We’re pleased to announce Led2Serve’s first service learning journey was completed in Washington, DC in late March. Led2Serve traveled with a team of twenty-two from St. John’s Military school in Salina, Kansas. This team joined an impactful service learning mission where students learned about our nation’s great history and were able to make a positive difference in the lives of others with service projects coordinated by Capital Area Food Bank and SOME (So Others Might Eat) non-profit organizations.

Led2Serve organized all details for the Journey Team which included the team touring the Capitol Building followed by a solemn visit to the Arlington Cemetery to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This journey team also visited numerous monuments throughout the city, including the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The week’s adventures were capped with a tour of the breathtaking National Cathedral where students learned of the extensive history behind the building of the church and how it serves as a cornerstone of religious diversity in our country.

Moving into the service component of the journey all team members spent time serving through Led2Serve’s partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest organization in the Washington metro area combating hunger for 540,000 people each year and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease, and obesity. For their second serve project, the journey members served with So Others Might Eat, an interfaith, community-based organization that helps the poor and homeless of the nation’s capital. SOME help to break the cycle of homelessness by offering services, such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and counseling, to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness.

Vanessa Puleo, Founder and Executive Director of Led2Serve stated “As part of Led2Serve’s community serving component we regularly travel to established partnership locations many times a year, to forge impactful and lasting relationships that will benefit individuals within those communities. We’re very pleased to have these new partnerships with the Capital Area Food Bank and So Others Might Eat who have such a positive role in the Washington DC area.” Puleo continues to say, “Service-Learning Journeys are a way to engage in educational travel linked with a learning outcome and meaningful service to support those opportunities. High-school and college teams can teach their classes while we travel and serve throughout DC”.

About Led2Serve:

Founded by Vanessa Puleo in 2009, led2serve was created to equip, inspire, and mobilize individuals and teams to serve others locally, nationally, and through many regions of Costa Rica. led2serve’s customized Journeys provide the opportunity for team members to give their time and talents by taking part in meaningful community projects such as building a ramp for the disabled, painting a school, or participating in an environmental cleanup effort. Their hard work is then balanced by taking part in activities such as zip-lining, snorkeling, white water rafting and other fun activities. Team members typically pay a Journey fee to cover the cost of their travel, which is tax deductible, as they are a 501(c)(3) organization. Team members can fundraise for their trips if they choose.

Led2Serve coordinates all aspects of travel, from food and lodging, to project materials. They travel and serve primarily in the Eastern United States and throughout five regions of Costa Rica. Led2Serve teams travel repeatedly to the same locations and serve with established community partners year round bringing groups from schools, churches, non-religious organizations, sports teams, family and friend groups, sports teams, and more.

Contact Information:
Vanessa Puleo
Founder/Executive Director
vanessa@led2serve.org