Giving Back to the Community in Costa Rica: Volunteer Programs & Charities
Our travel agency gives a portion of our profits to help our local communities. We believe in responsible, sustainable Costa Rica tourism and helping Costa Rica through charity work.
Time to Give Back to the Community in Costa Rica
We believe in giving back to the community and organizations that have helped foster our success. Every year, we allocate 2% of our profits to charitable organizations selected by our entire staff. We have attempted to maintain a balance between organizations that focus on assisting people, wildlife, and nature when selecting charities each year.
Do you also believe in Social Responsibility? Then, maybe you should consider becoming part of our team! See what jobs are available.
Here are a few of the nonprofits we sponsor:
Tacos 4 Ticos
This nonprofit organization was brought about when some Namu Travel employees saw the remarkable impact donating some soccer uniforms had on young Ticos (aka Costa Ricans). So they decided to do more. So now, we collect and distribute used soccer cleats (“tacos” in Costa Rican slang) and other essential soccer gear to underprivileged youth soccer leagues year-round.
In addition, some of our staff volunteer as soccer coaches for the at-risk youth every week and mentor students in their last year of high school as they prepare for university.
Manos Abiertas (Open Arms)
If you ever start to lose faith in humanity, you need to pay a visit to the incredible facilities of this organization. Manos Abiertas is a nonprofit institution dedicated to caring for and treating children, adolescents, and adults with physical and mental ailments. They help people with chronic illnesses, cerebral paralysis, cancer, AIDS, and other terminal conditions. But unfortunately, all patients are highly impoverished or are in a state of abandonment.
This group of incredible individuals takes care of the beautiful humans who are too great a burden for even the Costa Rican public hospitals. What was once a very humble facility has, through generous donors from around the world, grown into a full-scale hospital that gives quality medical care, attention, and love to those who would otherwise be forgotten.
Along with a financial contribution on behalf of the company, our staff donates time, clothing, and other needed materials several times each year.
Los Jaguares FC of the Educación Plus Program
Costa Rican Vacations, part of the NAMU Travel Group, has sponsored a local football team that is part of the Educación Plus Foundation. This local charity works to get kids off the streets from the poorer areas around San Jose.
It was started in 1994 by a British ex-pat Kieth Holder. Until recently, a dream was realized when the program was able to create a Football Academy back in 2012. The academy offers something fun for the kids to look forward to each week and encourages leadership through football; the results have been very positive.
The Billfish Foundation
The Billfish Foundation is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to worldwide conserving and enhancing billfish populations. TBF employs a three-tiered research, education, and advocacy strategy to create marine conservation strategies that benefit marine resources while empowering the recreational fishing community. We believe in the importance of protecting Costa Rica’s marine population from commercial fishing and, therefore, donate each year to TBF.
Amigos de Los Parques
Amigos de los Parques is an organization that helps to fund and protect the national parks of Costa Rica. The parks are often underfunded and are regularly infringed upon by poachers and unscrupulous land developers, so they need constant vigilance and support from the for-profit community that benefits from their existence.
We are proud to be associated with this organization and its bold efforts to maintain Costa Rica’s excellent nature preserves.
Give A Day Global
When the Costa Rican Vacations team “gave” a day to a nonprofit here in San José, we were hooked! Give A Day Global is based in San Francisco, but they have a vetted network of nonprofit organizations in Costa Rica and beyond. International travelers can volunteer for a day for a fun and meaningful experience. Give A Day Global is guided by the belief that everyone should have access to safe water, healthy food, medical care, education, economic opportunities, and a thriving natural environment.
Connecting travelers with nonprofit organizations aims to engage more people in making the world a better place, one day at a time.