Dominican Republic Youth Mission Trip
March 15-22, 2025
Grades 9-12
About the DR Trip
Each year over spring break we travel to the Dominican Republic for a week of working with and for others. We learn a lot. We work a lot. We laugh a lot. This is an amazing opportunity, and it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all who attend. Join us as we do construction work, teach English to kids in a classroom setting, and head out to small villages to help with a medical team. This is a unique trip each year and not only do we grow together as a community, but we also change lives of those we encounter, finding ourselves changed in the process.
About the Location
We’ll stay in La Romana, a southern city known for sugar mills and bateyes housing Haitian sugar cane harvesters. These immigrant communities have historically lacked basic services due to government neglect.
Construction Work
In the past, we’ve traveled to a local barrio (small community) and worked on additions and improvements to a church and a school, to which we’ve recently helped add an additional multipurpose room for community events. Students could be doing anything from painting to moving rocks to shoveling sand, so come prepared to work!
Batey Medical Clinics
On different days of the trip, students can assist in medical projects in batey communities, including a nutrition counseling program to help families prevent malnutrition, a hypertension station where they support DR partner organization professionals in advising on blood pressure reduction, and a growth monitoring program to help parents ensure their children maintain a healthy weight for their development stage.
Classrooms
The school we’ve helped construct in the past is now fully operational, so when we go work on the construction site, a few students split off and assist teachers in the classrooms. It’s always a really fun time helping teach kids through games and music. You don’t have to know Spanish (or English!) to dance!
Trip Details
Costs & Deadlines
- $1,400 total cost
- Deposit due upon registration
- Final day to cancel and receive full refund: Dec. 1, 2024*
- Final payment due: Feb. 1, 2025
This amount includes airfare, lodging, food, and transportation while in the DR. The only other money you’ll need to have is some spending money for souvenirs and money for food in the airports on the way to and from the DR. As with all of our service trips, scholarships are available. We don’t want cost to inhibit you if you’d like to serve with us!
*Last date to cancel and receive full refund (payments made may be refunded after Dec. 1 if another student takes vacated spot on trip).
Cancellation
We know things come up and sometimes we have to adjust our plans. As long as you cancel by Dec. 1, 2024, you will receive a reimbursement of the full amount. After December 1, we can only offer reimbursements if another student is able to fill your student’s vacated spot on the trip. Thank you for understanding!
Passports
Yes! If you don’t already have one at the time of registration, apply for one as soon as possible so it will arrive in time (sometimes passports can take a while to arrive!). If you do have one, ensure that it expires no later than six months from our last day of travel. If not, you’ll need to apply for another one right away. Sometimes airport customs won’t let you fly if your passport expires within six months of your travel dates. After you get your passport, we will need a clear, legible, well-lit color photocopy or photo of the first page (the page with your name and photo on it).
village church
Dominican Republic Medical Partnership
Village Youth first sent a group to the Dominican Republic around 1992. Over the years, this relationship led Village Church to create a year-round medical program. The Dominican Republic Medical Partnership (DRMP) has offered 25 years of healthcare and education to those in impoverished bateys. They work with partners like Fundación Enciende Una Luz, which provides services such as growth monitoring, hypertension and diabetes management, family planning, and life-changing surgeries.
Volunteer as a Chaperone
We could never make this trip happen each year without awesome adult chaperones!