This month, I had the opportunity to visit Dove Youth Development in Puerto Plata with members of the Lifestyle Holidays Group team, and while I already knew something about the organization and the work they do, spending time there and meeting the young people themselves gave me a much greater appreciation for the difference they are making within the community.
Dove provides children and young people with a safe and supportive environment where education, personal development and practical skills come together. Through English and computer classes, creative programs and vocational training for older students, they are helping young people develop skills that can open doors later in life. Their work also extends to families through support with school supplies, uniforms and food assistance, recognizing that creating opportunity for a child often means understanding and supporting the circumstances around them as well.
What impressed me most during the visit was that their work is focused not simply on providing support for today, but on helping young people become more confident and independent in the future. Education is obviously an important part of that, but so too is encouraging curiosity, building self-belief and giving young people the practical tools to begin imagining possibilities for themselves that perhaps they had not considered before.
During the visit, I was invited to share some of my own journey in business, from how I started and some of the challenges I encountered to the lessons I have learned over many years of building businesses and working with people from many different backgrounds. I have never believed there is one formula for success, and I certainly did not want to stand in front of these young people and tell them which path they should follow. What I hoped to share instead was the idea that where you begin does not have to define where you eventually arrive, and that determination, curiosity, hard work and the willingness to learn can take you in directions you may never have imagined at the beginning.
One of the most rewarding parts of the experience was seeing how engaged the young people were and hearing the questions they wanted to ask. It reminded me that experiences and lessons we may take for granted after many years in business can mean something very different when they are being heard by someone who is only beginning to think about their own future. Sometimes a story, a conversation or a simple piece of encouragement can help someone look at what might be possible from a different perspective.
Puerto Plata has been an important part of my own life and journey for many years, which makes experiences such as this particularly meaningful to me. I have always believed that businesses, especially those within tourism and hospitality, become part of the communities in which they operate. Our employees live and raise their families here, our guests experience the warmth and character of these communities when they visit, and the success we enjoy as businesses is closely connected to the people and places around us. With that comes a responsibility to remain engaged with those communities and, wherever possible, contribute to their future.
There is no way of knowing today where the young people I met at Dove will eventually go or what careers and lives they will choose to build. Some may become entrepreneurs, teachers, hospitality professionals, engineers, artists or community leaders, while others may follow paths none of us could predict. What matters is that they have the opportunity to discover their abilities, develop their skills and, perhaps most importantly, believe that those possibilities are genuinely available to them.
I left Dove thinking about how easily we use the word opportunity in business, yet its meaning can be much more fundamental when viewed through the eyes of a young person. Opportunity can begin with access to education, learning a new skill, becoming confident with technology or speaking another language, but it can also begin with somebody taking the time to listen, offer encouragement and demonstrate through their own experiences that a person’s starting point does not have to determine their destination.
I am very grateful to the Dove Youth Development team for welcoming us and allowing me to spend time with these inspiring young people. The work they are doing every day deserves recognition because investing in young people is ultimately an investment in the future of the entire community, and my visit was a powerful reminder that sometimes the greatest opportunity we can give the next generation is the confidence to believe in what comes next.
