It’s About Kids is a California-based nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status, founded in 1997. We exist to connect people in the U.S. with meaningful mission work in Ecuador, South America, where our sister foundation shares the same heart and name. Together, we support projects that bring lasting impact to children and communities.
We provide children from marginalized communities with access to a high-quality education designed to create disciples for Christ and open doors to a brighter future. Through our sponsorship program, supporters step into a child and their family’s story, playing an active role in ensuring that child has the opportunities, resources, and hope they need to thrive. More than meeting immediate needs, we are building lasting change and equipping each student to rise above limitations and live out their God-given potential.
It’s About Kids offers teacher and volunteer missionary opportunities across a broad range of needs within our organization, both in our mainland projects and in the Galapagos Islands. Discover how you can make an impact on the lives of children and communities.
Read more about possible opportunities below!
Montebello Academy began in 2006 as a collaborative project between the U.S.-based and Ecuadorian It’s About Kids foundations. That same year, it was officially recognized as a K–12 school in Ecuador. Today, enrollment has reached up to 700 students, supported by a dedicated team of more than 130 full-time staff members who faithfully live out our mission each day.
The impact of our mission has reached far and wide, from Ecuador’s coastal regions to the Andes Mountains, and deep into the Amazon jungle. Through It’s About Kids, we offer teachers and volunteers opportunities to serve in the most hands-on learning laboratory on the planet.
At Montebello Academy, we have established a unique methodology, informed by a hybrid application of model pedagogy. This approach integrates the best learning systems globally, adhering to the highest recognized learning standards measured at an international level according to the OECD PISA. These standards align with what industries and professions worldwide are asking university admissions processes to screen for in aiming to equip students for workplace challenges. The Montebello methodology, engineered to assure world-class results for our graduate students, is arguably our most celebrated achievement.
Our kids are not only equipped to thrive globally in profession or career, but they will also carry with them a life-model and confession of faith with a mission formed by Christ to live out His Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations”. At Montebello discipleship is an immersive, hands-on endeavor, refined by taking what is learned in the classroom out into active participation in our institution’s service and mission-oriented initiatives. Our graduates will take with them a Bible–College level understanding of the Gospel message, complete with relevant apologetics, equipping them for living in a challenging world where North is poorly defined on a post-modern world view map.
It’s About Kids has been invited by key persons from San Cristóbal, capital of the Galapagos Islands, to establish a school, offering the same advantages as Montebello Academy in Quito, to an even more marginalized and isolated community. The level of education on the islands is among the weakest in Ecuador, itself low in global rankings.
Families often make the heartbreaking decision to separate, sending children to the mainland for slightly better, yet not optimal schools. Since the island’s economy relies on tourism, parents dream of preparing children to inherit family businesses. What they need most, and what we excel at providing, is mastery of English. With the help of people who are willing to be a part of our mission, we can strengthen education on the island.
