Summer trip 1 - MX 2012
Experience the Mexico that few people know about! We will be working in Vicente Guerrero, a rural agricultural town located about four and a half hours south of the U.S. Border and only a few kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. In this community are many impoverished migrant workers, mostly from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca (pronounced Wha-haw-ka). Work for these people is very sporadic, and therefore provides limited financial stability for their families. As a result, they lack access to clean water, a stable food supply, and adequate housing (most homes are constructed of tin, cardboard, and tarpaulins). In this community, our main project is building homes for families in need. By the time you leave to go home, you will have completely finished and furnished a house, made lifetime friends, and helped to change the future for a family that desperately needs it!
Trip Details
- Arrive in San Diego, CA.
- Orientation at hotel.
- Stay overnight.
- Drive to Vicente Guerrero, Mexico (approx 4-5 hours).
- Meet the Mexican family you will be building for.
- Further orientation and debriefing.
- House Building Days. Yes, it is true: you CAN build a house in four days! When you first show up to the work site, there will be a concrete slab waiting for its four walls, roof, and your enthusiasm! Together with the family, you and your team will be a part of making a dream a reality.
- Time to purchase gifts for the family's home. Groups in the past have pooled extra cash they have brought and purchased beds, cookware, groceries, stoves, furniture, etc. for the family. After items are purchased you will spend a couple of hours setting everything up in the house.
- House Dedication. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hand over the keys to a brand new home and give the hope of warmth, security, and a brighter future to a family? This gift and moment will be etched in your memory for many years to come.
- Preparation for what is next - Hero Holiday is going to be one of the most intense and life-changing experiences you will ever have. We want to help you to prepare to return home and integrate this experience into your life. On the last day of our trip we will have a final debriefing that will help you to take this experience and help others understand how we can make a difference in our global community.
- Excursion Day. Enjoy some of the natural beauty that the Baja has to offer!
- Drive up to San Diego, CA.
- Stay over night.
- Fly home.
- Note: for those using CanadaHelps GivingPage, tax receipts will be issued by CanadaHelps and not from Live Different (CanadaHelps disburses the funds raised online to Live Different on a weekly basis). All of the below principles of what a legal charitable donation is apply whether CanadaHelps or Live Different is processing the donation.
- It is important to understand that Live Different Hero Holiday is a charitable program. This means that "participants/travelers" are functioning as volunteers, approved by our Board of Directors, to help achieve the charitable purpose of Live Different. The beneficiaries of this charitable program are families and people in-need in our host countries, not those who deliver the program (even though it may be incredibly fun, rewarding and even life-changing to serve others in need).
- Additionally, the humanitarian trip does not have a "personal recreational vacation" component that is more than incidental to the charitable project (eg. if there were multiple days of personal vacation free-time this would be a monetary-type personal benefit and funds raised would not qualify as a gift for income tax purposes).
- Due to the expense and logistics of coordinating a volunteer humanitarian development project, an important qualification is for each volunteer to meet their trip's minimum fundraising goal. Volunteers can solicit tax receiptable donations (via CanadaHelps) to reach the minimum fundraising goal to help pay for their costs in carrying out the project, and such designated contributions are received by Live Different (via CanadaHelps) for its charitable purposes. According to charity law, a donation is a voluntary transfer of property without valuable consideration to the donor; donors cannot choose the beneficiaries of their donations, and a charity must have full discretion in deciding how to allocate its funds. Even if related persons or the volunteer make contributions to meet the fundraising goal of the humanitarian trip, the contributions are gifts for income tax purposes because they pass the CRA tests. Therefore, CanadaHelps or Live Different are able to issue an official receipt for income tax purposes. It is the volunteer's obligation to inform donors that all donations are given to the project/charity, and though donations help meet the volunteer's fundraising goal and their costs associated with the charitable project, they are not being used as a direct monetary benefit to the volunteer (eg. monies won't be refunded, they won't be used to cover personal/recreational expenses, etc.)
- This means that ALL donations are absolutely, 100% non-refundable (whether given via CanadaHelps or directly to Live Different), as it is not legal for a charity to refund a donation. In event of any form of cancellation whatsoever or exceeding a fundraising goal, funds will instead be allocated towards where most needed in the project or in other charitable programs. In the event that a volunteer is unable to participate in the project, fundraising efforts may be taken into account when registering for a future trip, but this is exclusively the decision of Live Different.
- If you receive anynonmous cash donations or proceeds from a fundraising sale, it is not legal to claim this as a tax-receiptable donation using your name/address, as you will receive a tax-deductible receipt for a donation that wasn't really from you.
- Alternately, if you do not wish to give a donation, fundraise, or use CanadaHelps, please contact us to discuss making a non-tax receiptable direct payment that will have the benefit of falling under our refund policy.
- This Refund Policy does NOT apply to any monies given via CanadaHelps. Donations are 100% non-refundable, whether given via CanadaHelps or directly to Live Different. (It is not legal to refund donations).
- This Refund Policy only applies to those who have contacted us to arrange direct payment, and have explicitly marked monies as "Payment" on the payment form.
- Up to 50% of trip payments (not donations) can be refunded up to May 1, 2012.
- After May 1, 2012, no refunds will be given except for extreme circumstances such as death or severe illness/injury resulting in the individual being unable to participate. In such cases, up to 80% of trip payments (not donations) may be refunded at Live Different's discretion. Requests for refund must be made in writing and be accompanied by a death certificate or a doctor's note
- All requests for refund must be forwarded to Live Different in writing.
- In the event of failing to meet registration requirements (e.g. not obtaining a valid passport, not meeting minimum fundraising goals, etc), Live Different reserves the right to cancel participation with no refund of payment.
- Payments cannot be forwarded towards a future Live Different Hero Holiday or transferred to another volunteer, however, in such an event where a volunteer is unable to participate in the project, fundraising efforts may be taken into account when registering for a future trip, but this is exclusively the decision of Live Different.
Shoutbox
In the box below, you can leave a message to encourage the Hero Holiday participants on this trip, and participants can message you back! (time and internet access permitting)
Blogs about this trip
Wednesday, August 1st:
Thursday, August 2nd:
Friday, August 3rd - Monday, August 6th:
Tuesday, August 7th:
Wednesday, August 8th:
Thursday, August 9th:
Friday, August 10th:
Live Different chooses to employ and work alongside local labourers and tradespeople in communities where we have established connections and relationships. No family is ever simply a "project" for us, and each family is chosen and approved through a process with local community workers. Each home is one that will be built with love, hope, and dignity - together.
All of our Hero Holiday staff are experienced professionals in each area they facilitate. We have professional drivers, builders, youth workers, administrators, cooks, mechanics and interpreters. We maintain excellent community relations and work diligently alongside of community leaders and government officials in each country that we work in. We take our responsibilities and your expectations very seriously. Safety is always our number one priority. All of our key staff are first aid certified and we always have immediate access available to quality medical attention (if needed) in all countries that we work in.
Before a Hero Holiday begins, all volunteers (and parents, if applicable) are given contact numbers and emails for Hero Holiday ground staff. We are available at any time for parental concerns or emergencies. Our staff also works hard to keep family and friends back home updated on a daily basis with stories and pictures of what is happening with each particular group.
