COMMUNITY COMMITMENT - HOW DO WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Intercultura Costa Rica uses approximately 5% of students’ tuition fees to fund community commitment initiatives, environmental projects, cultural outreach events, supplemental educational opportunities and our non-profit homestay and volunteer programs.
We operate on the principals of Corporate Social Responsibility and the United Nations Global Compact (we are the only school in Costa Rica certified by the UN). Instead of simply donating to charities, our staff and students get meaningfully involved in projects in literacy, arts, children’s education, women’s protective services, gender issues, animal rights, and the environment.
YOU ARE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN!
With Intercultura Costa Rica you are more than just a regular language student.
CLARIFYING OUR FOCUS: WHAT EXACTLY ARE OUR PRIORITIES?
Intercultura Costa Rica focuses on supporting local micro-business development, environmental sustainability and improving community-wide infrastructure and socioeconomic opportunities. To this end, we run our local homestay and volunteer programs as non-profit branches of our school.
Sponsoring Key Non-Profits at our both Campus Locations
Our language school founded the non-profit CREAR association in Playa Sámara in 2005, and continues to provide support to the now- independent entity, offering free educational programs for local children, and sponsoring the need-based CREAR college fund for local youth. We also provide free and low-cost English classes through Puertas Abiertas in Heredia, to single mothers from low-income areas and teenage girls who have been separated from their families. In addition, we donate time, resources, and expertise to our communities (public schools, community associations, beach cleanups and many other initiatives sponsored by community organizations).
Meaningful Volunteer Opportunities for our Students
Our Spanish immersion programs are designed to facilitate students' participation in, and utilization of, local services during their program. In addition, our volunteer programs engage students in service learning projects where they experience life-changing situations as they grow and learn while working in a culture very different from their own. Students are empowered to contribute in a meaningful way to the sustainable development and educational programs we work with, and to expand their own perspectives and intercultural awareness in the process.
Providing additional income to hard-working local families
Our homestay program is a non-profit branch of the school, in accordance with our philosophy of creating ethical economic programs that help give back to the communities that host us. By eliminating profit margins, we ensure fair treatment and increased opportunities for our host families. When participating in the homestay program you will not only create deep emotional bonds, but will also help your host families with the upkeep of their houses, their children’s education, healthcare and supporting other family members. It is a particularly important program for families, as many are run by single mothers who through this program can stay home with their young children instead of having to leave them with caregivers.
MORE SPECIAL INITIATIVES
In addition to our community commitment and involvement, we have a few special initiatives:
INTERCULTURA GOES GREEN
In 2015 we started an exciting initiative at our Samara Beach Campus . Solar paneles were installed on our school roof in order to enable us to completely switch to this renewable energy source. The savings generated from the solar panel installation have been used to contribute to funding of community association development projects. Some of them are speed bumps on the main roads for child and adult safety, improving management of waste waters, rebuilding of roads, increased garbage and recycling collection, and funding of local education projects. In 2018 we began the switch to solar power in Heredia. We are proud to announce that Intercultura is 100% solar powered at both the Heredia and the Sámara campuses.
COMMUNITY COMMITMENT IN TERMS OF FREE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS
Providing life-changing educational opportunities to local families and at-risk communities.
Non-profit association CREAR
Intercultura founded CREAR in 2005, with the objective of providing the children of Sámara with supplementary education in English, art, music, technology and sports. We provided infrastructure, staff, and funding for the free classes, which were held at our campus. In an area where unemployment and reduced social and educational opportunities are common, the services were a huge benefit to the community. CREAR was able to develop over the years into an independent, self-sustaining local organization, with its own location, administrative staff, teachers and board of directors. It has grown to offer a tremendous number of vital programs and services to local community members of all ages. CREAR receives several international volunteer groups each year and has won various national awards and grants. Intercultura continues to support CREAR by contributing to the local youth college fund and other community projects, and we fully believe that their programs contribute to a tangible increase in opportunities, prospects and quality of life for many local people. Read more about CREAR here.
Puertas Abiertas (open doors)
In 2013 we began the “Puertas Abiertas” free ESL program for single mothers from the low-income area of Guararí and for teenage girls at a refuge in Alajuela. Classes are taught on a volunteer basis by ESL staff members, while Intercultura provides administrative staff, facilities and funding. Participants are recommended by social workers and must qualify through a needs-based assessment. Graduates from our language programs put their knowledge to good use in new employment opportunities that in turn result in improved socio-economic standing for them and their families.Hogar Siembra
In 2016 Intercultura created a new scholarship program for teenage girls from a home for girls who have been rescued from situations of abuse, abandonment and sex-trafficking. We offer classes at the shelter and on campus in Heredia, receiving an average of 10 to 15 girls per semester in our ESL and Portuguese programs at no cost, where we also provide them educational and employment advising. In conjunction with local volunteers, we also participate offering extra-curricular workshops to the 35+ girls living at the shelter, in areas such as emotional development, self-empowerment and artistic expression. To read more about Hogar Siembra’s mission.
Scholarships
Intercultura offers local students approximately 50 need- and merit-based scholarships every year for English and Portuguese classes. We are pleased to be able to contribute to the advancement of Heredia’s community members in this way.- Tarcoles River ongoing plastic clean-up initiative
- Eliminating single-use plastics on campus
- Corcovado Foundation education and conservation programs
- Promoting solar-power as a clean energy alternative
- Oxford University Costa Rica Conservation Expedition
- Carrillo Wild Animal Refuge Centre
- Toucan rescue ranch
- Turtle protection programs
- Heredia Domestic Animal Shelter
- Nicoya Environmental & Sustainable Farming Project
- Turtle Refuge Project
- HOGAR SIEMBRA home for teenage girls in situations of abuse and neglect
- Assistants for subsidized kindergartens in Heredia
- CREA Drug Rehabilitation Project for Young People, Heredia
- Infrastructure support for public schools in Torito, San Fernando, and Heredia
- Sámara Community Development Association
- Heredia State Orphanage
- Sámara Sports Associations
- Heredia Homeless Groups & Refugees
- Alajuela Clinic & Hospital
- Children's Hospital Teletón
- Heredia & Sámara Emergency & Medical Relief & Police Force
- Rahab Foundation: rehabilitation for victims of sexual commerce and exploitation