ABOUT
MINISTRY BEYOND MYSELF
Our Story.
Mission
Our Mission is to foster collaborative relationships and stand with local partners to provide access to education, quality healthcare, and economic opportunities in developing communities locally and globally.
Mexico
Ministry Beyond Myself was founded in 2007 after we took our first trip to La Haciendita, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Over the years, we have built strong relationships with the residents and have supported numerous projects to assist with community development. We constructed a water tower, opened a community store, built bathrooms for the teachers at the elementary school, supported home businesses, purchased computers and laptops, installed internet, planted 100 fruit-bearing trees, fed families during the pandemic, and purchased medical equipment and supplies for the community clinic. This year, we are embarking on our biggest project to date, we are building a co-op facility that will allow us to expand our store and offer space to other small businesses.
Dominican Republic
While working in Mexico, we were introduced to a pastor who has an orphanage in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We took an exploratory trip in 2014 and since then have funded the education of the children housed in the Ambassadors for Christ Children's Home. Through the generous donations of our sponsors, we not only have paid monthy school fees, but we paid annual registration, and purchased books, uniforms, shoes, and school supplies. At the height of the pandemic, we purchased tablets for the children so that they could participate in virtual learning. Also during this time, we became aware of stateless families living in the Monte de los Olivos settlement right outside of Santo Domingo. In the summer of 2020, we hosted our first pop-up school and offered instruction in reading, math, and social studies to 75 children in grades K-6. We hosted the pop-up school every summer since then and each year the number of students increased. At the end of the 2022-2023 school, after careful consideration and discussions with our partner in the DR, we decided to pause our support of the Ambassadors for Christ Orphanage.
Local Work
While our global work is very important and is how we got started, MBM is very committed to assisting local nonproft organizations in effectively serving their commuities. To this end, in the Fall of 2020, we launched The Great Connection. The Great Connection helps nonprofits evaluate and improve their approach to community engagement and program design. We also ensure that we engage local youth in each of our service trips to Mexico to provide them with a cross-cultural experience that increases their knowledge of global economic and social issues and develops their collaboration and leadership skills,
Our Founder & Executive Director.
Hello, my name is Kristy Herring
I have a diverse background with training and experience in global and international education, nonprofit management, administration, leadership, service learning, and community engagement. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second Language, and a Master of Science in Global and International Education. I am currently pursuing a doctorate in Creativity and Innovation. My dissertation explores the impact of structural racism on a nonprofit's program design in communities of color. I am a strong proponent of relationship-building and partnerships to build strong regenerative communities.
Our Team.
Our team is made up of a dynamic group of indivduals who are experts in their fields. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in organizational management, leadership development, information technology, program development and evaluation and healthcare. Their contributions to MBM are priceless.
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Partners & Volunteers.
Our partners and volunteers are critical to our work. We partner with Twenty 1st Synergys, Miracle Church, Dayspring Outreach, Lily of the Valley Church, and St. Lukes Lutheran Church for our work in La Haciendita, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Baltimore, Maryland. Volunteers are from Maryland, Virginia, Atlanta, Pennsylvania, and beyond. Many have traveled to Mexico on multiple occasions and are fully committed to the people of La Haciendita. We have hosted Baltimore-based projects for St. Luke's Lutheran Church-Middleton, WI. They have partnered with residents and businesses to support Baltimore's Govans and Washington Hill communities.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
MBM believes that each person should be given access to resources for individual growth and sustained success. We believe that diverse opinions, ideas and beliefs are the foundation of a transformational organization and are beneficial to undergirding a society that is committed to the overall development of its citizenry.