Outreach360
The focus of this blog has so far been very North America heavy, and this post is a half step towards changing that. Outreach360 (formerly Orphanage Outreach) is a US-based nonprofit with operations in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
My draft blog post sat like that for about two weeks because that’s all I could say at first. Because what can you say about one of the most influential experiences in your life without being trite or cliché? My brother has been writing his law school applications, wanting to express something about Outreach360 in his personal statement and has also struggled to find the right words.
I was 19 when I volunteered with Orphanage Outreach for the first time: I spent two weeks in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic in the summer of 2004. When I arrived at the airport I met Coco, who had volunteered for the first time in February of that year for just one week and was now back indefinitely. It’s almost 13 years later and she’s still a part of the organization, building their programs in Jinotega, Nicaragua.
Outreach360’s COO, Brian, was a team leader when I interned there for four months in 2007-2008. Years before, he had joined his now-wife for a trip after she had volunteered there during college, and after organizing student trips evolved into becoming a team leader evolved into being COO, he and his wife bring their school-age daughters.
I myself served in the DR with Outreach360 seven times for a total of about six months, including that internship, between 2004 and 2010.
This is all to say that it’s the kind of organization that gets its hooks in you.
I’ve been active in community service since I was an elementary-school Girl Scout and there are some organizations that I feel excited about and want to stay involved in – like Outreach360 – and there are others that take a bit too much effort to make work or to sell to potential volunteers. There’s something to be said for chemistry and for making it easy to say yes: Yes, I want to spend my time and energy on your cause or issue. Yes, I want to ask my friends and family for money and support. Yes, I want to travel abroad for the first time. Yes, I want to live in a tent with tarantulas and mosquitoes. Yes… I want to meet like-minded people and make a meaningful contribution.
I’m focusing on Outreach360 this week because, like Bike and Build, it’s been awhile since I’ve been involved and I know a lot has changed. For instance, in 2011, Orphanage Outreach rebranded itself as Outreach360 to reflect its reach – not just in individual orphanages but also their broader communities. Since then, it’s also expanded from serving exclusively the Dominican Republic to new programs in Nicaragua. I get Outreach360’s email updates, but I wanted an opportunity to look more closely at the evolution it’s undergone since I was last there.
Since I’ve known Outreach360/Orphanage Outreach, volunteers have focused on education and construction: They organize summer camps with a focus on Spanish/English literacy and work in local schools, as well as help develop the infrastructure for the orphanage (during “my day”, the home base) like building new dorms or repainting the facilities. As their programs have grown, I’ve been excited to see the new emphasis on sustainability and, in Nicaragua, on agriculture. There was (maybe also has been?) a garden at the Monte Cristi orphanage to promote its self-sufficiency and decrease costs and reliance on donations, but the sustainable agriculture program at its two locations in Nicaragua will provide food to volunteers, the on-site student program, and potentially to the local communities. This thinking around sustainability and scale are really interesting – and a great addition to the organization’s programs.
France is a bit farther from the DR or from Nicaragua than the US, so I haven’t yet been able to revisit since I moved here six years ago, but Outreach360 is often on my mind. I’ve emailed a few times to offer my remote skills – grant writing? web content? editing? – but so far haven’t heard back. I guess with 20,000+ alumni it’s hard to keep track. But I encourage any readers to check out volunteer opportunities, but this was so important to me and I want more than anything to share the experience.
