A bit more about our origins
OUR STORY
The Summer Program
Global Shore Opportunities was founded by the owners of The Shore Group, a family-run produce business located in southwestern Ontario. Our founders, as committed Christians, were involved in short-term volunteer work earlier in life. This profoundly affected them, changing their perspectives and approaches to life. They desired that young Christians could experience something similar.
In 2002, our founders established the Summer Student Program so that those young Christians could earn money by working in their produce packing plant for two months and still participate in short-term volunteer work in the second half of the summer, thanks to a program scholarship.
As the founders’ connection to Guatemala was solidified, the Summer Student Program began organizing volunteering in El Tizate, Guatemala. Global Shore Opportunities was soon established as a non-profit organization, and we found other areas of need in El Tizate. Housing construction became a key feature of our ministry for many years as families struggled to provide basic needs for their families.
The School
In 2005, Global Shore started supporting a pre-kindergarten class; in 2007, we registered our school with the ministry of education. Thanks to an influential visit to the Christian schools of Impact Ministries in Tactic, Guatemala, Global Shore Opportunities developed a philosophy of Christian education that guides our education efforts. We kept adding a grade each year until we found ourselves with a whole elementary school, then a middle school, and now a high school.
Today, our primary ministry is our school, with over 300 students from kindergarten to grade 12. We regularly host discipleship programs and teams from North America who participate in our school and ministry activities. Guatemalan staff lead our programs and teach in our classrooms. Our English classes are taught by North Americans partnering with our school’s vision.
