning the house, and more. Working hard and getting dirty is all part of the fun! Traditionally a favorite activity, we are also fully involved in the preparation of all of our meals, learning to prepare fresh food under Carmela’s watchful eye. Enrollment is limited to 12 participants, and we are the only volunteers at the site. We will live and work with Sergio and Carmela, living as natives in the truest sense of the word. Your counselors will be living and working alongside you. |
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You will learn the Italian secret of living simply and well, experiencing the joy of life outdoors under a warm sun and a starlit night with history and natural beauty surrounding you. While the trip is focused on our volunteer project, you will also see some of the most amazing sights in Sicily. We will visit the Valley of the Temples, described by Henry Adams as "Athens with improvements" because it boasts the best-preserved Greek temples in the world. Syracuse, birthplace and home of Archimedes, offers beautifully preserved Greek and Roman ruins literally side by side. |
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Sicily's beaches are world famous for their clear turquoise water and white sand, and we’ll swim at an untouched beach wildlife preserve where flamingoes stop on their yearly migrations. Our trip will conclude with an unforgettable trip up volcanic Mt. Etna. To reach its 11,000 foot crater, we will go by bus, cable car, giant jeep, and finally by foot, finally arriving at the awe-inspiring summit. This trip offers an unparalleled chance to genuinely help a local community, learn Italian cooking and mosaic art, swim in crystal clear waters, live as a Sicilian, explore Greek and Roman ruins, and conquer a gigantic volcano. |
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Sicily combines sun, good, fresh food, natural beauty, and enough history, art and architecture to satisfy the most accomplished traveler. This is a totally unique trip, designed for the traveler who wants to have a positive impact on the community as well as truly experience the essence of a place from the inside out. 
Dominated by the tallest active volcano in Europe, Mt. Etna, this unforgettable island offers an ideal opportunity to see how a myriad of great civilizations have all contributed to forge uniquely Sicilian traditions, language, and cuisine. You’ll learn why we have Sicily to thank for staples like pasta and ice cream!
Our project site is a once crumbling farming estate over 200 years old. It is now being converted for use as a cultural and artistic youth center for those in need from lower-income neighborhoods in Catania. The old house is well on its way to its new incarnation, where it will have a positive impact on many young lives.
Our project managers, Sergio and Carmela, live at the site along with their children. Carmela is an internationally recognized mosaic artist who will teach you this ancient art form by giving us the opportunity to help with the decoration of the house.
Our Sicilian home is surrounded by rolling green hills of vineyards and fruit trees, and in the distance the gigantic Mt. Etna sits on the horizon. We’re located in the countryside about one hour outside of the bustling city of Catania. In the evenings, after a day of working on our project, the activity of choice is hanging out on the patio and basking in the golden light of the Sicilian sunset. In the darkness, you’ll see the silhouette of Mt. Etna illuminated by the glow of oozing magma.