As part of the Service and Learning Term at Hillcrest Academy, several students made a trip to Omaha, Nebraska last month as part of the Urban Plunge Program. The program sends over 1,500 youth every year to seven different cities within the United States to work with the homeless or those in need, experience new cultures, and make a positive impact within the community.

Hillcrest students spent the last week of March working with several ministries throughout Omaha. They provided service to several organizations, including a ranch with therapy animals, homeless shelter, food bank, and job training center for ex-cons.

While the trip took the place of their regular class schedule, many students expressed that the learning opportunities from this experience were unlike those they can get from the classroom. Freshman, Tara Poole, tells KCII, “It was incredibly eye-opening, you hear a lot of times there’s a lot of homeless people, there’s a lot of people who have nothing, you have a lot compared to some people, be thankful. But this trip definitely opened my eyes. It made everything seem so much more real.”

The Service and Learning Term is a bi-annual event at Hillcrest Academy with the purpose of putting beliefs into action and bringing service to others. Other projects this year included building houses in Kentucky, working with Crowded Closet in Iowa City, and an international mission trip to Costa Rica.