Twice a year, Turning Winds organizes international service trips for our clients. It’s not tourism but an uplifting therapeutic experience since the trip is focused on helping other people and experiencing a culture different from our own. Traveling to foreign countries to be immersed in other societies and helping people less fortunate than ourselves affords new perspectives and the ability to learn that all people are essentially the same.
The primary purpose of the trips is to put together meaningful opportunities for the kids to get outside of themselves and give to other people. Service trips have two main elements: get a meaningful service experience and discover the world outside of the United States.
Turning Winds has taken clients to Greece, Peru, Thailand, Ghana, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, and other destinations.
Giving back is a powerfully important part of personal growth and the development of self-worth. Perhaps the most crucial aspect of this service work, however, is its ability to expose Turning Winds clients to the indomitable strength of the human will.
Witnessing the character, heart, and spirit required to thrive in difficult circumstances is proof of the unifying power of the shared human spirit. While the people of Turning Winds might act as helpers, it is also the people being helped who become the teachers of this crucial lesson.
