When I arrived, the smell and the smoke was almost to much. But I held everything back. It was so important to me to prove to these people that I care. To prove to them that I feel they and I are equals.

I was able to help two people today, I filled two bags of bottles. The second person was a young girl who looked about 13. She was running through the dump in flipflops and wasn’t wearing gloves. It broke my heart when she asked if she could have my leather gloves. But I couldn’t give them to her. But every part of me wanted to give her my rubber boots, hat, and my gloves in all. Pretty much anything she needed I would’ve given her if I could.

Today was life chaning, I’m not gonna lie. I loved being there. It’s so hard to explain why I enjoyed digging through garbage. It was for the people, to prove to them that I care.

Student- Karina

Around 1:00 Frangelis, Danny, and their cousin Elise grabbed my hand and took me to Fran’s house. Her sister Ariela was there, who is 18 and now in University studying to be a teacher, and their mother, Daniela, who is such a sweetheart and is always so welcoming when I come to visit. I thought I would just be visiting with the family and spending time in their home, but Daniela had made lunch for the family and had prepared a plate for me. We had bacon, chicken, fried plantains, and lemonaid- it was very good! But even better was getting to sit in on a meal with their family, as they are so close to my heart and I love every moment I get to spend with them. After we were finished eating I kissed Daniela and thanked her for the meal, and told her I was going to get the translator so we could communicate better. I ran and got Sheree at the school and we all sat down beside their house for about a half hour. Frangelis’ many cousins and family members were runnng around and the roosters kept running in and out of the house. Daniela told Sheree to tell me that the dress I had brought Frangelis fit perfectly and then she brought Frangelis in the house to try it on to show me- she looked adorable! She said their church was having a party soon and she would be wearing that. I explained to them that I was only coming to their community one more time until I was coming back to Canada, and that I was very sad to be leaving again. But we were able to exchange addresses so hopefully we are able to communicate through that!
I think overall today exemplifies what I love most about the DR; the people are SO incredibly loving and welcoming and make me feel as if I am family. They are so full of laughter and love and happiness, despite everything they don’t have. They realize something that a lot of Canadians and Americans don’t; that material things don’t equal to happiness, but rather, it is your relationships with family and friends that will bring you true joy.

Nicole C- Student Leader

Nikki- Student Leader

Not sure the story behind the van, it clearly says taxi on the side, but like most things in Mexico, you can’t take that at face value. Both of the parents work, Dad in construction and Mom in the strawberry fields. The girls, when they are not in school, go to a day care on days when both parents work.

At one point we were standing around discussing details of pouring the concrete pad, which Miguel is working with Roberto on, and he looked at us and smiled. Then he showed us the goose bumps on his arms. He didn’t really have the words to express what he was feeling, but it was a mixture of excitement and gratitude. Miguel is able bodied and willing to work, they are in need of a house, an expense that is too great for them, and he can’t wait to work on it along side the group.

Day cares are an important part of the social structure in the nothern part of the Baja. It is common for single mothers to go to work in the fields and leave their older children to take are of the younger ones. By older I mean aged between 6-9 taking care of multiply younger siblings ages 1-6. Day cares provide a safe place for the younger kids, allows the older ones to go to school and the mothers have some peace of mind.

This build is across the rodeo grounds from the build that Seycove Secondary from Vancouver did the first week of July.

This morning, after visiting with Miguel and the girls, Ofelia is working, we went looking for other friends, Micaela and Honorio. They weren’t home, but the girls were, so we had fun with them while we waited for a bit. The pace in Mexico is slower, Mexico time and manana really do exist. After waiting for a while, myself, Kelsey (our summer volunteer staff) and Roberto, (our neighbour, concrete worker, interpreter and friend) headed back north. It is always a good day to be out visiting and working, sometimes hard, sometimes heart breaking, most always dusty, but definitely good.

Anna & Chloe- Students

Everyone got here safe and sound. Most people went swimming, some slept, and others just sat in the sun with their new friends. Dinner is at 6, then off to orientation at 8. First work day starts tomorrow- I cant wait.

After hosting more than 20 Hero Holiday trips for more than 1200 students, this is our first serious incident that we have had to deal with, and a big thank you goes out to all of our key Hero Holiday Staff members who were directly involved with this situation.  (Specifically: Cole Brown, Nicole Dufault and Christal Earle)  Your quick thinking, the decisions you made, and the excellent care you provided, is a testament to your years of experience working with students in countries around the world.

We are very grateful for the attitudes of those involved as they have kept cool heads throughout the whole series of events. We would especially like to express our gratitude to Cole Brown, a veteran Hero Holiday staff member, who was driving the vehicle. His quick thinking and actions kept this situation from being potentially worse. The circumstances were out of his control, but he reacted quickly and limited other potential dangers and injuries.

We are encouraged to have such a competent Staff and Interns currently on the ground in Dominican Republic. Keep up the good work guys!

Physically, we thought we were in shape, but to our dismay we were extremely wrong! With the sun beaming on our backs, kids jumping on you, and constant thirst for water, we found that feeling so exhausted had never felt so rewarding. Working side by side with the locals, only motivated us more to give it our all because they deserve all we can offer.

Mentally, the visions of poverty have given us a true understanding of what hardships people encounter through life here. At times it has been straining to know this is a reality and that you can only do so much to help, yet it never feels enough. But we do understand that to them, it means so much.

Emotionally, neither of us were prepared for what this journey had to offer. Never in our lives, in such a short period of time, did we expect to encounter every emotion. The mixture of sadness, laughter, heartache, joy, and frustration all combine into the most powerful emotion a human can offer, love.

Threw moments of weakness, we have discovered that ultimately love has been carrying our pain. The way they demonstrate their love for their work, their families, their friends, even us is so captivating because even though they have so little, they have the most inspiring life lessons to teach us.

All in all we cannot begin to understand their appreciation for life and how grateful they all are. A simple “hola” sparks a smile with a wave and that connection, even if it lasts two seconds, is a bond created between two strangers.

Nikki & Kayle- Students

After some waiting and playing yesterday, we got down to the business of the house dedication. It was an opportunity for the group to share and express themselves to the family and for the family to respond.

The general feeling is that we are all fortunate to have had the opportunity. That in it all, we have learned as much as we have given and have the satisfaction of hard work well done.

Last night it was noted that this is leaving a legacy. This once in a lifetime experience for the family to receive a gracious gift given in respect. This chance to push the boundaries of normal, of regular, and dare, and risk, and make a difference in our world.

After the well wishes, hand shakes and hugs, we hit up the local taco stand then the beach. There was a gorgeous sunset that night, it was a perfect punctuation to beautiful day.

Our group was also fortunate to work with an amazing woman, Allyson Grant. She is a clown doctor that works with children and we were lucky enough to bring clowning around to the orphanage. One again, I did not know what to expect and how the children would react to us wearing a red nose. But the moment we all put them on you could hear laughter pouring at almost every child that we played with. Each child extended a smile from ear to ear. Even those who could not laugh, you could see the sparkle in their eyes and that was enough to change anyone’s day.
It’s hard to believe that even the smallest mask in the world can make a difference but it can and I have witnessed it. Yes, there may be a language barrier, but that should never stop us from putting a smile on a child’s face. The simplest thing in the world that any human can do is smile. Today at the orphanage smiling was my only way of communication and I was able to communicate with every child and staff member. It didn’t matter whether I spoke Spanish because every single human being can understand the language of a smile.”

Kayla Lim- Student

-Dustin Innes, Student

Is it someone without any parents, a child scarred by abandonment… or perhaps just an individual lacking emotional and financial support?

Hero Holiday is allowing each of us to see that despite our many differences in terms of talent, passion, finances and more… we all have one crucial similarity. In a world exemplifying so many global issues and challenges, we all share the ability to love the unloved.

We have been given the opportunity to reach out in a tangible way whether it be building a school, a house or merely holding and humming in the ear of a child who may never respond…

We can all be successful at loving others.

Lover Never Fails!!

-Grace Voteary, Student.

Tomorrow we are heading out with our adventure guy, Greg. The day is gonna be filled with hiking dormant volcanoes, crawling through lava tubes on a beach, running an obstacle course and hopefully some time in between some sand dunes and the ocean, relaxing and soaking up the last day of Mexico.

I am heading out in a hour to the house dedication. The families are all squared away, the finishing touches being done on the houses as I type right now. There is a sense amongst the group that they have accomplished what they have come here to do. Everyone has done at least one new thing this week, most have done many new things. There is a feeling of challenges met and victories won. Adventures have been had, and a few more lie in front of us.

I want to take the time to congratulate the participants of this trip. They have taken time out of their summer holiday to learn more about themselves and give unselfishly to families here in Mexico. The impact they have made will not be forgotten.

Six out of the nineteen wonderful people from team three choose to go horse back riding on their day off. The day started as usual, meeting at 7:30, getting ready for the day and at 8:30 boarding the van. Minus the sounds of the Dominican horn blowing, it was a quiet ride there, but seeing as there may have only been two of us who had ever ridden horses before, you can imagine there was a lot to think about.

Once there, we emptied out of the van to look at the rocky red dirt of the jungle and our 6 horses being untied from the trees. As we mounted the horses we could all see the same look in our eyes, “Holy cow, we’ve never done this before.” Fortunately, this didn’t stop us. After our 4T’s guide Anthony gave us a quick lesson on how to steer (and stop), we were on our way. It was rough terrain at first but through the rocks and after relaxing on our horses we were able to see the beautiful landscape. We went through the jungle seeing old caves placed in the middle of trees and bushes, looking at burnt out forestry which now has vibrant baby green trees growing through the white rocks surrounding the area. After trusting the horses and becoming more comfortable on the saddle we were able to experience “galloping”. Meanwhile learning (in the moment) how to stop.

When we reached as far as the trail went, we got off our horses and shared cut up fruit with our guides on banana leaves. Of course this was after they showed us the cave full of water that we (obviously) had to jump into. The water was clear, blue and so refreshing. It took a little encouragement for some, but after a few minutes we were all in the water. Looking back on the experience it still calms me when thinking about the scenery and how awakening the water felt as i jumped from the rocks.

Elizabeth Doney- Student Leader

For us, the Hero Holiday students, we were able to step into the shoes of these workers and getting covered in who knows what. At times the smell was so over whelming we wanted to barf, but after spending three hours in the dump the smell became “normal”. Living in Canadian society, most of us grew up with a need of accomplishment and success, It’s amazing how the dump brought forth these needs. Our goal was to fill over sized bags provided by the workers. Surprisingly, it was rather difficult to find plastic bottles. After walking on mountains of garbage, there it was, “poking out of rotting banana peels- our first plastic bottle! The amount of success that overwhelmed our bodies from finding one little bottle was amazing.

From this dump experience I have come to the realization that our society takes things for granted way to much. I know that every time I look at a plastic bottle again, my mind will fill with the memories of the dump. Also, I plan to take some action after seeing and experiencing this accomplishment. I really want to encourage people to see the same realization as myself.

Rebecca Price- Student Leader.

Joy and inspiration. These are the two words that I emphasized with our group today, our “Spirit Clowns”, as we readied ourselves for entering the orphanage.

Apart from a few new brave souls, we as a group have worked together in the past creating compassion and leadership in school-related events. However, we were slightly tentative about the emotional impact that this particular site would have on us. Knowing that all the children were mentally or physically disabled and that we had to be cognizant of the language barrier. We decided that we would enter “in clownito” (as my mentor had dubbed it), or in other words out of clown, to assess the situation, the needs of the children, and to get ourselves accustomed to what for the most of them was an entirely new element.

I was not one of the first of our troupe off the buss and into the first room, but as I approached the door a handful of red eyes and wet faces were emerging overwhelmed and overcome with a resounding question about the sights: why? As we made our way through the various rooms of the new facility, the reactions became vast-some of us were carrying children in our arms, others were grasping for breath and comprehension, and all reactions were okay. Were they going to be able to- or WANT to- create the “spark of light” that is integral to this form of clown work? What would it take to go from feeling consumed with sorrow to giving the gift of love?

We helped with the lunch feedings, and gathered to reconfirm the details: we were there to provide our spirit. Spirit clowning in this environment was new to us all, but the sound of giggles, the squeals of glee and the toothy grins were not. The unmistakable impact of our work fueled us right from the moment the children saw us re-enter donned in Red noses. We danced with some, sang with some, were gregarious and physical, or were tender and subtle with some, but we smiled with all.

The red nose works as a remarkable tool-it allows the wearer to step into a realm of profound intimacy, connection and child-like wonder that we so often do not allow ourselves; but it also allows the viewer to accept love and laughter on a new level.

Spirit clowns retreated at their own pace after we had been at it for quite a while, either being satisfied that they had given what they wanted, or were emotionally or physically exhausted and needed to re-charge. And all reasons were okay.

As we collected, noses-off and sweat-laden in the sunlit and breezy room at the top of the stairs, we called out in unison, Buenos tardes. Amigos! “to the room of full of smiling faces, I descended wondering who received the biggest gift of joy and inspiration.

**Spirit Clowning is a branch of Jest for Joy that promotes Education/Outreach opportunities in Red Nose. Spirit Clowns are non-professional performers who are facilitated by a professional clown-doctor to promote joy and inspiration through Red Nose work. Leadership students from JN Burnett Secondary School have had workshopping in the art of Spirit Clowning over the past 2 years, which was co-created with Kristi Molnar.

Allyson J Grant is the Artistic Director of the newly developed organization Jest for Joy. Jest for Joy is a clown-doctoring program which focuses on prompting wellness of patients through wit, physical theatre and song. Clown doctors are not merely entertainers; they are professional performers are highly trained, and are an integral part of the health care team. For more information, please visit www. Jestforjoy.ca

For more stories of the students of J.N. Burnett please visit their blog at www.burnettkids.blogspot.com

Dan (parent) - The highlight of my day was picking the family up in the bus and taking them to the work site. It was a shock to see who was sleeping outside on the mattress behind the house. It was great to see their excitement as we pulled up. When we were working, one of the men was working alongside us. He noticed the boards that were off and needed to be re-nailed. He had pride in the work we were doing together.

Taylor (student) - The most surprising part was finding the deer slayer (the bug that eats the scorpion) in the new outhouse when we arrived on the site. A highlight would be seeing the homes that the family live in as well as the one down the street that was made out of clothes, tarps and other materials.

Robbie (student) - Seeing the accomplishment of the house walls going up and the seeing the structure take shape. Putting the roof on and me and Emily kicking butt on the saws. It was a lot of fun today, and everyone worked really well together, there was a lot that got done.

Our first project, Arroyo Seco, is a school that Hero Holiday has worked on since 2006. Three years ago we stepped out of our trucks onto a field where local farmers kept their cows and pigs and now have built a two story school with an on site medical clinic (to be completed this August), a full fence, and play ground for it’s students. This July we are completing the inside and have already witnessed many paint wars and ceilings being put up. At the end of July this school will be fully painted and ready for classes to start!

The second project is, Cangrejo, we started this school build last summer. A few days before the trip started the cement roof was put on the second floor. We have to wait 15 days for it to cure so in the mean time the students have started digging the washrooms. Yesterday, they laid the last cement in the bathroom footings and the walls should go up any day now. We are also moving dirt to even out an area for parking.

The third project is another school, we are working to put a fence around a school called Dominican Advance. Kent, our on staff Kiwi, works the students like crazy and is hoping to get the fence up and around the school. He seams to think that we may have this fence completed by the end of the week. Go Team!

Out last project which is dear to each on the staff and participant’s hearts is the house we are building for Bernard. Bernard has been helping with Hero Holiday since our first trip to the Dominican Republic. He is known for his BIG smile, hilarious personality and generous heart. The student’s are digging through hard dirt to make a trench for the footings and foundation of his home. Bernard is a Haitian and has had to over come many racial barriers while living in Dominican. Despite all of this he keeps a positive attitude and gives back to his community in helping to build schools, providing opportunities for struggling artists to sell their art and he also supports his brother who runs an orphanage in Haiti.

There are two other activities (an orphanage visit and a half day of helping people working in a local dump) that the students participate in… stay tuned for more pictures and stories tomorrow.

I will say, so far our trip has been a success, communities are receiving the help they need and student’s lives are being changed.

~Nettie Brown

By the end of yesterday all the roof panels were done, as well as two of the walls. By the end of today, the houses will be up. It is an incredible sense of accomplishment to see the houses going up. Gerard, our building contractor and local Newfie, is hard at work with the students making great progress.

For lunch we hit up Sand Dollar Beach, a beautiful spot here on the Pacific with soft sand, sloping dunes, and yesterday it had great waves to boogie board on. After some hang out time in the sun shine we loaded up again and headed north back to town and to the graveyard. There we talked about children. The child death rate in the world. We talked about why it is that people living in poverty seem to continually have big families, and about the ones that ended up in front is us, marked by a cross and some colourful plastic flowers.

One of our summer volunteer staff, Kelsey, is a veteran of Hero Holiday and shared her stories of kids that have made an impact on her. About Danica from the Dominican Republic whose short life and sad ending last summer is forever remembered in the hearts of our interns last summer. And about a small girl in Thailand, who lives today surviving horrors of a life of trafficking, and lives in hope. Each story, each topic, each view in front of us pulled at the minds and thoughts of the students and adults alike. Times of discomfort at the injustices in the world around are are so valuable. They keep us motivated, in touch and concerned.

The day isn’t over yet. We headed to a local crafter market, and the students got a good taste of bargaining as well as an exposure to what it is like to be approached by kids selling their wares, using their charm to convince. We checked out the local coffee shop and ice cream stand. Not to worry, both are tried, tested and true for our Hero Holiday participants and very much enjoyed by the Hero Holiday staff and volunteers. No stomach worries there.

The evening was a relaxing one, hanging out and getting together for the first days reflections on the trip. This is an awesome group, both the participants and leaders, observant, involved and definitely willing to get the most out of this experience as they can. It is going to be a great week!

Not sure who has ever been through the Tijuana border before. You pull up to it in a car and go into a lane, it is a rare day to have a three car wait, mostly because of the speed of processing. You pull through and get a light, green says ‘pase’ and off you go, some of the cars racing ahead, or you get a red light saying ‘revision’ and you pull over.

Buses area bit different. Each time there seems to be a variety of options of hoops they could ask you to jump through. This time, we pulled up and got out of the bus. The border guard took us to the light, and Mr. Olsen (Rob) pressed the button. Green. ‘Pase’. No more questions. We were on our way.

Safe travels and safe arrivals. Everyone unpacked and headed to the beach for some relaxing time in the afternoon, then back to the dorms for the first of many delicious Mexican meals prepared for us by our cook Amelia. After some cross cultural orientation, people headed off to bed. I haven’t gotten one comment yet about the roosters, perhaps someone had chicken stew and there aren’t as many around this time.

A note of thanks goes out to Andrew and Dawn Bernardi, our bus drivers and co-leaders from Hope, BC. This is Dawn and Andrew’s second time to Mexico with Hero Holiday this year, and we are looking forward to having them here again in August. They are old hats at life around here in this part of the Baja, and their efforts are appreciated.

Alethea Troves- Student Leader.

After work everyone came back, went swimming, got some cold ice lemonade, and had a rest. Dinner was then served and debriefing of the days activities with our teams then started. Anyways… we’ve got a pool party going on now… so i better go, but ill let you all know how it went tomorrow.

After getting our rooms, roommates and luggage sorted out, we had some free time to go swimming or take a nap before dinner. After dinner Christal Earle, one of the founders of Hero Holiday, did a little orientation of Dominican life with us and we go split up into our groups for the week. These are the groups that we are going to be with at all the work sites, debriefing sessions, and excursions with, its all very exciting.

All in all the first night was a blast!!

All thirty-three participants from the Vancouver school arrived on time and a little tired. After chilling for a little bit we went for dinner and a walk down at the water front. Tomorrow we are leaving nice and early to beat some of the heat and will settle into the dorms and hang around the town a bit, hopefully hit the beach.

The week is shaping up to be a fantastic one. The supplies are ordered, the pads laid, the paint bought, the tools packed. The group is here, eager, ready to go. The family is waiting. So we begin.

“We look forward to increasing the effectiveness of our motivational teams, and we believe these additions will do just that”, says Vaden Earle, CEO of Absolute Leadership Development. “Our goal is to continue to inspire this generation with a relevant message that their lives have purpose and value”

The workshops and leave behind video curriculum are designed to facilitate discussion between students on issues that are fundamental to them. Global awareness sessions have a huge impact on the perspective students have of not only the world, but their own lives as well. Together, the package is a vital tool for schools that want their motivational and character education efforts to have a lasting impact.

The incredible news for schools is that in conjunction with the launch of Think Day, Absolute is fully sponsoring their services (that other organizations charge over $5000 for) with a donation based model of payment, so that all schools, regardless of budget or demographic, will be able to take advantage of the best student empowerment opportunity in North America.

Absolute is accepting bookings for the 2008-2009 school year and can be reached at www.thinkday.org or 1-866-432-4464

Click here for promotional brochure PDF! http://thinkday.org/thinkday.pdf

Around this time last year I applied for a trip to the Dominican Republic; not knowing anyone. Closer to the departure date I found out that a peer from my High School, Sarah Mens, was also attending the trip. At the time we hardly knew each other.

When we returned to Canada, Sarah and I were in agreement that we could not continue living a typical Canadian lifestyle. Together we came up with some ideas of how to get the community involved and raise money for the people we met on our trip.

When September rolled around Sarah and I approached our Principle with a crafty power point presentation and a list of some cool ideas. Unknowing that we were trying to establish a group in our school that already existed, Social Justice. (It’s a good thing too. After all our school was named after Lester Pearson a Noble Peace Prize winner.)

Anyways… we instantaneously joined Social Justice and brought forward our cause. There were many other students with various causes, so we initiated a vote. To our surprise the students agreed with us that this was indeed a superb cause and although each cause was equally important and deserving the votes were without a doubt in favor for HUGS.

We were truly excited and the planning began. We have organized lots of fun fundraisers within our school since. Some examples are Guitar-Hero Fridays, Valentine’s Day Raffle, Easter Raffle, Music Entertainment, Talent Shows, Bake Sales, Pin Sales, A Penny Drive, Awareness Days and the biggest of all our School Charity Fashion Show, which also included a 50/50 draw and a Silent Auction.

The Charity Fashion Show was organized by two very devoted teachers Mrs. Galley and Mrs. Spencer, plus five main graduating students, Krista Sharpe, Nia Pavesi, Alicya Samuels, Michelle Cochrane, and Jen Bozak. We had three great MC’s including Sarah Mens, Rebecca Strauss and Jordan Gray plus a crew of 45.

It was a lot of fun practicing and presenting our work to the community, friends, family and special guests such as Christal Earle, however, it was not a simple production to put together. This event took us months of hard work by both students and teachers. Stress was inevitable because the teachers, organizers and crew were so incredibly adamant that the show would be perfect. These organizers cared so much and spent every last hour tweaking the production and in the end their caring really showed because it was a fabulous show. I thank you all for your hard work.

There are so many ways we can get involved and make a difference as individuals, so many that sometimes you don’t even know what’s out there. You just need to care enough to show up and participate. I encourage everyone, young and old, to get involved because it is the first step to a better future for everyone and when you look back on your life you can feel gratitude that you got involved and took a chance.

-Danielle Clouse, Lester B Pearson High School, Burlington ON

“We watch your groups come and go. We see the way the your people treat everyone here. From the smallest child to the oldest person, you treat them all with love and respect. That is a lesson for us.”

It is always great to hear that you are making a difference, both directly and indirectly, to the people in the community!

Dear Absolute,

We write this letter with much appreciation for what your organization does. Our school, Master’s Academy and College, participated in both a chartered Hero Holiday trip to Mexico and a motivational assembly.

As a result of our trip, students and teachers were deeply challenged in their thinking and gained an increased understanding of social justice issues. This trip was so much more than just a humanitarian trip. It was truly an opportunity for our students to serve and gain an increased perspective on the world. They have learned more through experience than is possible to achieve in the classroom alone. They were left with a challenge that one person can make a difference and we believe that these experiences have impacted them to do so, challenging and encouraging their future life goals. As teachers, the leadership and organization that was demonstrated from the absolute team for this trip was executed without flaw or confusion. The Hero Holiday staff was well trained and very knowledgeable. They took time to relate to our students, making a connection and showing them that they were not just another group.

The motivational assembly took place after our trip. Our high school students were engaged in the experience that was created for them. They listened to the stories shared and were able to relate them to their own life issues. The band was great, right on target for our students. We were able to integrate our own student’s testimonies of their Hero Holiday into the assembly. They shared and instantly made a connection between our school and your organization. We see this as beneficial for both our school and your organization.

While in Mexico we were introduced to One: A Face Behind the Numbers by Vaden Earle. This is a perspective changing resource. Since our trip, we have decided to use this book as a classroom resource, integrating it into core curriculum. It is a real-life book into key statistics and case studies. We look forward to challenging our students with the information that it provides.

We look forward to staying connected with Absolute in the future. We feel that Absolute offers an enriching and impacting experience for all high school students. We would highly recommend this organization to any school interested. By making experiences like this the norm and not the exception, our future generations will be provided with tools to make a difference.

Thank you for providing us with this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Hayley Blain
Marlene Fehr

Master’s Academy & College
4414 Crowchild Trail SW
Calgary, AB
T2T 5J4

We would love to have you join us this summer in either Dominican Republic July 16-27 or Mexico on August 2-12 or 16-30. To help make the decision easier, we have even extended the deadline for the the Dominican Republic (July 16th-27th trip) to May 1, 2008. YOU STILL HAVE TIME!

Deadline for all Mexico applications is April 30, 2008.

Apply Here!