WHO WE ARE + OUR PARTNERS
It all started in 2010
“Guide me to make the right choices”. “Illuminate me in the darkest places where it is impossible to love. Let me know that I am on the right path”. Sound familiar?
Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures in life that give us the greatest joy. The simple and most generous gifts come from knowing that you are making a difference in the world by taking small steps that ultimately lead to BIG impacts. And making someone smile, a child, is amazing, wonderfull, and this is bigger when you are the cause of that effect. You change lives by taking action.
Over a decade ago a mother and her four-year old son randomly surprised hundreds of poor and sick children in orphanages, schools, hospitals, who were living on the streets in remote areas of Dominican Republic with gifts for the holidays. These children never had the privilege of receiving anything from anyone. They do this because a deep feeling of giving back to those in need and finding life’s purpose was a motivating factor.
In order to help the many orphaned and abandoned children in and around remote villages of the Dominican Republic, they decided to start an impact movement. And Caritas Smiles was created in 2010! That mother was me, Sixcia. And my son, JD is now a teenager with lots of stories to tell about his travels to the Dominican Republic. Today volunteers, mindfulness leaders, educators, and others have joined us on a journey to change the world through leading with generosity.
Since that year, the organization's commitment in the Dominican Republic has expanded to Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela and Puerto Rico and is growing constantly. Caritas Smile is 100% educational and volunteer based and is sustained with the generous support of individuals and organizations like yours. Caritas Smile is located in the state of Rhode Island. Several events, community engagement activities, virtual events have unfolded.
We strive to bring awareness, community engagement, and unity wherever we go, and one of the main ways we do this is by partnering with businesses, universities, community orgs, and individuals. When we give, we incorporate the element of surprise into everything we do. Each Take A Trip Change A Life program is unique, but surprising communities and children is embedded into who we are as an organization. Our program is transformative in that we empower the giver, the recipient, and the observer of our actions.
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We have built homes
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We have built bathrooms with running water
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We have given water pumps and filters to families
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We have offered art programs to kids
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We have helped women pay for cancer treatments
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We have taught dance programs
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We inspire through action
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We educate with love
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We give openly and wholeheartedly
Want to lean how YOU can make an impact? Learn more about our Take A Trip Change a Life program today!
About Us: The mission of Caritas Smile is to INSPIRE, EDUCATE, and EMPOWER women and children worldwide. Caritas Smile is unique among charities in that it operates programs both domestically and internationally, in a manner that is both intended to be interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The overarching mandate is to help children and woman fulfill their potential to be agents of change. Typically, most organizations would serve primarily a domestic or international mandate. Caritas Smile serves both.
Caritas Smile is a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to empowering, educating, women and children worldwide. Caritas Smile provides comprehensive programs for social entrepreneurship, service learning and active citizenship. The Take a Trip Change a Life Impact Tour program inspires travelers to engage with local communities while learning a new language and culture first hand.
Founder and Creative Director Sixcia Devine is an author, educator and speaker on social entrepreurship, leadership, and innovative business planning. She is a speaker for the Grow with Google partner program. As an international and sought-after speaker, she helps businesses and organizations use generosity and gratitude leadership practices to connect with communities and clients within growth markets. Sixcia is the author of Tapping Into The Hispanic Market: Connect. Engage. Innovate. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, she has worked and studied at Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government and has completed graduate work at Schiller International University in Paris, France.