“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” ― St. Francis of Assisi

Dental Mission Volunteers

El Niño Rey relies on volunteers to make possible our annual mission trips

to provide dental and educational services to the people of Guerrero,

Mexico. We welcome your interest. The guidelines below are used by the

board in accepting volunteer applications. If you are interested in

volunteering, we encourage you to read through the guidelines.

Mission Travel Expectations and Conditions

Days can be very hot and nights very cool - dressing in layers is
highly recommended
Travel is on open trucks into the mountains on narrow dirt roads
Due to the dental treatments, bloody conditions exist
Clinic hours are long
Sleeping arrangements are on air mattresses and on open or enclosed environments

Volunteer Guidelines

The ideal number of participants for a mission is 15 to 16 including 4 dentists, 1 to 2 hygienists, 1 to 2 scholarship/education team members, plus volunteer helpers with 18 being the maximum depending on the number of dental service providers and expected number of villagers to be served. The scholarship/education team members can also be worked into this team as helpers in the clinic in addition to their outreach activities to the villages, schools, students, parents and the teachers they serve.

Adult volunteer members can participate on mission trips for 2 years in a row, and then would be asked to skip a year if interest from other individuals exceeds the number of volunteer spots available.

To achieve the goal of broader participation by dental providers and volunteer helpers, a goal of 1/3 of each team should consist of new participants. A balanced mix of male/female, some dental providers and volunteers with prior mission experience, and those with special skills (i.e. speaks Spanish) should be considered. In all cases, extenuating circumstances will also be considered in the selection process.

All participants will be required to complete necessary paperwork and have deposit money to the Trip Coordinator by the predetermined dates. Failure to comply with these requirements will allow the Trip Coordinator to remove that individual from he trip roster and insert someone else onto the trip roster.

Young adults wishing to participate on a trip must be out of high school, 18 years of age, accompanied by an adult (named sponsor), and are limited to one mission trip until they reach the age of 22 or have graduated from college. The maximum number of young adults per trip is 5. Applicants will be asked to express in writing their reasons for wanting to participate on the dental/education trip and may include any special skills they possess as part of the application.

Dentists, hygienists and any future medical personnel will not be subject to the above limitations, except where the number of specialists wanting to attend exceeds the number of spots available. In that case, based on a first come first served and a desired mix of GPs and oral surgeons, the Trip Coordinator, chairman of the Dental Committee, and the President shall decide which dental service provider(s) will attend a specific trip.

The first starting point for selection to participate in the missions will be based on allowing former participants to be given the opportunity to attend again. Second in line will be given to parishioners from St. Norbert’s and St. Joseph in Libertyville and third, individuals outside of the two parishes. All will be subject to the above guidelines. Special skills for the mission’s goals can allow for special override consideration in the process.