Amanda Drake

This is my third year chaperoning a group of UNC students on a Global Village trip to help build a home for a family through Habitat for Humanity. Each year, these awesome college students volunteer their spring break to help bring strength, stability, and self-reliance to homeowners around the world. I'm just lucky enough to tag along as the adult chaperone. The entire cost of the trip is fundraised through donations from generous people like you. Please consider contributing to help us achieve this goal. 

"Where does my donation go?"

49% of your donation goes directly to support Habitat for Humanity's work. (About 36% of your total goes to Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic and 13% supports Habitat’s global work generally.) 

The remaining 51% of your donation will help cover lodging, meals, and transportation for the team once in the DR. (Each team member is responsible for their own airfare.)

"Why not just send money?"

Habitat often gets the question, "Why not just send the money?" or "Wouldn't our donations go further by hiring local, skilled workers instead of relying on volunteers?"

For most host programs, Global Village teams are their main source of financial income to support the work of Habitat in their communities. Unlike in the US, where volunteering and donating to organizations is commonplace and a cultural norm, many other countries around the world do not have these same resources available. The 36% of your total donation that goes directly to Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic is crucial to Habitat's continued operation there.  

Additionally, the expenses incurred by teams while traveling, such as meals, hotels, transportation, etc., help to stimulate the local economy — most often, in areas that do not typically benefit from tourism. Last year I chaperoned a team to Trinidad. We stayed in a town called Cedros and built in Point Fortin, both far off the traditional tourist stops in Trinidad & Tobago. 

Finally, for many of the participating students, this is their first experience with Habitat. Most are so impacted by their trip experience that they become long-term givers to the host organization and continue to volunteer locally long after the trip has ended. 

However, if you feel strongly about sending money as opposed to supporting volunteer groups, I encourage you to do one of the following instead:

(1)    Donate to Habitat for Humanity generally: https://www.habitat.org/donate/?keyword=header

(2)    Donate to our host organization, Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic. Go to https://www.habitat.org/donate/?link=802, select “Designate your donation” and choose the Dominican Republic.

(3)    Donate to your local Habitat chapter. You can donate to Durham’s chapter at https://events.durhamhabitat.org/give/29153/#!/donation/checkout

Thank you for your support!