Dustins Green House Memorial Inc

I have been involved with Dustin's GreenHouse as an adult leader for 2 recent Globetrotter trips-Peru and South Africa. In that capacity, I have helped with program planning, raising funds and awareness and establishing long term relationships with the student and adult team memebers. Both trips were incredibly challenging in very different ways but had the same effect--educational, inspirational, philanthropic, and life changing. I cannot think of a better way for young people to learn about the struggles that exist in this world and to realize that their contribution is meaningful and vital than to participate in a DGH Globetrotter trip!

As a school counselor I have recommended six high school students to Dustins Green House Globetrotters. Four of these students had never flown on an airplane. Two of them had never seen the ocean. All of them seemed bogged down in the "it's all about me" teen-age malaise. One and all returned understanding that by global standards, all Americans are blessed beyond measure. These students returned more interested in giving back, more concerned about the future, more willing to take risks and to reach out to those who are different. I was so impressed that I paid my own way to be a champerone to Ecuador in 2006. We worked on a construction project for five hot, exhausting days, hiked in a cloud forest, went diving in the Galapogos, and befriended the most incredible people. Dustins Green House is the only organization I know that takes service learning to this level. My husband and I have become donors, knowing that 100% of our donations go to projects and none to administrative costs as volunteers run the organization. Very unique.

I am a high school teacher and coach in North Carolina. Several years ago I was asked if I would be interested in applying to be a chaperone for a diverse group of students from various high schools in Guilford County who would be travelling to Peru. I applied and was asked to join the group as a chaperone/leader and this changed my life!!! Through months of preparation and team building meetings, I was privilidged to get to know a culturally diverse group of young people who came from a variety of backgrounds; some priviledged and some not, but all with a desire to seek out a future that was fulfilling and meaningful. Many of these students came from backgrounds that would never provide an opportunity to travel internationally and live in a foreign culture. Dustin's Greenhouse is an organization that provides an opportunity for students to experience a different culture and also to be challenged to take control of their life and pursue a future for themselves. The trips allow the students to look at themselves, at their lives, at their blessings, and realize that they can accomplish their dreams by helping them realize that they are capable of great things. For me, I realized many of the same things, that life is meant to be lived and that we should constantly challenge ourselves to be the best person that we can be and that we are good enough and special in our own ways. Dustin's Greenhouse provided an opportunity for me to experience the Peruvian culture and challenged me to make a difference in someone else's life. That is why for the last 2 years, I have returned to Peru to do a total of 10 weeks of mission work in Iquitos, Peru; to make a difference in someone else's life. The truth is, though I have been there to help the people of Peru, the people of Peru have helped me far more that anything I have done there by helping me to be the Christian man I have always desired in my heart. This would have never happened if I had not been invited to share this culture with Dustin's Greenhouse.

I first heard about this organization from my Philosophy teacher at my HS who had worked on one of their trips before. He recommended me and after a lot of hoping and praying I was chosen to go on the 2010 Summer trip. The trip was packed with inspiring and humbling experiences. Just when you would think to yourself, "This is the most amazing moment of my life, I can't believe this", BAM something even more incredible would happen. The best part about this trip I think was that they showed you what others as tourists see when they visit South Africa, and then they show you all the amazing sights and activities that the country has to offer, and then the showed you the REAL South Africa. They showed me villages, culture, poverty, music, and how many people really live. They gave me the opportunity to live, work, and talk with people who's voices weren't noramlly heard, and eventually with whom I fell in love with. They gave me memories no one else has or I think ever will again, and they gave it to me even though I didn't have any money to offer them. The people who worked with the organization were some of the greatest people I've met and I am so honored to have been given these opportunities. I'm also very grateful to the people who donated to this organization because they helped make my dreams come true in a way greater than I ever thought possible.