For the second straight summer, a group of students (26!) and two faculty members traveled to the Dominican Republic and served in a host community for one week on a sanitation project with the BLUE Missions Group.

Their goal: dignity and water for all, forever.

Click here to read about last year's BLUE Missions trip and the follow-up project, Backpacks Filled with Love.

Photo Album: BLUE Missions Sanitation Project

August 3 - 9, 2026; Piragua, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Click here to view album and download photos on Raider SmugMug.

"I get to do this again, and my heart is still full."

Dr. Evelyn Hidalgo offered the following perspective on the service trip.

"I had the incredible opportunity to lead 26 of our students to the Piragua community in the Dominican Republic for our second annual service trip with BLUE Missions, this time working on a sanitation project."

"I couldn't be more proud of our Central Catholic High School students who showed up for a community in need of dignity and safety with love and zero complaints. Under the sun, day after day, they built doors, hammered, and mixed and laid cement to construct latrines for 14 families."

"They got dirty, sweaty, tired, and they kept going anyway. They took part in Women's and Children's Day activities, traded stories with local kids, they danced, played dominoes late into the evening, and let their guards down. They tried new foods like plantains (lots of it), mamoncillo, queso frito, mangú, and asked for seconds."

"Their diligence didn't go unnoticed. The group earned a trip to a local hacienda for reaching one of the trip's highest fundraising goals, a well-deserved reward for the effort they poured in long before they ever landed in the DR."

"Without cell phones in hand, they found themselves fully present in a way that surprised even them. 'Living in the Moment' is BLUE Missions' answer whenever a student asks "what's next?", and by the end of the week, our students understood why. There was no next thing to rush toward. They became family, shared laughs, and they discovered how much more they noticed, felt, and connected with.

"The Piragua community welcomed us like we belonged there. They gave our students something no classroom can. A chance to see how families with so little material things can offer us so much."

"I am endlessly proud of these students. 14 families have a little more dignity today, and 26 students came home a little more human, a little more tenacious, and a little more in love with this kind of work."

"Grateful, always, for BLUE Missions, this extraordinary community for trusting us with this work."

Thank you to the following Raiders for their love and service!

Students

• Julia Alaimo '27
• Cecilia Baer '27
• Avah Cesar '27
• Stella Clements '27
• Eli Cottrell '27
• Kayleigh Davoli '27
• Alexia Faria '27
• Ethan Fortier '27
• Ella Gabryjelski '27
• Lucas Goebel '27
• Leilani Guzman '27
• Sophie Hitchmoth '27
• Christian Ketch '27
• Madelyn Manry '27
• Sebastien Masse '27
• Isabella Miller '27
• Hector Morrobel '27
• Cecilia Nicoletti '27
• Sophia Peacock '27
• Rocco Roeger '27
• Isabel Sierpina '27
• Ella Smith '27
• Sofia Solomon '27
• Evolet Taveras Soto '28
• Sarah Tressler '27
• Ethan Wolske '27

Faculty & Staff

• Dr. Evelyn Hidalgo, School & College Counselor
• Mr. Michael Clements '94, English Faculty Member

About BLUE Missions Group

BLUE Missions is a non-profit organization with a mission of empowering the youth to advocate for a world where there is water for all, forever. Through service projects and sustainability education, BLUE connects families in Latin America to clean, fresh water for the last 15 years.

BLUE Missions has a strong history and presence with other Marist schools. Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, FL, has been serving with them for over a decade. BLUE Missions' very own founder, Daniel Rodriguez, is an alum of Christopher Columbus.

About BLUE Mission Sanitation Projects

Materials: Wood, sheet metal, nails.

Each sanitation project involves the construction of VIP latrines for 16 - 20 families in need of improved sanitation. Bathrooms that are safe, private, and sanitary improve the public health and standard of living for families living in rural poverty, while protecting their local water sources.

VIP Latrines

We build ventilated-improved pit (VIP) latrines to provide families with a bathroom that is safe, private and sanitary. The homes that benefit from new VIP latrines either don't have bathrooms at all and rely on neighbors/practice open-defection, or they have make-shift structures that are unsafe. VIP latrines prevent the contamination of local water sources and the spread of disease, but they also provide families with safety from collapsable structures and the dignity they deserve.

Tools: Hammer & shovel

On a sanitation project, volunteers help build sanitary bathrooms for families in need. You’ll learn how to use a hammer to assemble the wooden structure of our latrines, and how to mix cement. Our groups build anywhere from two to four latrines per day.

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Service at CCHS

We are Marist & Catholic.

We believe in something bigger than ourselves.

Here, students of all faiths and religious identities share a commitment to serve those most in need.

Students experience an inclusive journey of personal growth while making a positive impact on the world.

We believe in our own potential and in the goodness of others.

Guided by the vision of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, we are inspired to make the world a better place by serving and leading.

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The Mission of Central Catholic High School

Central Catholic High School makes Jesus known and loved. We educate the whole person for college and for life, with particular care for the least favored and those in need.