iHelp Foundation works to serve people globally

By Caitlin Keith LIFESTYLES STAFF REPORTER

Operating with the motto, “Improving lives through service, education and empowerment,” the iHelp foundation was founded by Bill Betz and Brent Skinner. It is currently located in Providence, Utah.

On Saturday, April 29, iHelp is holding a fundraiser race to help raise money for their projects. There are three different runs participants can choose from, which are a one mile, 5K and 10K.

iHelp is providing a student discount, so it only costs $20 for students to participate in the races, and students can also volunteer to help out at the event.

Each race has its own map it follows and registration can be done online at ihelpfoundation.org iHelp works on community outreach and serving people locally in Cache Valley, and visits locations in three different countries, which are Uganda, Liberia and Guatemala.

The frst major project the organization did was a trip to El Salvador in 2003. After a mudslide occurred in the country, Betz and Skinner flled a van with medical equipment, clothes and frst-aid supplies and traveled from Logan to San Salvador, El Salvador.

The foundation focuses on disaster relief and education — not only providing medical care, but other things such as clean water to people who do not have regular access to basic necessities.

Doug Fullmer, the iHelp chief operation offcer, said all of their different efforts have the same goal.

“So I guess what I’m trying to say is from every facet of life, what do you want to do to help those people in underserved populations of the world — it’s to lift them,” Fullmer said.

Taylor Mendenhall, a graduate of Utah State University and also a Logan native, works full time at iHelp as the executive director of student affairs. He said in every place they visit, iHelp works with local people and organizations to provide the best care and education they can for the people in need.

“They teach us a lot, given that they have experience treating what is most common there, and we’re able to teach them a lot,” Mendenhall said. “Based on our experience here in the States, and the technology access that we have to these technologies that allow us to treat patients. We focus a lot on education that way. And we also have those physicians there that remain in those clinics that we work out of, to help with follow up.”

In Guatemala, the organization has partnered with a group called the Village of Hope, which serves young girls who have been sex traffcked, human traffcked or raped.

There are two people from Liberia who now live in the U.S. that the organization works with to coordinate their projects and service in Liberia.

In Uganda, iHelp works with Peter Sewakiryanga, who works with a Ugandan organization and helps save children from witch doctors and being used as human sacrifces.

The work this organization does has lasting impacts on the people they help.

“We live in a world where, especially in America, where we have things at our fngertips, we have everything that, you know, we could possibly hope for. That’s easily accessible. And it’s very humbling and eye-opening to be able to go to these, you know, developing countries where people have never seen a doctor before,” Mendenhall said.

Locally, the foundation provides a variety of services partnering with the Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection, along with Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse.

With these partnerships, the foundation has a free clinic which provides care for the residents and clients of CAPSA and CRIC.

The foundation also provides emergency medical technician classes.

Fullmer said there are a variety of ways students can be involved in the organization.

“We also encourage students to come with us on these humanitarian trips,” Fullmer said. “So, I think I took fve USU students with me to Guatemala. And I know that they were wanting to go do something different, get out of the cold out of Cache Valley, boost their resume, but it was a great experience for them.”

The foundation is a nonproft, runoff of Bill Betz’s money and donations from people in Cache Valley and around the country.

Caitlin Keith is from Utah and is currently a junior studying journalism. Other than writing, she enjoys watching and ranting about tv shows or sports, speaking German and eating snacks.

— A02312868@usu.edu