Builders Beyond Borders is an excellent organization that provides local and global building, leadership, and inspirational experiences for high school students. The program gives students opportunities to participate in physically and moving challenges that often take them outside their comfort zones. With these experiences, the students grow tremendously both in maturity and in confidence. They also experience such a sense of accomplishment and bond with each other like a family, that they often are forever changed in an exceptional way. I wholeheartedly recommend this organization for any high school student.
My family has been part of the Builders Beyond Borders family since 2010 when my older daughter came home and announced she was going to Ecuador for spring break! The next year my younger daughter joined her and they both traveled to Nicaragua. There were 3 more trips by my younger daughter and when she graduated I signed on as an adult advisor. My kids will tell you that B3 gave them the confidence to be leaders and to try something out of the norm (older daughter is a mechanical engineer thanks to her hands on experiences and the younger is an Ensign in the USCG at the helm of the CGC Alex Haley using the leadership skills she leaned by being a student advisor). I have had 3 amazing trips and have watched the students on my team come together and bring immense joy to the villages we have worked in. We are an electronics free organization which allows the students and adult advisors to form relationships that don't happen naturally anymore, I always get a huge smile when the students from my team reach out after the B3 season to say how much they miss the team.
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My older daughter took it upon herself to research B3 and signed on to go to Ecuador in 2011. She took the money from her savings to pay the deposit and raised the remainder through fundraising. She has learned so many life lessons from B3 that I'm not sure where I would start when thanking the organization. Last year she convinced my younger daughter to go with her and they both went to Nicaragua. With the older one now in college the younger one is heading to Guyana as a seasoned B3'er! When we are out and people ask they about their experiences traveling/volunteering with B3 their faces light up like it's Christmas morning. B3 is truly Building a Better World.
As a high School educator, I've spent my career trying to influence and inspire students to act as global citizens and to give back to their world. Sadly, these lessons rarely translate within the walls of a traditional classroom. They are lessons that can't be taught... only experienced.
That is why for 13 years, I've been blessed to witness the profound transformation that students undergo as participants in the nonprofit, Builders Beyond Borders (B3). The transformation begins during the course of their local service where they see the value and importance of participating in their own local community. But it is their experience abroad that turns them, almost instantaneously, into true global citizens. Working hand in hand with the people of these foreign nations, seeing their daily lives, their struggles, but also their generosity, kindness, and genuine happiness, a veil is lifted from the mind's eye of our students. They escape the bubble that has confined them for most of their lives and see the world, and their place in it, anew. Students who have not experienced the program often look at B3 volunteers and are puzzled why anyone would give up their entire school vacation to toil doing taxing manual labor... long hot days of digging trenches, mixing concrete, laying block. And it is hardly practical to try and explain it to those who haven't experienced it firsthand. But those that are part of the B3 family know. They are changed, forever, and for the better. B3 students achieve an understanding and insight that few will ever experience. And for this reason, I am comforted to know that B3 students shall go on to become the leaders of tomorrow who go on to truly build a better world.
B3 changed my life as a student by giving me the opportunity to help in other communities as well as learn from some of the most incredible people. I have remained involved in this organization for over 10 years so that other students and communities can continue to have this unique opportunity.
Builders Beyond Borders is an incredible program that prepares students to be contributing members of a global society. The organization is true to its mission and supports students' personal growth and leadership skills. Through B3 students learn to persevere and support one another while engaging in local and global community projects. They also have a great deal of fun!
Builders Beyond Borders is an incredible leadership development program for high school students. The year-long program does this through local and international community service. My daughter participated in the program for four years - and it changed her life. It teaches kids the true meaning of giving - with the expectation of nothing in return from the people they help along the way. The kids need to raise the money to fund their trip - sacrificing their February, March or April vacations to go serve others in the process. There is no other program like it.
This is an amazing organization that helps individuals both here in CT as well as in many Latin American countries. Students led by adult advisers, go into communities and help build things they need such as school, bathrooms, community houses, all which help those people come together and improve their community. B3 really does build a better world!
My 3 children have participated in 11 trips with Builders Beyond Borders. All three have a sense of community service and the world around them. As adults they continue to volunteer and give back to their communities. They learned so much from the volunteer opportunities locally and on site. B3 definitely helped shape them into the adults they are today. I can’t thank B3 enough for their amazing experiences.
A truly wonderful cultural exchange with other countries! Not only does the organization provide unique experiences for the student participants the building projects enhance and improve the lives of the communities the students work in.
In addition, the students discover the value of "giving back" and volunteering and many pursue humanitarian opportunities after they matriculate from the organization.
The mantra "Build a Better World" rings true with everything this nonprofit participates in.
I originally became involved with Builders Beyond Borders as a high school student. I was instantly hooked. After coming home from my first B3 global experience trip to Chile, my history teacher told me that I hadn't stopped smiling for a week. As a student, B3 was an amazing opportunity to meet other high school students from different towns and schools. It made me feel a greater connection to my local community, as well as introducing me to global communities that I would have otherwise not known anything about. B3's approach to its global portion of its program is unique - and is nothing that I have experienced before or since. In addition to the project that B3 builds - whether it is a bridge, library, classrooms, or home - where you work alongside the community, I think it is very unique to spend that week living like a local. It is an immersive "beyond borders" experience - living in the community, eating the same foods that the local community eats, learning about the local community and their culture, engaging in their local activities. It truly gives you an appreciation for life in different communities and an appreciation for their perspectives. It gives students an opportunity to experience life outside of their comfort zone and forms global citizens who understand a lot more about the world around them.
B3 provides plenty of leadership opportunities for students at all levels. Adults are there to provide the structure and guardrails, but students are involved in all levels of advocacy and decision-making. I don't know of any other organization that provides a similar level of student involvement.
Over my 20 year history with B3, I have been a student, a supporter, an adult advisor, a team lead and a board member. I continue to stay involved because I believe that B3 made a huge difference in the person I am today, and I believe it is an experience that every student should have the opportunity to participate in.
I was an active participant in B3 for 3 years. I loved every second of it! Not only do they make a huge difference in communities locally and abroad, but they also instill values of teamwork, leadership, and volunteerism in their members.
I started with B3 when i was in my Junior year of high school. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I have made life long friends who I am still close with and can still remember the faces from the communities near and far that we impacted. B3 has incredible leaders that make all the students want to do better and be better. The community service in our local communities and those communities abroad are always hard work and very meaningful. My only regret is not starting sooner!!
I've been a student volunteer, adult advisor, and a board member and have had the privilege and sincere pleasure to see the impact B3 has across the Fairfield County and international communities.
I traveled with B3 for all four years of high school and loved each one! Each trip had a huge impact on me and I could tell I was making a difference in the community. I loved the fact that I was able to leave my "Fairfield County bubble" and experience life in other cultures, giving me a different perspective on the world and my own life. I will never forget the reaction of the community when, on our last day of my sophomore trip, we turned on a tap and gave them running water for the first time. Or that I climbed a volcano in Guatemala and roasted marshmallows on the lava.
I started to volunteer with B3 my sophomore year, nervous but excited to join. Once I performed my first my first global service project in Ecuador, I never looked back. Joining B3 was the best decision I have ever made. Not only does it change the lives in the communities we work in, but it also changes the perspective of the students who work. It allows students to realize their role in the global community. B3 is a wonderful nonprofit, serving communities at home and abroad, and inspiring students.
Builders Beyond Borders is name that defines "Great-Nonprofit". I participated in two B3 trips and can easily say they were both life changing experiences. They present teens the opportunity to develop values outside their normal comfort zone while assisting the needs of others. Hard-work, friendship, respect, and honor are just a few of the characteristics Builders Beyond Borders has ingrained in my life.
I volunteered with Builders Beyond Borders for 3 years, starting my sophomore year of high school. By senior year, I had the great responsibility and privilege to be a student leader. Living on the East Coast, it is easy to get swept up in your own world and assume that everyone has it as well as you do. Surrounded by people who are just like you for you're entire life, it's almost impossible to understand the extreme economic, social and political diversity that exists in the world. B3 gives students an opportunity to get involved locally and in third world countries. Not only did I learn a lot about myself on the trips, I learned about the world around me and got to spread this knowledge with people at home.
Builders Beyond Borders was by far the most influential experience I've had thus far in my life. I am so thankful for having had the opportunity to travel with B3 on three different trips. I will never forget the amazing work my group completed, the friendships and relationships we formed and the appreciation we all gained of the simpler things in life. I miss B3 everyday but the memories will always be with me.
Builders Beyond Borders is one of the most life changing opportunities you could ever get. Between all the new friends made from a diverse group of schools to the actual hands on work you get in the location you are working in, you will get the best experience of your life. I know i did in Nicaragua, as a freshman it gave me hope to make the world a better place and i know that i have 3 more glorious years with my builders family trying to make a difference in the world.
I joined Builders Beyond Borders my senior year of high school, and joined my friends team. I wanted to travel outside of the country to help others and make an impact in a small community outside of the US. My experience with B3 went above and beyond my expectations! My team was supportive of each other through our local community service, and all the way beyond our trip to Nicaragua! B3 allowed me to dive deeper into what really matters in life, how you can work as a team, and how you can connect with a community of kids and adults who don't speak the same language as you. My only regret is that I didn't join B3 until my senior year. It's never too late to join this amazing organization! Thanks B3 for all you do in Latin America and back home in our community!
I joined Builders Beyond Borders when I was 15, after many of my friends had told me about their life-changing experiences volunteering with the organization. Now, more than a decade later, I'm still involved with Builders, volunteering with teams of high school students, each of them eager to begin making a difference in the world. Builders Beyond Borders has not only directly impacted communities throughout the world, but has inspired generations of people to serve their own communities and build a better world.
I started volunteering with B3 my junior year of high school and one of my biggest regrets is that i didn't start earlier. The B3 community is like family to me, i love the caring environment and the attitude of wanting a change. I traveled to Ecuador and Nicaruagua and had great experiences in both countries. In Ecuador we were up in the mountains digging trenches to lay piping for running water for a community that never had running water before. In Nicaragua we helped build a bridge, during so i got to use a jackhammer! My favorite part of these 2 trips was socializing with the local communities. Coincidentally enough both countries were Spanish speaking and it was great to be able to communicate to the locals and play with the little kids. Everyone who is a part of B3 is very caring and always strives to make the world a better place, even in our own backyards. The biggest advice i can give to a high school student is to get involved with this amazing organization, it is never to late, and any adults out there should look into getting involved as a leader!
I participated in Builders Beyond Borders when I was in High School, I am now an Environmental Engineer who has spent a significant amount of time researching and working in the water and energy sector in low and middle income countries. Builders Beyond Borders both provided me with opportunities most only experience in their adult life (if at all) and also shaped my current career goals nearly a decade later. The adventures I had in B3 directly impacted lives of others at home and abroad, taught me about cultural awareness and communication, and taught me about myself. Today, Builders is only doing more to positively impact this world and the people on it not just in the immediate future but also in the long term. It is a very special organization that helps make this world a better place.
Builders beyond borders is a huge bundle of helping hands. I have been volunteering with B3 for the past few months and it has been a great deal of fun. I was able to meet a lot of people and made a lot of friends. Being able to have this non profit organization so close to home is a great way for not only myself but for others to get community service and just use there hands to help out people throughout the world. I recomened it to anyone. from ages 13-102. Please help out your community be part of this great organization. Build Serve Inspire!