There are many people who can’t afford the time or money to come and volunteer with us, but they do have time to volunteer from home. The truth is there is a lot that can be done from afar to help us out. And we certainly appreciate all the help we can get!
Below you can find some examples of what we’re looking for and how you can help from home:
Our kids need pretty much anything you can get your hands on. Some of them literally have nothing. They need:
- Used or new DVDs with good movies, especially for kids. No war, violence, foul language. Generally rated G or PG, and best if there is a Spanish language soundtrack option of course.
- Used/new books in both English and Spanish, especially children’s books
- Rain Ponchos
- Umbrellas – small, collapsible, of a size that can fit into a school-kid’s knapsack
- Knapsacks (different colors please so the kids don’t all have the same ones)
- Blankets – singe/double, no electric ones
- Sheets – twin and full
- Coloring books and crayons, markers, watercolors
- Pencils & pens
- Notebooks
- Children’s underwear
- Children’s bathing suits
- Children’s pants, shirts, socks, shoes, sweaters, light jackets, baseball caps
- Flashlights and batteries – with parts that can be easily purchased (“normal" bulbs, standard "D" cell batteries). Even better are battery-less flashlights you can shake or crank.
- Toys (nothing electric or battery-operated)
- Dolls
- Paper – plain white, lined and construction
- Towels
- Baby formula
- Toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss
- Soap / Shampoo
- Multivitamins
Miscellaneous Needs for families and our locations:
- Plastic buckets
- Thick, heavy shower curtains, single color (used to waterproof thatch roofs)
- Spanish to English dictionaries
- Computer / Printer / Scanner
- Printed shirts and caps that can be sold by the indigenous guides
- Candles
- Matches, lighters
- Pots & pans
- Canned foods (especially tuna fish and veggies)
- Refrigerators (2)
- Freezers (2)
- Space in your luggage if you are visiting for donations from other people
Expertise is needed in the following areas:
- Graphic Designers needed for marketing materials
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expertise needed
- Marketing and Advertising help
- Grant Writers
- Fundraisers
- Sources for free advertising
And, of course, if you are able to put up any posters, hand out brochures or do a presentation on our behalf, please let us know and we will send you whatever we can to help out.
The tough part is the shipping. Truly, it’s a nightmare in Costa Rica. Not only is it relatively expensive for you to send things from the US, transit time takes forever and the process we need to go through on this end is horrific. We have to spend about 5 hours for each package running around, paying taxes, getting signatures and inspections and it’s just not worth it. We don’t have the (wo)man power to handle it.
The best thing is to notify us if you have things to send. We can try and locate a volunteer or tourist coming down who might have room in their luggage. We’re also going to try and arrange shipment through a supporter in New Jersey a couple of times a year who can put our boxes on a boat and have them delivered to our door with no taxes to pay. Each box will cost us $100, so donations are certainly accepted for this too!
Bottom line, please contact me and I’ll see what I can do to arrange transport of your donations. And remember, cash is the easiest to send!
Many thanks in advance for your generosity!