In 2000, while teaching at Florida Gulf Coast University, Dr. Ingrid Martinez-Rico and Dr. Craig Heller saw the need for international service learning opportunities and Global Community Engagement was born.  Beginning in the spring of 2001, Craig and Ingrid, along with their two year old son Victor, began organizing groups of students to travel to the Dominican Republic on alternative spring break trips to help build and refurbish housing for underprivileged people.

Other needs soon became clear and GCE began environmental and tutoring programming for a local elementary school.  As GCE's involvement has grown, so has our scope.  In 2003 we began working with Accion Callejera, a Dominican NGO that provides services for children who work and live on the streets of Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. 

Today, GCE supports poor communities throughout Santiago teaching children about hygiene, environmental awareness, basic literacy and personal development.  We also help by building schools, providing material support to classrooms and teachers and supporting the efforts of Dominican non-governmental agencies that provide services for children.

You can help us with these efforts by traveling with us to the Dominican Republic to work and play with the children there.  Click on Contact Us to request more information.