Changing Lives’: Wildman-Backed Schools Aid ‘DR’ Kids

While many commercial laundries provide cash and in-kind support for charitable causes, few have taken the idea further than Wildman Business Group (WBG). Since 2007, WBG, a Warsaw, IN-based industrial operator, has worked through the 2nd Mile Missions nonprofit to create a network of schools and service programs that today are serving roughly 1,000 children and families in Bavaro, in the Dominican Republic.

Textile Services Weekly recently toured these facilities, including an orphanage in Bavaro, a small town that’s a 20-minute drive from Punta Cana, an area renowned for luxury beach resorts. Unfortunately, impoverished communities are located near these vacation hotspots. At the “House of Hope” orphanage, we joined a group of 17 WBG staff and family members who toured the schools supported by WBG. CEO Josh Wildman led the visit, along with staff from 2nd Mile Missions, the group that founded the orphanage and ran it for nine years before turning the program over to a local foundation. WBG has followed a similar pattern of establishing and funding other educational institutions while also working local partners to run these facilities. “We typically help a number of local and global organizations financially and with talent and time to lead at the board level or volunteer,” Wildman said.

Wildman’s aunt and uncle, Nancy and Rod Wildman, who were both educators in Indiana, established a Christian mission in the area in 2006 following a Wildman extended-family vacation to one of the resorts. They came armed with prayers and a determination to help families in need. As many as 8,000 area children don’t attend school due to limited public resources, said Mason McIntyre, the executive director of the Winona Lake, IN, based 2nd Mile Missions. To make their vision a reality, Nancy and Rod teamed up with a local English-speaking pastor, Pascual Borrell. A former fishing-fleet owner, Pastor Pascual described a series of religious visions that led him in 2007 to found the City of God Church, a nondenominational Christian sect.

Nancy and Rod worked with Pastor Pascual to found 2nd Mile Missions. They opened a school in an area of Pastor Pascual’s church in a village known as “Mata Mosquito,” i.e., Spanish for the “kill the mosquito.” The school began with a few children. It grew from there, fueled by the co-founders’ vision, coupled with support from WBG and other donors.

Today, residents refer to the village as “Monte Verde,” or “green hill” in Spanish. Josh drove us in a rented van over a rutted gravel road in the town. Here we saw a mix of informal businesses such as food stands and nail salons, intermixed with homes. A garbage dump that Pastor Pasqual had removed to make room for his church had relocated a few blocks away. We watched as a goat foraged in the trash.

Family breakdown here is common, Josh said. This often leaves children – especially girls – vulnerable to neglect and abuse, including prostitution. After a female student at the school experienced a violent incident at home, Pastor Pascual and the 2nd Mile Missions staff set up a shelter for at-risk girls, so they could live in safety and attend school.

At the House of Hope orphanage the WBG team met with the 11 residents, ranging from toddlers to high schoolers. The orphanage – like nearly a dozen other 2nd Mile Missions-backed facilities – is monitored by CONANI, a Spanish acronym for the Dominican Republic’s social services agency. The girls are housed by age in two groups in a clean-but-basic facility. They receive regular meals and attend school on-site.

The WBG visitors, including managers, plus their children and spouses, participated in an activity with the girls in which both groups colored and exchanged cut-out paper hands as mementoes of the visit. One WBG group member hoisted a two-year-old girl on her lap to play “patty cake.” The child’s limited English didn’t hamper her enjoyment of the game.

Teaching the students English, plus other academic subjects such as math, is part of the curriculum for all students supported by 2nd Mile Missions’ programs, including pre-school, elementary, high and trade school programs. Even minimal English proficiency can help students land jobs at the nearby resorts, which are popular with U.S. tourists. Click here to learn more about this and other 2nd Mile Missions’ initiatives. These include a partnership with a sheltered workshop called Vida Plena (Spanish for “full life). There, mothers earn extra income making handicrafts for sale online.

Another is Hope Academy, a 2nd Mile Missions project that opened an elementary school in 2021. Next year, the group plans to open a high school as well, said Kirk Burnett, a former direct-sale garment manager for WBG who now works full-time for 2nd Mile Missions in The Dominican Republic. McIntyre adds that, “We are 100% involved in the leadership and funding of Hope Academy.”

Josh notes that these programs, coupled with company-backed thrice-yearly visits by WBG managers, hourly staff and family members – regardless of religious faith – have fueled employee engagement as the company focuses on “changing lives” for better futures. WBG dedicates 20% of its profits to an array of community and global missions. These range from a Little League team in Warsaw to the 2nd Mile Missions’ work in the Dominican Republic. Click here for more on WBG’s charitable works.

Watch for follow-up coverage of WBG’s Dominican Republic programs in Textile Services magazine. Click here for more on Textile Services magazine and here for more on Textile Services Weekly.