University Chapters

This has become my Thursday morning routine: Wake up, Realize it is already Thursday, Get anxi...

Currently Quarry Integrated Communications is in San Pedro Columbia, Belize working on the second phase of an alte...

After a rained-out beach weekend in eastern Guatemala, I moved on to Honduras for a week with Jorge Luis Raudales....

After a rained-out beach weekend in eastern Guatemala, I moved on to Honduras for a week with Jorge Luis Raudales....

  To kick off my second week, I made a big push to get to San Marcos de la Laguna on the shores of Lake A...

Last week, as I rode a chicken bus (read: school bus converted into public transport that makes every conceivable ...

    Part 1: Language   Aboriginal education is not only a focus a...

In September, I worked with the Outreach department to reflect on what we’ve done so far and to set goals fo...

  In community development initiatives, there’s nothing worse than an organization barging into...

The Toronto Star published an editorial on January 4th entitled “The downside of overseas volunteering&rdquo...

At Head Office, we’re really excited to see such a strong round of Final Exam-AID sessions being held at all...

  The exam season is unfortunately upon us. It’s much worse than wedding season, slightly less depr...

Tomorrow I will be travelling to the beautiful province of British Columbia to visit four of SOS’s chapters ...

Last, but certainly not least, I’m proud to introduce everyone to Reto Juvenil Internacional (RJI). RJI has ...

When I first started working at SOS last summer, one of the first things a friend said to me about my job was &ldq...

Today, I start writing about our current partnering organizations that were critical to such a successful 2010/201...

We came across Seeds of Learning (SOL) during our intensive google sessions looking into NGOs working in education...

Beginning this search for partner organizations was not an easy search. I would give co-ops vague parameters about...

The inspiring story of Aprender began in 2004 when Gabriela Prado and James Womack moved from New York City to a f...

A partnership with ANIDES has been on my bucket list since meeting Gloria through RJI in Nicaragua during my secon...

After weeks of proposal reviewing and conversations with organizations from across Central America, I am so excite...

Our last 2011 outreach trip has just returned (after a gruelling amount of delays – thank you Air Canada). W...

  In December 2010, I was introduced to the idea of participating in a missionary trip to Costa Rica for ...

Coordinating my first outreach trip took a lot of patience and understanding..I wasn’t quite sure what I was...

Last May, we piloted a project to bring electricity to some of our partnering communities who had none. In the win...

  Sports, part-time jobs, volunteering, computer games, partying and even The Bachelorette. These are all...

With only six days left until our flight, I notice myself often daydreaming about the trip...    ...

  A quick Google search for ‘goal setting’ will provide you with a plethora of results from m...

  Where does the money go? Transparency is key. Charities take a lot of heat for having shady or vagu...

  I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about a favourite topic of mine: the impact (good and bad...

  Flights are expensive, and get more expensive each day. It’s a constant stress point for Greg and...

  One of my favourite things about SOS trips is that they get participants OFF of the tourist circuit. Co...

  I’m going to let you all in on a secret … I’m not as smart as you may think I am. Wi...

Yesterday, a blog post titled ‘Is Higher Education Worth the Money?’ was published by The Wall Street ...

In a community of no running water and no electricity, what do you do at night?    We had picked...

  A very wise man once explained poverty to me like this:    The need in Central Americ...

My favourite thing about Nicaragua... The kids smile at everything! Except at the camera.. They are truly ...

May 31st, 2011 We went to Machu Picchu on Sunday and climbed a freakin' mountain-- ACTUALLY a mountain!! I...

April 30, 2011 So, Thursday, we varnished so many chairs and finished varnishing the ceilings, as well as putt...

Sorry for not writing sooner... we got back from work late because we stayed in the community and played games wit...

Nicaragua has to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Being my second journey to this country, I h...

Sunday, April 24th, 2011 We finally arrived in Cusco-- the city is gorgeeous as a whole and its downtown is be...

    Months and months of planning and anticipation brought myself and 11 other anxious volunteer...

Last month, I was one of a group of 12 disparate people from work (<http://www.quarry.com> ) who spent a wee...

  My last post (an embarrassing amount of months ago) was, of course, sceptical and critical about outrea...

  Hello, my name is Kevin and I was a volunteer on the Laurier chapter’s trips to Honduras and Cost...

"Shameless Idealists"- not just the title to Craig Kielburger's (*founder of Free the Children) ...

  Have you ever had one of those moments where you read something and are like, yes. That is EXACTLY what...

In August 2009, I had the privilege of spending two weeks in a very unique community; Poasito, Costa Rica. A forty...

Assessing the value of a short-term outreach trip can be challenging at times. To some, it has immense value; othe...

It has been almost one month since I have been back from the SOS outreach trip to Nicaragua; and in this past mont...

Highs: 1.       INTERACTING WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ·  &nb...

Waterloo SOS sent a team of 22 volunteers down to Peru for our second annual educational development project. ...

As you know, my name is Mark and I have been one of SOS’ National Outreach Directors for just over a year no...

Man... Every time I think about Nicaragua and the trip I get so motivated and energized... It really was the best ...

August 16, 2010 It’s a 5:30 a.m. start to the day, because the rooster says so! There is really no optio...

August 14, 2010 After a long day of travelling, we’ve finally arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica! Exiting t...

  I have sat down to write this blog about a thousand (ten) times this week. I have a lot of first paragr...

I went to Nicaragua with an open mind and with no expectations so that nothing would catch me off guard. Little di...

One of the many things I learned from this trip, is that it's almost always worth it to step&nb...

Having managed over 250 student volunteers over the last five years, I can definitely say that volunteers are hard...