By Tylee Hunt
Global Education Philanthropists invites all Dixie State University students to travel abroad and be the change.
GEP is a non-profit organization that serves those who suffer from poverty and disaster domestically and internationally, CEO Cammy Bowker said.
“GEP focuses on educating the villagers we serve in an effort to empower them,” Bowker said.
The local organization has traveled to Haiti numerous times in the last year and established projects for upcoming trips this summer. It has donated over 5,000 books, provided 1,200 meals, seen over 800 patients, and even offered relief to victims of trafficking.
A group recently returned home from volunteering in the Dominican Republic for the first time. Included in that group were two DSU students, Francesca Ravanelli, a junior business administration major from Trento, Italy, and Devin Anthony, a senior accounting major from St. George.
“My experience was great,” Ravanelli said. “It was my first trip for a non-profit where I was traveling for others and not for myself.”
Their trip consisted of playing with children, reconstructing a swing set, assisting in medical needs, and even translating.
“A lot of what we did was groundbreaking for future projects,” Anthony said.
The group met with several organizations to go over local needs and plan how GEP will help them in the future.
“There are many instances in life that we get tangled in the day to day events, consumed by stress with our jobs, family, relationships or health that we forget how fortunate we are,” Bowker said. “As a volunteer, we have the opportunity to help others on a larger scale, whether it be through community improvement, medical care, or education for those less fortunate. We are able to change their lives forever. Volunteers return with a newfound perspective, developing and understanding a new appreciation for life.”
GEP’s goal in offering travel abroad opportunities to DSU students is to give real life experience to the global aspect of humanitarian work. Trip volunteers can expect to teach English, help build schools, help with construction projects in villages, work in orphanages, help with medical aid and more. Each trip also always needs a photographer and a videographer. Trips are tax deductible and are sure to be both a learning and life changing experience, Bowker said. Each trip differs in length and cost depending on the time, but the organization tries to travel during the same time as school breaks.
To get involved, go to www.globalep.org or email [email protected]. There are still spots available for May and June Humanitarian expeditions.
