Program Participation Donation

We are both a volunteer and fund-raising organization; our volunteers commit to help raise funds for the programs we sponsor. We recommend that volunteers not pay any of their program donations, but instead raise funds through the sponsorship of family and friends. When you sign up, you will receive an on-line fund-raising page that allows you to easily send out informative emails to family and friends, inviting them to sponsor you through donations on-line, or checks sent through the mail. 

The minimum program donation is dependent on the length of your stay. This table shows the minimum program fees per person:

Donations to Orphanage Outreach are non-refundable. If a volunteer is not able to participate on the trip for any reasons, funds credited to the trip may be used by that volunteer for a future trip taken within 12 months. If a future trip is not taken, the funds will be used to provide basic necessities to the orphanage.

Program Donation is due 30 days prior to your trip start date.

Program Donations cover food, housing, ground transportation and travelers insurance. Donations also help support basic necessities for the orphanage children.  Your deposit is part of your program donation, and both are tax deductible donations for U.S. tax payers. 

We request that you arrive and depart on the Saturday of your trip. If you need to arrive a day early or depart a day later, please contact us before finalizing reservations to ensure we have sleeping space. The additional program donation per person per night is $50.

Scholarships/Credits

Orphanage Outreach offers scholarships or program donation credits for those who meet the following criteria.

Early Sign-up Scholarship

We encourage you to sign up for the trip as soon as you can. It enables us to do better planning, helps ensure you are well prepared for the trip, and improves your fund-raising effectiveness. If you sign-up and have your $100 deposit into our office by the early sign-up deadline, you will be credited an additional $100 toward your program donation. The following is a chart of the early sign-up deadlines.

Group Scholarship

We encourage groups to join us as the more volunteers we have, the more children we can work with. There are also economies of scale in serving a group, and we pass those savings on. A group of 10 or more will be credited $200/person.  For example, a one week program donation for a group of 10 or more who sign up by the early sign-up deadline is $500/person ($800 Program Fee - $200 Group Scholarship - $100 Early Sign-up Scholarship = $500).  Children receiving a child scholarship do not count toward the minimum group size of 10.  

Ground transportation between the Santiago airport and the orphanage is included when the team arrives and departs on the same Saturday flights, between 8:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M.  If an individual or individuals on your team travels at a different time than the group, he/she may be responsible for the taxi to and/or from the orphanage - $150 each way. 

Team Leader Scholarship

For every 10 non-child program donations paid, the 11th program fee is waived as a team leader scholarship. In return to general team coordination, the team leader is expected to manage his/her team's finances, input the team's flight information into OO Connect, and keep the team roster up to date.  

Child Scholarship

Orphanage Outreach is a great experience to share as a family. This scholarship is meant to reduce the fund-raising requirements for any individual family. Each child under the age of 18 traveling with his or her parent will be responsible for a minimum program donation of $200/week.  Note: this scholarship cannot be combined with other scholarships. 

Program Schedule...

Orphanage Outreach offers a program year-round for all who want to make a difference. Volunteers join us each week of the year. You can choose to volunteer with Orphanage Outreach at a time that works best for you! We only ask that you make both your arrival date and departure date on a Saturday; one week minimum. Transportation to and from the airport is covered in your program donation if you arrive and depart on a Saturday. Should you need to arrive or depart on a day other than Saturday, there will be additional charges. Volunteers Under Age 18 must volunteer with an adult guardian.

• Alternative Winter Break
• Alternative Spring Break
• May Program
• Summer Volunteering
• Fall Program

Other Notes...

Air-Travel/Ground Transportation Responsibility

Air travel to the Dominican Republic is the responsibility of each volunteer. The trip participant fee includes ground transportation from the Santiago airport to the orphanage for flights arriving and departing the Saturdays of your trip between 8:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M. There is an additional transportation charge for flights arriving and departing between 10:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. The additional cost would be $300/bus, or $150/taxi, each way. 

We strongly encourage you to fly to the Santiago airport. If you fly to the Santo Domingo Airport, you add 3 hours to your ground transpiration time, and an additional $600 each way for the bus (15 passengers & luggage). If you fly to the Puerto Plata Airport, you add 2 hours to your ground transpiration time, and an additional $300 each way for the bus (15 passengers & luggage). Flight information (airport, airline, flight numbers, arrival and departure times) is due to Orphanage Outreach 30 days prior to the trip.

Teams and Team Leaders (receivers of the group scholarship) - Ground Transportation is provided for your team when it arrives and departs on the same flight, in and out of Santiago, between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m on the Saturdays of your trip. If any members of your team choose not to arrive or travel with the group, they may be responsible for their own ground transportation. 

Fund-Raising

The mission of Orphanage Outreach is to involve people to provide opportunities to orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children. You are already volunteering your time, we encourage you to allow other people to make a difference through you by becoming a financial sponsor of your trip.

We encourage you to raise funds using your personal fund-raising page. Using OO Connect, you can edit a pre-created e-mail template, and send it to your family and friends. They are then able to make a difference by making an on-line donation toward your trip. You can easily check the funds raised versus your goal on a personalized "thermometer chart" on your web page.

We encourage volunteers to use your fund-raising page to raise funds toward the program donation and for additional project and program funds. You can send emails to friends and family using your OO Connect page. Airfare is the responsibility of each volunteer, and although it is usually tax deductible it will not be reimbursed by Orphanage Outreach from funds raised.