How did you hear about our organization?

Color My World hosted an information session at my library! My friend’s mom told us about it and we all decided to attend it together. The Hughes family is also originally from my hometown so I had heard about their nonprofit from word of mouth.

Why did you pick the trip/country that you went to!

I traveled to Nicaragua in the summer of 2017 and Guatemala this past summer. I first chose Nicaragua because it was the cheapest and I had honestly never heard anything about the country before, so I was really curious. This past summer I chose Guatemala because I wanted to try a different country and I loved the idea of staying in an orphanage! Both trips are very different from one another, so I would definitely recommend both.

Did you come with a friend or family member?

I went with friends for both years! If you’re nervous to go by yourself, don’t hesitate to invite a friend along, just make sure you don’t stick with them the whole time 🙂

Did you fundraise for your trip? How so?
For Nicaragua, I created a Go Fund Me page where my family members could donate! I then used that money to buy donations for the people of Nica including candy, toys, nail polish, etc.

What were some of your favorite activities/projects?

My favorite part of Nicaragua was visiting an orphanage for young girls. I brought a bunch of makeup and we gave everyone makeovers! At the end of the day, the sweetest girl Amy wrote me a note and I still have it hanging up in my room.
In Guatemala, I loved being able to bond with the children because we saw them every day for the whole week. Eventually, they began to learn our names and would be so excited to see us in the morning. One of my favorite memories was when I walked into the room where we eat breakfast and one of the young boys exclaimed, “Good morning, I love you!!” in broken English and my heart just about melted. In both countries, I loved being able to experience the amazing food, the unconditional love of the people, and going to church.

What lessons did you learn while volunteering?

I learned a lot about how service affects both the people on the receiving end, as well as those that are doing the giving. Seeing the joy on other people’s faces from simple acts of kindness will change your world forever.
I also realized that you will never be able to change the entire world, but if you focus on just changing one person’s world for the better, that’s a great start. CMW gives you the tools to change a dozen or so lives each week, and I promise, they will never forget you.

What would you tell future volunteers?
Don’t be scared! The entire Color My World family is so welcoming and you will feel at home in no time.
If you came on the trip with people you already knew, go out of your comfort zone! Try sitting next to someone new at dinner each day, and you will be amazed at the kind of people that Color My World brings together.
Don’t pay for cell service! It’s such a refreshing break and makes you appreciate it a lot more when you go home 😉
Don’t worry if you don’t know Spanish! Love, selflessness, and joy don’t always have to be expressed through words.
GO! You won’t regret a minute.

The post Why I Volunteered With Color My World? – Jillian’s Experience In Guatemala appeared first on Color My World.

How did you hear about our organization?

“I heard about Color My World from my cousin Bella in Vermont who went to Nicaragua the year before with Color My World.”

Why did you pick the trip/country that you went to?

“After hearing about Bella’s experience with Color My World I knew I wanted to go the following summer. The idea of helping others in another country and learning about their culture seemed exciting. I chose Peru because it provided the ability to work with children and teach them English. Machu Picchu was also a day trip and I have wanted to go there for many years. This provided me with the best of both worlds.Helping others while seeing a beautiful country.”

Did you come with a friend or your family?

“Yes, I came with my cousin. My cousin and I grew up 4 miles from each other and went to school together. Then my family moved away 5 years ago. This was an opportunity for Bella and I to hang out more and spend time together before she goes to college next year.”

What were some of your favorite activities/projects?

“My favorite activities were working with the kids because they always had this sense of joy to them and they made you feel like you were making a difference. I feel like I will always remember the kids and what they did for me even though we were there to help them. We had a party for them at the end which was a lot of fun for them and us. They were so happy to be a part of it.”

What lessons did you learn while volunteering?

“I learned that while you volunteer it’s not about you but the people around you but also that when you are helping them out they are also helping you out in unimaginable ways.”

What would you tell future volunteers?

“I would tell future volunteers to open themselves up to the kids and the culture because they are great loving people. Try new things and have fun!! I also want to say always prepare for the weather down there because it can change drastically.”

The post Why I Volunteered With Color My World? – Will’s Experience In Peru appeared first on Color My World.

How did you hear about our organization?

“I heard about Color My World through conversation in my town, because Angela had lived here for a while and was well known among my friends’ parents. Color My World is a well-known organization where I live, so it had been something I had just heard about many times.”

Why did you pick the trip/country that you went to?

“I chose to go to Peru with Color My World because all of the trips in the organization have great programs for helping people and volunteering, but the “touristy” part of Volunteer Peru was the reason this trip stood out to me. Going to Machu Picchu was something that had been on my bucket list for a while, so seeing that really made my entire volunteer experience even better.”

Did you come with a friend or your family?

“I came with one of my best friends Liv and I am very glad that she came with me. It was nice to have a friendly face that I knew in the beginning, but it did not feel like I was still at home with my parents watching me. It was a perfect balance of independence and comfort.”

Did you fundraise for your trip? If so what did you do?

“Liv and I set up a Go Fund Me page to raise some money for the donations to the school. We were able to raise nearly $500, which helped us buy school supplies, shoes, and small activity things for the kids. We were also able to get donations from the elementary schools in our town because our friend’s mother is a teacher, so most of our school supplies were generously donated by her and other parents in our town.”

What were some of your favorite activities/projects?

“I really enjoyed the medical clinic project we did with the kids. Even though I was only taking the height and weight of the kids and checking their development on a chart, I still felt like I was doing something important and really helping these people. This was especially important to me because my dream is to become a doctor and work with Doctors Without Borders someday, so this gave me a glimpse of what I want my future to be like, and it felt really great.”

What lessons did you learn while volunteering?

“While volunteering, I learned that is it very easy to form close connections with people no matter your circumstances. I spoke absolutely no Spanish going on this trip, but I was still able to make a few friends at the school who would call me “mi amiga”. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, the kids at the school were so eager to spend time with us and get to know us as much as they could, which was very special. In another sense, I am usually not a very outgoing or talkative person except with a few, close people. However, by the second day, I became very close with my fellow volunteers and was quickly brought out of my shell. The people that volunteer with Color My World are truly special and I became very close to them very quickly.”

What would you tell future volunteers?

“The most important piece of advice I would give future volunteers is to have an open mind going into the trip. The schedule changes, you don’t know exactly what you’re doing each day, and you’re eating new foods you don’t usually like, but it is all part of the experience and you just have to embrace it. Sewing dolls and speaking Spanish are nowhere near specialties of mine, but it’s all a part of the journey and becomes central to your experience no matter which trip you do with Color My World.”

Do you have a funny story from the trip?

“When we were making dolls, Brandon happened to mention that he listened to screamo music. Obviously, we were all interested, because Brandon is the last person you would ever expect to listen to screamo, and we forced him to play it for us while we sewed. He turns on this heavy metal screamo music and starts head-banging and we all start cracking up. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen because he just looks like a little teddy bear jamming to hardcore screamo and its the most ironic combination ever. I have to admit, I have been jamming to “Blank Space” by I Prevail in my car lately, so I highly recommend 🙂 ”

The post Why I Volunteered With Color My World? – Molly’s Experience In Peru appeared first on Color My World.

We also attended a summit with the Govenor of New Hampshire and Volunteer NH.

Here are some photo highlights of the day.

Hillary and Chase meet with the Govenor of New Hampshire

The post Color My World Meets the Govenor of New Hampshire at Summit appeared first on Color My World.