Youth Volunteers in Venezuela: Restoring Faith and Inspiring Change

When we learned about our partner, Good Deeds Day Venezuela’s wonderful project to honor a group of underprivileged youth who themselves were volunteers for Goods Deeds Day, we had to know more! The organization partners with Good Deeds Day, a peak event of year-round doing good activities, initiated by businesswoman and philanthropist Shari Arison. On this special day, millions of people take part in 109 countries across the globe.

We interviewed Pily Mendez Quintero, the national coordinator of Good Deeds Day in Venezuela, to learn more about this inspiring initiative.

How did you get involved with Good Deeds Day?
I participated in the International Volunteering Conference in Mexico in 2016 where I was first introduced to Good Deeds Day. This is when I got involved and we started to organize projects and activities in April 2017.

How long has Good Deeds Day been taking place in Venezuela?
From what I understand the project has been taking place in Venezuela since 2015.

Good Deeds Day Venezuela took a group of underprivileged youth to an amusement park. What was the connection to these children?
These kids have themselves been volunteers for Good Deeds Day. In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, they learned how to prepare cookies, and they baked 100 bags of them which they donated to the lonely and poor elderly that belong to Comedor Parroquial Abuelos de San Jose. In 2022, they prepared 400 bags of cornflakes and gave them to the children of a kindergarten and children from a school in their community.

What did the youth get to experience during their trip?
We had the opportunity to visit an amazing park with the kids. They enjoyed the day and also learned about the dinosaurs and how to recognize the different species. As an extra gift, the park also gave snacks and a box of crayons to each kid.

With this activity and trip, we thanked the kids for all the activities and volunteer work they do for others, and we also promoted love, service, solidarity, and being conscious of the needs of other people around you.

How did this project come to fruition?
A volunteer teacher who works with these children on a weekly basis had the idea of making them beneficiaries of a good deed. She originally thought about taking them to a science museum but then we received the opportunity of having the dinosaur park opened exclusively for them and for free (otherwise, the cost of the tickets is expensive, and we couldn’t afford it). We thought it would be both more fun and safer.

Fortunately, there are people who wanted to give these kids a unique experience and to show them that as they think and work with the objective of improving the lives of others, there are people thinking the same way that want to give them the gift of a special opportunity.

Why do you think this trip was important for the kids?
The main objective of this trip was to let the children know that other people are thinking about them and the importance of being grateful and putting in efforts for others without expecting a reward.

How do you feel about the mission of Good Deeds Day? Why is it important for the world?
Good Deeds Day is a unique global experience that promotes a necessary look at the other. I am sure that thousands of good deeds are done daily around the world and hopefully, we can visualize them. Good Deeds Day is a beautiful way of showing our humanity. The projects that are carried out have the objective of turning our world into a happier place. Noticing people doing good in different ways motivates us to do more, to spread the word, and transmit the message to future generations from a very young age.

Good Deeds Day, an annual global day of doing good, is the pinnacle of doing good year-round. Initiated in 2007 by business woman and philanthropist Shari Arison, Good Deeds Day has grown to 110 countries with millions of participants.  Good Deeds Day 2023 is on April 16.