Starfish Outreach began in 2007 as a desire to provide the people of Belize with more opportunities for education. This desire has grown into an organization offering education in the hopes of changing a nation.
Becky Downard at the first preschool build in Cottontree, Belize 2007. The first team signed their names on the foundation blocks of the school.
Carol and Mike Downard, founders of Starfish Outreach.
Volunteers in Cottontree, Belize, 2009, expanding the preschool allowing more students to attend.
Cottontree preschool students preparing for morning snack time with prayer.
Carol and Mike Downard, along with Troy and Belinda Smith, continue Becky’s dream together as the leaders of Starfish Outreach.
Becky Downard was celebrating her recent college graduation when she stopped in Belize for a few days. As she explored, she became burdened with the needs of the children she interacted with and how many lacked the opportunity for an education.
That same year, Becky returned with her parents, Mike and Carol. As they explored the country, they learned from the locals that the government lacked the money necessary to fund preschools. As a result, many children struggled when they started grade school, often falling so far behind that they could not attend high school. It was clear what they could do to help: build preschools.
By December 2007, Becky and her family had assembled the first team of volunteers and began building. Today, Starfish Outreach Preschool in Cottontree graduates over twenty-five students a year in a town that previously had no early childhood education options.
"We firmly believe that changing a nation begins with education."
After completing the Cottontree Preschool in 2010, Starfish Outreach began renovating and building a preschool in Dangriga. The needs of the Dangriga community were ever-present, calling for the addition of a community center, starting the launch of teaching clinics, First Aid and CPR certification classes, sewing workshops, and other community outreach programs. Committed volunteers from Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Nevada worked together to support the development of the Dangriga preschool and community education center.
In addition to growing programs, Starfish Outreach was growing as an organization adding two new Operational Directors in 2013: Belinda and Troy Smith. In 2015, Mike and Carol, along with Belinda and Troy, decided to dedicate themselves to Starfish Outreach full-time to expand the organization offering more opportunities for growth, personal development, and education for the people of Belize and those wishing to serve.
It has been a fantastic journey, waiting for the right doors to open for Starfish Outreach. However, some of the most open doors we have found are the hearts of the people of Belize, and the wondrous short-term mission volunteers over the span of these preschool builds these past sixteen years. We continue to aim for empowerment through the gift of education, and we have been able to do so with our friends, in Belize and across the United States, donors, and faithful volunteers.
In 2017, Becky Downard passed away from complications after surgery. The vision she left behind has continued to grow and thrive through Starfish Outreach.