“Education is not the filling of
a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
-William Butler Yeats
Lexington
Minuteman
Since 2006 the Tauck Foundation has partnered
with a growing number of youth agencies to
provide a unique summer travel program for
low-income middle school students.
Sparks integrates after-school or summer camp
programs with a six-day travel experience; students
can participate for up to three consecutive years.
It is a structured and highly experiential program
that uses travel to help these at-risk children
develop: a hunger for learning and love for
travel; appreciation for diversity; increased self-
awareness, confidence and independence;
and individual and group responsibility and
collaboration. Sparks also teaches simple but
important life skills such as being away from
home, living with roommates, packing a suitcase
and checking into a hotel.
One of the Sparks group leaders, who is a
professional youth counselor, stated: “There were
more teachable moments in that one week than I
get in a whole year of working with these kids.”
Post-program research and feedback from the
students, parents and youth agency counselors
indicate that Sparks is having a big impact on
the self-confidence and life-aspirations of the
participants. Several hundred students have
participated in the Sparks program and Tauck has
plans to continue to expand the program in the
years to come.
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