It all started in 2016 when I heard my friend talking about a service trip that she went on with a few other students and teachers from our high school. She described how they went to the Dominican Republic for a week to help a community located in the middle of the countrys mountain region. As she was telling the story I remember seeing the joy that just telling the story brought her and knew that I should look more into it.
The following week I went to an information meeting on the trip with my family and remembered thinking that the trip was not for me. The trip itself sounded amazing, but the fear that I got from the thought of going to a country I had never been to before, for a whole week, and having absolutely no cell reception to call home if needed was almost too much for me to overcome
However, with the support from both my siblings and a few close friends also going on the trip I decided to go. The nerves about going didn’t stop and as I was sitting on the plane on the way there I almost let the fear paralyze me. While the first few days were a blur because of the nerves once we made it to the community and met all of the people there I slowly started feeling as if I wasn’t so far from home.
Growing up I had been fortunate enough to have traveled to many places but none of those places compared in the slightest to the community that I visited on that trip. The service that we did was not drastic. We didn’t build any houses or create any huge things for the community. We simply came in and assisted where needed. We lent a hand and helped the community in areas where they asked for help. In doing so we made raw human connections even while having barely any communication due to the language barrier. It have now been several years since I went on that trip but the feeling and memories that I made still remain and those nerves have all been forgotten.
I continued to go on that trip two more times each being just as powerful as the first. As I was on my way home after the second trip I knew that I wanted to do more once I went home, so I met with the teacher that ran the trip. Her name is Tara Frare and she truly is the reason for where I am today. She too wanted to continue to do that work when we got home and so she started a nonprofit called Partnering People Through Service (PPTS). Not knowing anything about a nonprofit before creating PPTS she created it anyway so that she could continue to not only service the community in the Dominican Republic and help provide students at home with the opportunity to go on the trip.
As I worked alongside her in the early days of the nonprofit my eyes were opened to the world of nonprofits. Being able to speak on the change that PPTS creates and the opportunities that they were providing to students was both challenging and rewarding. As I would tell the story and moments of clarity that I had from seeing PPTS create these experiences I would see people eyes light up. As I saw this happen more and more I realized that it was the same reaction that I once had. Seeing it all come full circle and being able to pass the passion for the mission over time and time again is something so unique to nonprofits.
I could go on and on about what nonprofits I love and areas in which I want to continue to explore but I wouldn’t have enough time in the day. All I can say is that it is hard and takes a lot of time and commitment but seeing the people that it affects both on the volunteer and consumer side is truly amazing.
As I continue to grow my knowledge of the nonprofit sector and sports nonprofit sector I look forward to sharing it with you all so you too can experience the power that nonprofits have. They are vital organizations in our society that deserve way more credit than they receive and I hope by this blog I am providing them with a small bit of visibility.