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Although Corazón offers a wide variety of opportunities to volunteer. However, the way many sponsors and volunteers first become involved is through construction projects. Corazón has been building and repairing homes in Mexico through "Build a House in a Day" projects since it’s beginning in 1978. Over the years, Corazón's construction projects have evolved from a few folks with several van loads of materials and tools going to Tijuana a few times a year to repair or build new homes to an organized schedule of over 50 construction projects a year building a variety of well designed houses, classrooms, community centers or other building projects. Over the same time, the structures being built have matured from simple plywood buildings to attractive frame buildings with windows, doors that lock, concrete or raised wooden floors, sleeping lofts, a small kitchen area, and gabled roofs.
In recent years, Corazón has built 16 foot by 20-foot homes on concrete pads. Local Mexican volunteers, many trained through Corazón's construction class, prepare the concrete pads a few days before the scheduled projects. This allows a larger home, with a larger loft area and drains installed for an indoor bathroom to be constructed. The project can normally be completed in one day by volunteer groups of 40-50 volunteers and a few experienced Corazón leaders.
Sponsoring groups do not need to have volunteers with construction experience, though a few people with basic carpentry or construction skills are always an asset. Each project has an experienced lead builder in charge of the construction and project safety and a trip coordinator responsible for liaison with the sponsoring group prior to the project and assisting the lead builder with logistical and group coordination on the day of the project. Typically a few Corazón Blue Shirts will also come along to help with aspects of the construction and to instruct and assist the volunteers. Corazón's construction projects are designed to require mainly basic skills of painting and pounding nails. The few power tools required, mainly saws to cut the lumber and siding materials on site are only operated by experienced Blue Shirts or by skilled volunteers who demonstrate they are capable of operating the equipment safely to the lead builder for the project
Sponsoring groups can sign up for a project by checking out our calendar to see what project dates are available and the types of projects offered on those dates. The group can then obtain an application and a project list, if your group is larger than 50, and submit it along with a deposit for the project.
For larger groups who are willing to take on an even bigger commitment in terms of funding and providing some volunteers with construction skills, we have opportunities to do special construction projects. Examples are larger buildings as part of a community center complex we plan and operate in several communities, classrooms for existing Mexican schools to increase availability of schooling to our scholarship recipients, or other special purpose buildings that may benefit the communities where we work. These construction projects typically take work than we can accomplish in a single Saturday project and may be scheduled over several weekends and may involve multiple sponsors. If interested, contact the office to see what opportunities we may be able to work out.
Not with a group?
If you want to experience one of our Construction projects, but aren’t a member of a sponsoring group (or want to see if this is the sort of project a group you belong to might want to sponsor in the future), you are welcome to come on one of our projects. Our only rules are that the friends or family members you bring fit into one car, and that you are willing to drive that vehicle into Mexico to the project site. The sponsoring group has organized a volunteer group and the funding for the project and we ask that you work with them, rather than try and take over the project from them. All volunteers must complete a waiver and submit to our office. You should receive a confirmation email within a week. If not please contact the office to ensure we received your information.
If you or members of the small group you bring have construction skills, we would love to know about it to see if there is a future fit for you in our Blue Shirt, Lead Builder, or Construction Class Instructor ranks. Minors should be accompanied by an adult, and we discourage children younger than 12 attending, at least until you are fully aware of safety, supervision, and other issues that will arise during the day. Click here for a handout that should answer any questions you have about the project date.
