Immersion Program

Encuentro – June 6-12

Located in the border region of El Paso, Texas, the Encuentro Project is a collaborative initiative involving the Jesuits, Marist Brothers, Sisters of St. Francis, and the Holy Family in the El Paso community. During our immersion week in El Paso, students will engage in meaningful service in shelters and/or parishes, supporting migrants who have recently arrived in the United States. Additionally, students will participate in workshops with community organizers, border patrol agents, and attorneys, gaining insight into the social and legal aspects of immigration. The experience will also include discussions and reflections on the migrant and border realities, viewed through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.

Los Angeles Urban Plunge – June 8-14

Students will encounter the complicated landscape of the poor and marginalized in East L.A. The Delores Mission Church community, where Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. had once been pastor, will serve as an anchor for our experience. In that community students will serve meals to those experiencing homelessness, and visit and learn about Homeboy Industries which grew out of this community. We will also encounter and serve the residents of Skid Row, one of the largest stable populations of homeless people in the United States, estimated at over 4,400 people. In this 54-block area that has become synonymous with hoIgnatian spirituality will guide our reflections and discussions as we consider this East L.A. landscape.

ESVA – June 8-14

The ESVA summer service immersion will partner with Habitat for Humanity (HFH) on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Students will work with the local HFH affiliate in two of the most economically challenged counties in Virginia, as they build simple and affordable homes for local families. By working with this underserved community, the students will genuinely engage with those in rural America that yearn to break the cycle of poverty and build a new future.

Philadelphia – June 15-21

Prep volunteers with St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia. We will spend time working inside of the Soup Kitchen and Thrift Store, which will include packing “daily bread bags” as well as assisting in preparing, cooking, and serving the meals.  We will also be called upon to help with a variety of projects that arise in the community. In the evenings, we will have the opportunity to tour the city of Philadelphia.

Somos Amigos-Costa Rica – June 19-25

More than 700,000 Nicaraguans have poured into Costa Rica over the last six years, arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs and their personal story of how they escaped violent repression in Nicaragua. Students will have the opportunity to encounter and serve these migrants, as well as those from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Angola, and other nations experiencing repression, violence, and political turmoil. The organization that we are partnering with in this effort, Corner of Love, is a Christian non-profit which is based in La Cruz, Costa Rica, and they provide relief services -- including nutrition, medical care, education, and more -- to those seeking safety. The founders / directors of Corner of Love are a husband and wife, Nelson and Tanya Amador, who have each made serving refugees their life's mission as an integral part of living out their Christian faith. 

Ivanhoe – June 22-28

Ivanhoe is a small town of about 600 aging residents in the economically- depressed Appalachian region of southwest Virginia. It is approximately 6 hours away from DC, just off Route 81. Ivanhoe, once a prosperous manufacturing town, has very high unemployment and has never quite been the same since a Union Carbide plant left the town and took many jobs with it. By the 1980s the last of the mineral companies closed and the local economy was decimated. Through the work of Phyllis and Danny Alley and the Ivanhoe Civic League, the residents of Ivanhoe refuse to allow their town to die.

Flathead #1– July 2-7 & Flathead #2– July 9-14

Prep will partner with the Jesuit community that serves the Flathead Reservation. We will be stationed at the Saint Ignatius Mission Church in Saint Ignatius, Montana. During our visit, we will serve the community and engage in conversations about Native American history in the region and the role that the Jesuits played in that history. We will meet various members of the Salish community and engage them in conversation about their culture, traditions, history, and challenges. Students will be spending time on Reservation land and/or the neighboring Glacier National Park where we will discuss environmental justice issues, mainly climate change and its effect on local ecology. Service and activities primarily take place outdoors, and would be a great fit for those interested not only in Native culture but working outdoors and experiencing the natural environment of Montana. After this immersion trip, the students should have a deeper understanding of life as a Native American in the United States and the American West. 

Bethlehem Farm – July 6-12

Bethlehem Farm, located in Summers County, is a Catholic Community which transforms lives through service with the local community and the teaching of sustainable practices. They have been serving in Appalachia since 2004, and each year have over 400 volunteers join their full-time staff to live together as a community. During the week, students can expect to learn about and from the people of Appalachia, pray with the community, and experience ways of practicing and living a sustainable and simple life. Each day, all volunteers are divided into different work crews to travel to work sites across the community. Students will also have the opportunity to explore the nature of Appalachia and meet with members of local communities. You can go to their website at bethlehemfarm.net to explore more of their way of life and more information about what to expect.

Camino – July 9-15

Prep will partner with the Camino Institute in the Dominican Republic for a weeklong service immersion experience in the small mountaintop town of El Faro. Due to the rural location of El Faro, the Camino Institute seeks to fill critical infrastructure and construction needs for the surrounding mountainside communities. Prep students will partner with the families and community members of El Faro working side by side on a construction project to aid El Faro. After a morning and afternoon at the service worksite, our group will join community life along the local rivers and waterfalls. As our group nears completion of the service project, the Camino Institute will take us up to the island's north coast where we will partner with a local pastor who ministers to Haitian migrant workers.