In the News

In contrast to traditional service learning, the Global Brigades model systematically builds community ownership and collaboratively executes programs with the end goal of sustainably transitioning to a relationship of impact monitoring, according to CEO & Founder Shital Vora.

“We don’t help teach them to fish, we build the rods and the boats,” said Vora. “We leave every community with four key elements: a bank, health care, fresh running water and latrines.”

In its history, Vora said Global Brigades has recruited 83,000-plus students from over 400 universities, who helped fundraise more than $100 million in aid. These efforts provided 1.5 million patients with medical and dental treatment, as well as established 106 community banks that gave 12,000 loans and invested nearly $700,000 in local businesses and communities. Global Brigades has also installed 56 water systems – bringing clean, drinkable water to more than 32,000 people.

Each year, the Global Brigades at SEMO travels to underserved countries, creating makeshift clinics, eco-stoves and water systems to serve the community members. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Brigades have been unable to travel but continue their work through Telebrigades via Zoom.

Students in the Global Brigades have traveled to Honduras since 2004, according to globalbrigades.com and stay a few hours outside of Tegucigalpa, traveling back and forth to remote communities several hours away from where they stay.

The map has been an integral to their work, says Anibal Cardenas-Mosquera, manager of sustainable development at Global Brigades and head of solution mapping at the UNDP in Panama. “Through the map, I could see that some indigenous territories in Darién were already receiving support from other organizations, so we could relocate those resources to other communities that were in a much worse situation,” he says.

Cassie Laibly, a junior at Marquette University, is on a mission to make a difference in our world through connection, sustainability and empowerment. A leader with Global Brigades, the largest student-funded humanitarian organization in the world, Cassie has been one of the leaders for Marquette’s Medical Brigade chapter and was recently among the first students to participate in TeleBrigades, the nonprofit’s all-new, virtual-experiential-learning program.

For decades, Carnegie Mellon University has supported alternative spring break opportunities for servant leadership. Student Leadership, Involvement and Civic Engagement (SLICE) helps Tartans travel around the world to lend their skills to communities with limited resources.

Kaycee Palko, senior coordinator of student activities at SLICE, said students typically spend the entire academic year preparing for these service trips, starting with fundraising in the fall and working through a training curriculum that includes topics such as cultural competency, voluntourism and reflection in the lead up to their trip. This year, due to the pandemic, volunteering will look a little different.

The Pre-Med Club at Lake Erie College is providing a way for all students going into health care to enjoy a community on campus.

The club, which has been on campus for more than 10 years, is open to a variety of medical programs offered at the college. Students can join at any time through the year and have opportunities to learn more about other professions through club activities, according to a news release from the school.

While most students kick back, relax, study or vacation during college breaks, some students, such as Madeline Gwinn, devote their time to organizations like Global Brigades and work on sustainability or medical initiatives in countries such as Panama and Honduras.

Global Brigades is an international nonprofit organization and registered charity that runs programs in five countries: Greece, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua and Ghana. Their student trips work with partner organizations and full-time Global Brigades staff in each country under a holistic perspective of community development.

As a freshman at Marquette, Cassie Laibly was shocked by what she saw when she traveled to Panama with Global Brigades.

“Hundreds of patients lined up to see the doctors and dentists we shadowed; no running water and many locals sick from a parasite in the water they were drinking,” the Biomedical Sciences major recalled. ”But not a single person complained. They were all so welcoming and such grateful people.”

Global Brigades is the largest student-funded humanitarian organization in the world. In its decade-and-a-half history, Global Brigades’ student participants have raised more than $100 million in aid, which has provided 1.5 million patients with medical and dental treatment, established 106 community banks that provided more than 12,000 loans to local businesses and communities, according to a recent press release. Global Brigades has also installed 56 water systems, bringing clean, drinkable water to more than 32,000 people.

Penn State Global Brigades dancer Lyndsay Stakem (junior-biobehavioral health) is brought to tears by Hannah Olszewski (junior-marketing) during the final four hours of THON while dancing from her apartment on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021 in State College, Pa. Olszewski expressed her thankfulness for Stakem’s friendship, writing her a heartfelt note for Stakem’s THON inspiration wall.

Penn State THON, the world’s largest student-run philanthropy, spends each year raising money to fund pediatric cancer research and care, culminating in a 46-hour-long no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon in Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this is the first year that THON was virtual, live-streaming events and performances over the 46-hour period with dancers dancing from their homes. Dancers, orgs, and clubs found ways to celebrate THON 2021, despite the virtual format.