REXBURG— Orphanage Support Services Organization, also known as OSSO, is a non-profit 501c3 based in Rexburg, which is ready to accept new volunteers.
Brooke Henry, the volunteer recruitment director, handles interactions before application and acceptance to their program.
“Our vision is that every child can feel loved and is deserving of love,” Henry said.
OSSO provides support both financially and physically in the form of volunteer work in about 15 different orphanages in Ecuador and Mexico. The donations collected provide food, diapers, housing, medical support and staff.
Henry says it’s important for volunteers to show they love the children. A volunteer can offer that one-on-one human connection that every child needs. This is an opportunity volunteers will not regret.
“It's our responsibility as good people to serve others, put others before ourselves, to love our neighbor, to look for opportunities to serve and care for those people around us. And then love, you know, love is what makes the world go round,” Henry said.
The organization was founded by Dr. Rex Head in 1998. With his family, they visited an orphanage in Cuenca, Ecuador. Henry said it was there that the Heads fell in love with the children and the idea of OSSO was born.
The program has grown since then as more volunteers help out. OSSO has three locations. Two in Ecuador, Cuenca and Quito, and one in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
The program has volunteer opportunities for individuals, friends, couples and even families.
Two unique opportunities for young adults are the short-term program, where you can volunteer anywhere from one to 11 weeks, or the semester abroad program. The program lines up perfectly with BYU-Idaho’s semester schedules.
“That's what makes a good volunteer. People who show up every day for those kids, willing to work their hardest and put their best foot forward, willing to work through the struggles and the chaos that sometimes ensues from working with so many kids,” Henry said.
To learn more information about OSSO go to ossocares.org.