Volunteer in Medellin,  
Colombia

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Embark on a journey of compassion by volunteering with us
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VOLUNTEER TEACHING ENGLISH, MATH OR SPORTS!
| ONE-ON-ONE VOLUNTEERING OPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

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volunteer-teaching-english-and-math-in-medellin

VOLUNTEER TEACHING
ENGLISH, MATH OR SPORTS!

Volunteer in Medellín with Service Leads to Purpose

We are Fundación Service Leads to Purpose, a registered Colombian tax-exempt nonprofit ESAL, identified with NIT number: 901708425-5.
  • Cost: No program fee. If you don't already have a criminal background check, we arrange one for 36,000 COP (about US$11).
  • Language: Basic Spanish. but if you don't speak Spanish, please message us, since some roles have bilingual leaders.
  • Where: Moravia and Manrique, Medellín. We will be meeting nearest Metro Caribe station for Moravia, and Centro comercial Punto de la Oriental for Manrique.
  • When: Weekly classes are available every Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.
  • Who: Minimum age 18 years old, Groups are welcome if all members can provide individual criminal records.
  • Housing: Not provided by the foundation, so every donation goes to our children and mothers. We can connect you with a partner you pay them directly; we receive no commission.
  • Getting around: Our local guide partner can help with transportation and city information you pay them directly; we receive no commission.
  • Visa: We review volunteer visas case by case with our legal partner. visit Cancilleria de Colombia for more information; this isn't legal advice.
  • Values: We believe that children living in vulnerable communities are capable and unique. We explore their individual talents and dreams to help them create a purposeful futures through education and development. Through acts of service we seek to transform communities and hearts acting as instruments of God’s love to reach our inner purpose.

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‍How to start: Message us on WhatsApp or email admin@serviceleadstopurpose.org with your name, your dates in Medellín, and your Spanish level. We'll reply within less than 1 day and schedule a short interview to provide more information about how to get involved, solve any questions and start the onboarding process.

CONTACT US !

TESTIMONIALS

Sandra Sanchez
Program beneficiary

Well, first of all, I thank God for giving my child a new opportunity to be with me after going through so much. I am so grateful to God for placing Marianita, María José, Juanita, Dianita, Dr. Andrés, and so many others in my path to change our lives. I knocked on so many doors, and honestly, so many people closed them on me. Thanks to this wonderful foundation, we have been helped so much, and I am so grateful for everything they have done for us, especially for my child, who had lost all hope of ever walking again. We are so happy to see so many achievements. Many blessings, may God bless you all. A big hug! 🙏🫂☺️

Connor Murphy
Volunteer

This was an in incredible experience that truly touched my heart, and I will be volunteering frequently with this organization. Thank you so much for the phenomenal opportunity and I will definitely be sharing with all of my friends that they should be going to help here, it was amazing and the staff is incredible. It is such a great group of volunteers and I felt like those we were helping were very receptive to that help and appreciative. I felt like I made a big difference in just a few hours on my first time volunteering with them.

Marly Rosa Zabala
Program beneficiary

I would like to tell you a little about the wonderful experience of getting to know the Service Leads to Purpose Foundation because they are people with such big hearts who give so much love. My children have had so many wonderful experiences since they met the foundation, moments full of love, understanding, respect, and affection. I truly never thought I would find such wonderful people.

Anna Kjlsgaard
Volunteer

I recently joined Service Leads to Purpose as a volunteer and had my first brigade yesterday in Manrique, Medellín. We gave English lessons to local people of all ages who wanted to learn, and it was truly amazing. This foundation does incredible work, the whole team was so kind, welcoming, and supportive. They made me feel comfortable and included right from the start. Everyone was eager and motivated to learn, and it was beautiful to see how the community comes together thanks to this organisation.

I’m really grateful to be part of this and I can’t wait for the next brigades. Thank you for all you do! 💙✨

Sandra Jaramillo
Program beneficiary

I want to give thanks to the foundation and God because my life has changed radically thanks to their help. I started believing in myself as a leader, I started to find joy in life again seeing how fufilled and happy my children and I are with a stable income source.

Why is volunteering important?

Volunteering allow us to live purposeful and meaningful lives, we were called to share our gifts and our talents with the world, especially those who need us the most. When a child smiles as a result of our small act of kindness, we feel like our lives hold immense value since we are able to provide happiness and joy to those who need us the most. Some of our children don't know what love is, some of them were abandoned by their parents or have experience trauma due to their environment, when we volunteer our love we are able to change their whole lives in just one day, because for that child that day could be the happiest day of their lives. ‍

What can I do as a volunteer?

We work with children and single mothers of the most vulnerable communities in Colombia, every community has different needs and we plan our humanitarian brigades according to each community. As a volunteer you can support us with our education programs assisting our english and math teachers and helping children learn. We offer one-on-one volunteering opportunities for those who are wanting to share their talents and gifts with children who want to learn a particular skill, whether it is dancing, music, english, math, marketing, or even biology and engineering. We believe a personalized approach to volunteering can promote stronger relationships and build a lasting impact in the lives of our children. We support with emergency relief through our humanitarian brigades and in addition to that, we have a monthly food assistance program, where you can assist us in delivering and distributing food to the community. For us is really important that you behave as an agent of change, giving children the tools they need to develop their talents to believe in themselves. Children and mothers are creators, innovators and they are valuable to society, as a volunteer you will provide support and guidance so that they can see themselves as valuable agents of change.

Why volunteering in Colombia?

Colombia boasts a diverse cultural landscape, from its vibrant cities to its lush landscapes and indigenous communities. Volunteering here allows individuals to immerse themselves in this rich tapestry, learning about Colombian traditions, languages, and customs firsthand. Interacting with locals and engaging in community projects provides a deep understanding of Colombian culture that is unparalleled.Poverty remains a significant challenge in Colombia, despite recent economic progress and efforts to address social inequalities. Rural areas, in particular, bear the brunt of poverty, with limited access to education, healthcare, and basic services exacerbating the situation for vulnerable communities. Many volunteering opportunities in Colombia are community-driven initiatives aimed at addressing local challenges and promoting social development. By participating in these projects, volunteers play a direct role in empowering communities, fostering sustainable growth, and improving quality of life.

How can I become a volunteer?

We interview the volunteers to make sure their mission, values and purpose are in alignment with our organization’s values and to keep our children safe, that is our priority. We want to learn more about who you are and your talents, hobbies, and interests. *** Please contact us on Whatsapp, the homepage should have a direct button to open a chat with us. if you don't have Whatsapp you can email us at admin@serviceleadstopurpose.org. To start the onboarding process we will request the following documents from you:1.⁠ ⁠Full name and address2.⁠ ⁠LinkedIn profile, any professional certificates from school, work and/or other non-profit organizations you have volunteered at. If you don't have any previous volunteer experience don't worry, we accept volunteers who are volunteering for the first time. 3.⁠ ⁠⁠Any references from previous foundations or jobs4.⁠ ⁠⁠A criminal record document that shows you don’t have any prior criminal activity.5.⁠ ⁠⁠An official ID

What skills do I need to become a volunteer?

it's important that you know at least basic Spanish, most of our children don't know any english - or other languages. Most of our programs have leaders and volunteers who are bilingual and can support in translating but not all projects have someone. We can try to acomodate volunteers who don't speak spanish, but it needs to be evaluated in a case-by-case basis. We can all serve others with our gifts and talents, the best skill a volunteer should have is joy and passion for serving those in need. Our organization's mission is to create long-term solutions to the issue of extreme poverty, and those solutions often come in the form of development, guidance and education, we want our volunteers to think of themselves as instruments of God's love, transforming hearts one by one.

What can I expect?

We usually ask our volunteers to come into our humanitarian brigades ready to be surprised, every single experience will be different because we are transforming the lives of children and single mothers and in the process transforming and healing ourselves as well. Children are the best teachers, they help us focus on the right priorities, so be ready to learn, be ready to smile and be joyful!