Before they face the tough task of teaching English to students in Ecuador, members of the Manos Unidas club first have to face each other on the dodgeball court.

Manos Unidas is hosting its annual dodgeball tournament Jan. 23 from 3-4 p.m. in the main gym to raise funding for their upcoming service trip to Ecuador. The club, which strives to serve the Hispanic community both locally and abroad, will be sending 23 students to Ecuador over spring break.

“We’ve been doing a trip once a year every spring break the past about nine years,” club sponsor Rebecca Leef said. “Our hope maybe is to build a relationship so that we do return to this community [in Ecuador].”

This will be the club’s second year holding the dodgeball tournament. Last year they raised about $600 for their trip to Nicaragua, though the trip never happened due to the Zika virus so the money was donated to help build a road in Nicaragua.

“Last year it was a great success so we are holding it again and hoping for the same result, if not better,” club member Zara Memon said.

This year, Manos Unidas plans to improve music and food options to attract participants, and will be holding a bake sale outside the gym. During the tournament, teams of five will compete against each other for a chance to win a Chipotle gift card.

“We’re going to have two courts going at once so four teams will play at one time and then teams switch off,” Memon said.

In addition to funding general community service work in Ecuador, Manos Unidas will use profits from the tournament to sponsor educational work as well.

“That service work is going to be teaching English to students that are eight to 10 years old and the money will specifically go to buying computers to help them bring technology to their school,” Leef said. “Our goal is to bring some laptops to teach them English but also teach them computer skills.”