CAS Trips Unveils Community-Led Service Trips

Global student travel tour operator CAS Trips announces the launch of CLS (Community-Led Service) Trips. As of today, CAS Trips invites schools and students aged 14-18 to explore eight destinations. This addition to CAS Trips’ offerings represents a new era in experiential education and service learning, centered on authentic impact and lasting connections in developing communities across the globe.

CLS Trips Destinations

A member of WYSE Travel Confederation, CLS Trips cover eight community-centric destinations, each carefully selected for its unique cultural and community needs: Bhutan, Cambodia, Finland, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Zanzibar, and Vietnam. Community projects range from renovating a school in Cambodia, upcycling in Portugal, and environmental protection in Bhutan, to working on sea turtle and jungle protection in Mexico. CAS Trips Managing Director, Simon Armstrong says, “Our CLS Trips open the door to create long-lasting relationships between students and host communities, meeting genuine needs identified by the community and comprehensively preparing students to engage in lifelong service learning.”

Key Features of CLS Trips

CLS Trips focus exclusively on service, purposefully matching schools with communities that have themselves identified authentic needs that require urgent action in the form of funding and volunteering. By engaging in a comprehensive process of pre-trip engagement, students arrive equipped with the knowledge and understanding to best serve their community project.

Key features include:

Hands-On Service: CLS Trips go beyond traditional service models, immersing students in impactful projects that require them to roll up their sleeves and get involved in physical work ranging from building and painting to trail maintenance or sewing.
Cultural Immersion: Students become a part of daily life in their host communities, creating cultural exchanges and genuine human connection.
Collaboration with Local Communities: Working alongside community leaders, NGOs, and organizations, students gain firsthand insights into real-world challenges and contribute to localized, sustainable solutions.

How CLS Trips Work

CLS Trips operate by having students actively address genuine needs expressed by local communities. Before contributing to solutions, participants must first undertake extensive pre-trip engagement to understand local cultures and investigate the realities of daily life. This approach fosters research and critical skill development, encouraging
students to develop empathy and understanding, show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and become globally-minded citizens.

CAS Trips’ develops long-term partnerships within local destinations who identify and connect with the local communities we work with. These partnerships provide direct, transparent links to communities and the local hosts for students and educators traveling on a CLS Trip.

For more information on CLS Trips and to embark on a journey of transformative learning, visit www.castrips.org/cls.

About CAS Trips

CAS Trips is a student travel tour operator specializing in service learning and experiential education. With a commitment to fostering global citizenship, the company provides students, teachers, and educators with transformative learning experiences that go beyond the boundaries of a traditional classroom.