Duty of Care is not merely a legal obligation; it's a moral imperative that organizations in the travel and experiential education industry must prioritize the well-being, security, and safety of their participants. However, the landscape of duty of care is as dynamic as the industry itself, constantly evolving with societal changes and industry advancements. In this blog, we explore the fluid and ever-changing nature of Duty of Care, emphasizing its practical application for organizations to operate confidently in a rapidly changing environment.

Embarking on a transformative travel program with minors is a rewarding endeavor that contributes to their growth, resilience, and global awareness. While these programs create profound impacts, they also come with unique challenges and responsibilities. At Cornerstone Safety Group, we recognize the importance of addressing the logistical and protective aspects of working with minors in travel and experiential education.

Recently, the resurgence of measles has become a concerning reality, particularly for the travel and experiential education sectors. Cornerstone Safety Group acknowledges the gravity of this situation and aims to provide comprehensive guidance to our members in navigating the current landscape effectively.

While perseverance and dedication are commendable qualities, it's crucial to recognize the impact of stress on individuals and teams. In this article, we delve into the Stress Continuum model as a valuable tool for assessing and addressing stress within the travel and experiential education industries.

Over the last two years at Cornerstone Safety Group, we’ve had the pleasure of working with 30+ member organizations as we provide the most comprehensive support possible to the travel and experiential education industry. We’ve also noted that members use their membership hours in thoughtful and creative ways that go beyond the obvious support resources.

So, settle in for some stories of success, strategy, and solutions. Today, we are offering concrete examples of how members utilize our services to reach improved outcomes in all functions of their organizations.

Across management staff, field staff, and those in your senior leadership positions, you might be managing or working with a number of generations. For most organizations, that means you’re operating with staff who display (wonderfully) different perspectives, values, views, and backgrounds.

When it comes to your travel program, your staff may not only have different individual backgrounds and perspectives, but also different ideas about the nature of work itself. This can potentially create challenges if views aren’t aligned and entry level staff require a completely different approach than those who are more seasoned.

Bracing for the inevitable stresses of managing programs is a recipe for burnout and frustration among HQ staff and leadership teams. So, what can you do to proactively address HQ burnout and manage the leadership team’s mental health on the precipice of your busiest season? How do you support each other, as a leadership staff, through peak season before burnout becomes an inevitability?

We spoke with organizational leaders and the Cornerstone mental health team to offer best practices and insights below.

This year in Missoula, Cornerstone Safety Group received the 2023 Innovation in Gap Year Programming Award! After a record number of nominations from members and industry leaders, Executive Director, Dave Dennis, gratefully accepted the award at this year’s Gap Year Association Conference.

“Cornerstone provides benchmarks for safety, risk management, mental health, and medical support on student programming,” read one nomination. “The subscription model is innovative within our industry and the approach of ‘safety is not intellectual property’ has allowed for more collaboration across companies that previously saw themselves purely as competitors. Cornerstone is making the industry safer for all of us.”

You work hard to ensure that your processes for managing risk are thorough and consistent at your organization. In fact, you probably recognize that highlighting the ways you and your team approach risk management is a crucial selling point of your travel programs. Below, we’ve highlighted some best practices for ensuring that your approach to marketing the health and safety of your travel program is appropriate, legal, and effective.

Cornerstone is founded on the belief that protecting human lives is not intellectual property, but a shared responsibility. We believe that knowing where human safety fits within your organization and having actionable processes to navigate complex situations is paramount to operational success.

At Cornerstone, our members have the unique opportunity to bring relevant challenges to the table and work together with peer organizations to create solutions. As we adapt to the next evolution of the pandemic and what that means for our member organizations, one such topic was brought to the table early in 2022: reintroducing homestay experiences.

To make Cornerstone meetings and trainings beneficial for all participants, we ask that attendees abide by the following etiquette. When we follow these norms, the value of each session increases and attendees are more likely to make peer connections. In return, we at Cornerstone will abide by the best practices and expectations set forth below, as event organizers.

I recently had a conversation with one of the Cornerstone community members discussing "gut feelings" about Omicron and how this might impact the progress and optimism for international programming in 2022. While there's no true answer to this question, it got me thinking about what we could and should be doing given our experiences over the past two years.

We know that our community, industry leaders like you, are working hard to make the right decisions for your programming. With that in mind, we sat down this week with Cornerstone Co-Founder and Medical Director, Joshua Dubansky, MD, FACEP, to discuss the reality of the Omicron variant, the updated definition of “fully vaccinated,” and how to handle some of the most common situations our members and community face.