Students

Student volunteer reading to children

Twelve Mailman School students went to the Dominican Republic spring break 2010, but not to catch some rays or surf in the ocean. Instead, the student volunteers worked with Orphanage Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing opportunities to orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children in the Dominican Republic.

Group for Community Recovery (GCR) hosted the service trip where students from Sociomedical Sciences and Epidemiology were involved in public health education and outreach to orphans.

GCR was established in 2005 post-Hurricane Katrina with a focus on the United States Southern Gulf Coast community impacted by the storm. In previous years, they have hosted service trips to Louisiana to work on public health projects in the region.

The group’s mission has since expanded to improve the wellness of displaced communities affected by disasters through efforts that respond to the health needs of all people affected (i.e. victims of terrorism, natural disasters, or social displacement). The organization is committed to protecting the vulnerable communities and creating a space for all survivors of traumatic events to recover in an effective, efficient, and equitable fashion.

In addition to service trips, GCR also sponsors events such as the Zigzag Park Clean-Up and Hike the Heights. The trip to the Dominican Republic was the group's first service project overseas.