What is World Horizons International?

Since 1987 World Horizons established the benchmark for teenage cross-cultural volunteer community service experiences. World Horizons organizes community service trips lasting 2-4 weeks long in locations ranging from North and South America, the South Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East, where teens discover new views of their world, and of themselves. We are proud of World Horizons' strong reputation for reliability, safety and competence. Our trips balance service work, cultural immersion, sightseeing, and friendship, giving teenagers experiences of a full range of social diversity.

By attending to the needs of communities around the globe, World Horizons’ volunteers reach new vistas of personal understanding. There are many ways to help: caring for mistreated animals; tutoring children; working with seniors; organizing day camps; teaching sports or crafts; building and painting; planting trees; assisting handicapped adults and children and more.

A World Horizons trip shows how we can each improve our relationships with others around the world. Now, more than ever, people need to reach across barriers of culture, language, and geography. Our trips help you discover lifestyles that are quite different from your own. You'll work, eat, play and just hang out with local community members. You'll learn things that tourists will never know! Spend weeks involved closely with your fellow participants and the local residents of the community, learning about the culture, repairing a school classroom or just sharing experiences with your hosts. Unleash your potential as your group makes a difference in the life of a total stranger! World Horizons is education at its best. What better way to learn about yourself and the world around you?

At the end of the day and on weekends you'll have plenty of time for exploring with the group. Hike to a mountaintop, visit a volcano, check out a local craft market or take part in a local festival. Welcome to "the real world" - not a TV show where producers edit the scenes to manufacture drama, but a real adventure with work that matters and plenty of fun along the way.

Who applies to World Horizons?

World Horizons' travelers come from all around the world, representing different ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some travelers want to learn about new cultures or test their language skills, others, to increase their experience before applying for college. All World Horizons travelers share these common desires; a genuine sense of adventure, the urge to help others, the need to experience a different culture, and desire to expand their horizons.

You don't need special skills or training. Flexibility is the key, says Cathie Myers, of Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Many volunteers "don't realize they have something to offer. When that realization comes upon them, it changes their world. It lets them know they can make a difference in the world."

If you are between 13-18, have a sense of adventure, up to the challenge of a true cross-cultural experience, feel the need to help others, and willing to learn, you can make a difference through World Horizons.

"Don't Just Dream It, Do It!" Experience the adventure of a lifetime by participating in a World Horizons program!

"This past summer in Hawaii, I experienced what I imagine to be life at its fullest. I felt responsible as an adult with the work we were doing in the community. I learned about many cultures and customs of Polynesian civilizations from North Shore surfing to the Fijian Fire and Knife dance. I will remember the people I helped and met on this trip for the rest of my life."

Jason Zwang, Connecticut
-- Hawaii