This trip offers an international service experience in Constanza, Dominican Republic.
Below are some important details about this upcoming trip.
Deadline to apply for this trip is February 12, 2025.
PARTNER SUPPORT
This team will serve Kids Alive International Dominican Republic as we learn about their ministry and the impact they have in their community. During our time together, team members will interact with the kids from the homes and the school, the ministry staff, the house parents, and the local community that our partner serves. We will also provide financial and physical support to further aid in their year-round ministry.
“Kids Alive International is a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of vulnerable children and families.” Serving with Kids Alive may include moments of prayer, attending Christian church services, listening to Bible teachings & worship, and participating in other religious focused experiences.
While we partner with faith-based organizations, it is not a requirement to adhere to a specific religion or belief to join us. We strive to provide an equal opportunity to all individuals interested in our service trips, hoping that each life will be uniquely transformed. That being said, we ask each participant to be respectful of each other and of our partners, and to remain open to conversing about the things that make us different as well as the commonalities that bring us together.
SPECIAL INFO
This trip will take place during Semana Santa Tiempo de Familia. This is when the three Kids Alive residential sites in the Dominican Republic get together at one central location to spend a few days of Holy Week (the week before Easter).
HFK will have two distinct teams serving during this week. This team will be serving at the Constanza site and the other team will be serving in Monte Plata. The teams will have different flight plans and spend the first weekend of the trip in their respective service locations. Afterwards, both teams will travel to the location of Family Camp and serve together. At the conclusion of Family Camp, you will return to Constanza for a day or two and finish the week with an in-country excursion (most likely at the beach)!
Check out the recap from the last Family Camp (2022) that we participated in for a better idea of what the trip might look like!
TEAM CAPTAINS
Your Team Captain for this trip will be Zach Silva. Here is a message from him:
My name is Zach Silva and I have been serving as Team Captain with HFK for about 10 years now. I truly love leading a new team every year as each trip provides a unique experience for all involved, returners and first-timers alike. Here For Kids and Kids Alive have become a second family to me, providing me with close friends across the country and throughout the Dominican Republic. I’m very excited to lead a Semana Santa team this year and hope you’ll join me for a life-changing experience.
-Zach
HEALTH & SAFETY
Here For Kids strives to be diligent in protecting both our team members and the sites that we serve. HFK will purchase health insurance coverage for the duration of your trip and provide masks for you to wear during travel if desired.
To learn more about health & safety protocols, check out our FAQ’s here.
TIME COMMITMENT
Team members of this trip are expected to:
Attend two virtual pre-trip meetings with the team prior to traveling.
Participate in a week-long international service trip.
Depart April 12, 2025 & Return April 20, 2025.
Attend at least one virtual post-trip meeting with the team after returning.
PHYSICAL DONATIONS
On each of our service trips, we provide physical, or in-kind, donations to our partners. We encourage each participant to gather requested donation items as part of their trip preparation. Each international partner has different donation requests which will be communicated to you during pre-trip communication and meetings. We ask all trip participants to limit the packing of personal travel items to their carry-on bag and backpack so that partner donations can travel in any checked baggage.
You can learn more here.
FINANCIAL COMMITMENT
Below is the breakdown of the costs associated with this service trip. Once your application is accepted, you will be asked to pay a $460 deposit to secure your spot on the team. Then, you will be required to follow the funding milestones on your Go Method profile to stay up to date on your trip payments. The total trip payment is due no later than 14 days before the departure of your trip.
Breakdown of Cost:
$1,100 - Airfare and Baggage Fees
$450 - Kids Alive in country costs (Food, lodging, project costs)
$500 - Kids Alive Childcare and Rescue Funds (Donation to support continued care for children and program growth)
$100 - HFK Operations & Care Package
$50 - Travel Insurance
$100 - In-Country Excursion
$2,300 Total Trip Cost
FUNDRAISING & SCHOLARSHIPS
All trip participants are encouraged to fundraise to complete their total trip cost. To aid you in this process we recommend creating a Personal Support Page on Go Method. Once created, you can share this page as a personal fundraising link with your friends, family, and community for support. We also provide a Fundraising Info Sheet and a Fundraising Letter Template to assist you in the fundraising process. These and other Service Trip Resources can be found here.
For this trip, in addition to fundraising, we are offering the following types of scholarships for team participants that need financial assistance to complete total trip payments.
15% Scholarship
30% Scholarship
You can apply for a scholarship during the application process. Scholarship funds are limited and will only be awarded to participants on an as-needed basis. All scholarship recipients will be required to write a “Donor Thank You Letter” upon returning from their trip.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Trip schedules may vary but typically include:
Working on service projects alongside our partners.
Engaging in nightly devotionals and bonding activities with your team.
Having fun with kids and partner staff through sports, games, and other activities.
Being present during moments of prayer and worship.
Spending time in self-reflection to promote spiritual growth.
Learning ways you can support partner sites beyond your time in country.
Exploring the beauty of the country you travel to during a park visit, beach day, hike, or other excursion activity.
To see what we have been up to on past trips, click here.
HOW TO APPLY
Click “Apply Today” below and on the next page.
Login OR create an account with Go Method.
Answer the application questions.
Deadline to apply for this trip is February 12, 2025.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you have any additional questions, please email info@hereforkids.org. You can also review our Frequently Asked Questions or Trip Recaps below.