About Hug It Forward

Our Vision

Hug It Forward is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that empowers rural communities in Guatemala to build "bottle schools". Bottle schools are schools built using plastic soda bottles and other inorganic trash.

Please watch our short 3-minute Youtube video showing how kids and communities in Guatemala work together to turn trash into schools.

Since October 2009 communities have completed 15 successful bottle school projects, at an average cost of $5,000 per classroom. In January 2012 we started our first project outside Guatemala, in El Salvador, and our intention is to start 4 more schools in the first quarter of 2012.

Our goal is to share the bottle school technology so that anybody anywhere in the world can create their own bottle school. To help with this, we have put together a "Bottle School Manual", which is a free step-by-step guide to constructing a bottle school in your community.

100% of public donations made to Hug It Forward are spent on the ground in the communities where bottle schools are built – conscious businesses contribute towards our overhead and expenses. Read more about our 100% non-profit model.

We offer one-week voluntourism trips in collaboration our partner organization Serve The World Today, where you can work side-by-side with community members and be part of building a bottle school, at the same time as experiencing Guatemalan culture and history. These trips enable us to spread the word about bottle schools and to raise awareness, and the revenue from the trips helps to support Hug It Forward's overhead.

Find out about more ways to Get Involved.

Our Core Principles

H.U.G. It Forward: Humanity Unconditionally Giving it Forward - Hug It Forward celebrates the idea of giving out of pure love, without expecting anything in return.

  1. Frugality – Knowing how far just one dollar can go in some parts of the world, we work hard to minimize expenditure in all aspects of our activities.
  2. Integrity – We are honest and transparent in what we do and say, and accept responsibility for our collective and individual actions.
  3. Accountability – We communicate openly and energetically, and actively encourage our supporters to hold us accountable.
  4. Transparency – With Hug It Forward, what you see is what you get. 100% of your donations go directly to projects, to be spent in the local economy. Not one penny is spent on salaries, administration, or overhead. Profits from for-profit businesses donated to Hug It Forward cover our daily expenses.
  5. Community – We believe that spontaneous selfless interactions between a group of people generate far more beneficial outcomes for everyone than individuals acting selfishly.
  6. Sustainability – We avoid “quick fix” solutions and instead invest in projects with long-term objectives that create perpetual benefits for humanity.
  7. Mutuality – We form win-win relationships where everyone benefits. Our volunteers get as much from their experience working with communities in developing countries as they give.
  8. Empowerment – Handouts do not help poor people around the world. We help people develop the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
  9. Participation – Hug It Forward is an organization powered by YOU: without your hugs and your support we could not exist. We encourage the whole world to join this movement.
  10. Global Solidarity – We stand shoulder to shoulder with oppressed groups around the world. Working together we can overcome problems that would be impossible to solve apart.

Our Core Values

  1. 100% integrity - Can always be trusted, and is seen as trustworthy. Integrity to self and others
  2. Accountability - Own your mistakes, as well as your successes.
  3. Communication - Communicating "too much" is always encouraged and rewarded.
  4. Empathy - Really put yourself in the other person's shoes. Constantly.
  5. Self-awareness - Always working to make yourself a better person.
  6. Responsibility - Realize the impact of your position for Hug It Forward and for the world and take appropriate actions as such.
  7. People-focused - Places value on people, before things.
  8. Efficiency - Makes the most of time, resources and energy
  9. Simplicity - Understands that "less is more"
  10. One people, one love - Recognizes our oneness, and acts accordingly

Click here to see how YOU can be part of the movement.