From reaching in to reaching out: Palm Beach Outreach’s journey towards community involvement

Watching countless high schoolers create non-profits has been inspiring, but at Palm Beach Outreach, we aren’t solely inspired by watching our peers. We are inspired by the issues that affect families and communities all around Palm Beach. 

Our story isn’t that of just finding a niche issue in Palm Beach County and tackling it, but finding larger issues within service work opportunities in general. 

“I found that a lot of “hands-on” service activities were restricted to adults, and we wanted to create a space where students could get involved in those kinds of activities. The experience focused a lot on how to frame PBO as the future “go-to” source for community engagement in Palm Beach, and a lot of the activities we try to do reflect the needs of our community members,” Sofia Blanco, Palm Beach Outreach Founder and current senior at FAU High School said.

After finding out that some of the most important aspects of Community Service work in Palm Beach County were restricted to only adults, Blanco decided to make a change.

Originally, the idea was centered around starting a club at FAU High School, but after having her idea turned down, the idea for a non-profit blossomed. 

Victor Vasquez, PBO’s marketing director, shares some of the struggles in getting the project started. 

“Creating it was not easy as Sofia struggled to find a sponsor, obtain school approval, and even bring others to join. Even though she had hundreds of obstacles in front of her, she persevered and decided to make PBO its own non-profit, outside of FAU High School,” he said. 

Since our founding, PBO has been able to make contributions to children and families all around the county, from starting a gift basket drive for children at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to hosting monthly beach cleanups. Our club’s vision is centered around providing diverse resources — not just focusing on one idea of “outreach.”

Yatin Dhanekula, PBO’s event manager, explains that although he joined the organization for fun, the change that we have been able to make to local communities is what has kept him here.

“I chose to join at first because some of my friends were doing it, but then I decided to stay because I got to see the result of our actions through the smiles on people’s faces,” he said. “People would come up to us and thank us for what we were doing, and we’ve also had people not affiliated with our organization help us.”

In the past couple of months, Palm Beach Outreach has been expanding into a project much larger than any of our members could’ve ever imagined. 

We have been able to collaborate with local initiatives such as All Hands and Hearts and Speak Up for Kids Palm Beach County. 

Zach Lopez, website manager for PBO, shares that his favorite activity so far has been our monthly beach cleanups.

“It's something we do monthly, and since I love the beach, it's a perfect way to help benefit the community, especially in an area where I enjoy,” Lopez said. 

Camilo Herrera, our organization’s logistics director, explains that a year from now, he hopes to see PBO reach new heights. 

“I hope it will look like it is right now, but bigger. Always trying to help, and always reaching out a hand,” he said. 

We hope for a future of outreach, and at PBO we expect to make that happen. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining our cause or has any ideas for a community service project, we would love to help you share your vision! Connect with us via email at palmbeachoutreach@outlook.com.