Volunteering in Mexico usually means attending a wheelchair distribution. A team of 10 or more volunteers is constructed from a group of friends, family members, students, sports teams, Rotary Club members, church groups* or any other type of group. The volunteers choose a team leader to coordinate with Push and they sign up to attend a distribution week. The team will receive pre-trip training and then travel to our Mazatlan Hub to participate in a myriad of different activities. Volunteer opportunities and dates can be found on our join us on an outreach page.

What to expect:

A Push International distribution is an eye-opening, life-changing experience and we are very excited that you want to join us! Each outreach is unique to each team because each team has different goals, motives, backgrounds, skills and talents. We will personalize your experiences in-country by closely coordinating with whoever is the leader of your organization / club / association / church group *.
Activities for your team will be mutually selected based on your group's interests and talents.

Each outreach week always includes:

- Transport to and from Mazatlan International Airport
- At least two days of wheelchair distributions
- Orientation and tour of Push’s Mazatlan Hub & attached campus which includes: wheelchair & maintenance workshop, childrens’ therapy center, equestrian therapy arena, dormitories, central eating areas, gender-separated bath facilities, cyber cafe, sewing center and neighborhood park
- Hands-on work with mobility equipment in the Push Hub workshop
- Plenty of opportunities for cross-cultural interface with local individuals and families
- Homemade meals prepared by the families of the children served by the childrens’ therapy center and local cooperative association (except on the one free day contained in each week)

Other activities that are available include:

- Assisting with equestrian therapy at the Push International Hub
- Working with children with disabilities in the on campus rehabilitation center
- Training new wheelchair users how to safely navigate their environment
- Conducting rural home visits to deliver mobility equipment or therapy services
- Working on construction projects at the Push International Hub
- Working side by side with a local community based group/s
- Participating in clothing distributions
- Participating in food distributions
- Tour of historic city center, central farmer’s market, beach front and the malecon

Interested in joining us on an outreach?
Please see the Join us on an outreach page for more information.

If you live in Mexico...
You can also volunteer in Mexico if you are living there or visiting for a period of time. Volunteering can include assisting in daily activities at the Push International Hub, making contacts with local agencies to find people with disabilities in need, arranging distribution sites and logistics, transporting mobility equipment, adjusting mobility equipment, community education, fundraising, public relations and much more. If you are living in Mexico and would like to volunteer please contact Jeff Lair at jeff.lair@pushinternational.org

*Note to Church Based Groups*

Push International is a humanitarian organization with no religious affiliation. However some of our staff does have extensive training and background working with religious based groups. Push International volunteers and staff come from a wide variety of faith traditions and practices. Since we respect each other’s beliefs, traditions, and practices we made a conscious choice not to affiliate ourselves with any particular denomination. We welcome groups from all faiths and we would love to have your group join us for a week long outreach but please be aware that your church must provide a spiritual leader for the group. Push staff will act as facilitators for your outreach and provide as much support as possible to your team and their leaders for you mission trip.

The majority of the church based groups that join us on Outreaches annually are youth groups/mission trips. Historically, upwards of 90% of groups return and repeat such a positive experience as this. We love to have youth because it provides an eye opening first hand experience of service in action.

Youth groups from the US are given the opportunity to pair with a local church providing an opportunity for multi-cultural faith-filled interaction. The two groups work side by side filling the needs of a local community. Many of the people who receive mobility aids at the wheelchair distributions belong to the local church’s community. In addition to wheelchair distributions the youth address other needs within the local church such as construction, clothing, evangelism and bible study. This is a great opportunity for multicultural interaction and disability awareness.