Ayuda International ยท Leadership
Chief Executive Officer of Ayuda International, Rotarian, PADI Master Diver, and, as his friends call him, a one man hurricane of service.
About Steve
Steve Bender designed Doc in a Box, the portable dental clinic that grew into Ayuda International, and he has led Ayuda as its CEO as it grew from a small clinic program into the nonprofit parent of a family of projects: dental clinics in California, Mexico, Panama, Cambodia, Thailand, Fiji and beyond, The Cleft Project, Steve’s Vision, Diving Doctors, The Panama Project, Rotary Reefs, The Macaw Project and forests on two continents.
A longtime Rotarian, Steve has served as president of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise and the Rotary Club of Newport Beach. He built Building Bridges Through Rotary with the clubs of Rosarito, created 100 Projects in 100 Countries to share Rotary projects with the world, and brings Rotary to EarthX every spring. He is also the founder and CEO of Help in a Box.
Steve grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He attended White Church Elementary, was in the first class at Eisenhower when it opened, and graduated from Washington High School in 1979. In November 2016 Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools named him to its Reasons to Believe Alumni Honor Roll for his philanthropic projects, and in January 2018 he was inducted into the Washington High School Hall of Fame.
When COVID stranded him in Bocas del Toro in 2020, he ran supply boats to the outer islands and carried almendro trees home on the way back. More than 15,000 trees later, that is still how Steve works: see a need, and do something about it.
Highlights
Dentists, hygienists, dental students and helpers of every kind are welcome. Tell us where you would like to serve and we will send you the clinic calendar.