Business professionals have been an important part of the volunteer team at Bridges to Community ever since 2003. We organize week-long service trips that are designed to complete much-needed projects in impoverished areas of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. These professionals fulfill a crucial role in helping with fundraising efforts as well as building educational and housing facilities. The impact these volunteers have on individual lives and communities is significant.
A Life-Changing Week
Here at Bridges to Community, we work with community leaders on the ground in the communities we serve to identify the areas of greatest need. Sometimes when we meet with them, we find that the town has no adequate educational or youth recreational buildings. Perhaps the buildings the children currently meet in for schooling are overcrowded or structurally unsound. In other areas, we find that the greatest need is safe homes for families who lack reliable shelter.
Once we’ve established the most crucial areas of need, we’ll come up with a workable plan to address these needs in a timely, efficient manner. The business professionals who get involved in these projects are usually highly impressed by the high-caliber logistical planning that goes into arranging all the details of the trip.
Business Leader Testimonial
One business leader who has been on multiple volunteer service trips with Bridges to Community remarked about his amazement at the amount of work the group is able to accomplish together in just a one week trip. He also emphasized how attached these trips can make him feel to the communities and families he is privileged to be able to help. He notes that while first-time volunteers with Bridges to Community may expect to transform life for the people they serve, their own lives end up being transformed in the process.
Transformed Through Teamwork
One of the most vital ways volunteers are effected by their volunteer experiences with Bridges to Community is the sense of teamwork the trip can build. When colleagues come together in a completely new and fresh environment, they can learn more about each other than they normally would during a regular workweek at the office. Many former volunteers speak fondly of the close bonds that they and their fellow teammates develop as they work together to accomplish a worthy cause.
Positive Cultural Impact
Bridges to Community’s volunteer service trips are also a great way for business professionals to broaden their cultural horizons. Learning about a completely different way of life can be extremely eye-opening as well as humbling. Volunteers come to appreciate the vibrancy and diversity of the people we serve, as well as find themselves feeling more grateful than ever for the modern conveniences we enjoy that so much of the world have to live without.
Are you interested in coming along on one of our volunteer service trips for business professionals? You can speak to others at your workplace to find out if your company could sign onto one of our already scheduled trips or plan one of your own for your business. We’re confident that if you and your colleagues volunteer with Bridges to Community, your lives will never be the same. Contact our organization at bridgestocommunity.org to find out more about how you can make a difference by helping those in need.
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