Dear Friends and Families,
Saludos from the Dominican Republic! It is our greatest hope that this letter finds you well. As you are read this, over 150 Peace Corps volunteers are hard at work here in the DR. Working in a variety of capacities, each of these volunteers has dedicated two years of his or her life to promote the social and economic development of this third world country. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you of an opportunity to support one of the more exciting efforts being undertaken by volunteers.
Constructing Your Dreams is a youth entrepreneurship initiative founded by a group of 6 volunteers and planned in conjunction with a local non-profit organization, the Dominican Institute of Integrated Development (IDDI). The goal of the initiative is to promote economic development in the DR through youth entrepreneurship. To achieve this the initiative focuses on training Dominican Youth how to plan, start, and manage small businesses.
The initiative has two components. The first is training youth in basic business skills and working with them to develop business plans for micro-enterprises. This is done at a grassroots level by Peace Corps Volunteers and IDDI trainers who work to educate youth in their communities. Through an 8-week curriculum these youth are trained in the basic business skills (finance, accounting, marketing, feasibility studies, etc.) needed to start and manage a micro-enterprise. This culminates in the drafting of a business plan for a micro-enterprise. The second component is an annual business fair. During this fair participating youth from all over the country will come to the nation’s capital, Santo Domingo, for a three-day, two night conference. At this conference participants will listen to speakers from the Dominican business community, attend workshops on more advanced business skills, and participate in a business case study competition. The highlight of this conference will be the presentation by the youth of their business plans. These plans will be judged and winners will have the opportunity to receive a share of prize money to help fund the start-up of their businesses.
We are already pleased with our progress. Over 150 Dominican Youth have received or will receive business training in our inaugural year. We expect that 90 will attend the conference in Santo Domingo in late September. As this date approaches we are currently raising the ~US$20,000 needed to finance this business fair. This is where your support would be greatly appreciated.
Please consider an offer of financial support for our initiative. Donations will go to cover the costs associated with the conference (including food, lodging, and transportation for the participants) as well as prize money to finance winning business plans. Support of any amount is welcome. Our partner organization, IDDI, has 501 c3 status in the US and all donations will be tax deductible. Since Peace Corps Volunteer and IDDI staff costs are already covered by their parent organizations, this is a very effective way to give charitably – 100% of your support will go directly to the youth participating in this initiative.
Below are instructions for those interested in assisting our efforts.Please direct any questions or comments to:b.christopher.moore (at) gmail.comor leave a comment on this blogThank you for your time!
Respectfully,
"Constructing Your Dreams" Planning Committee
Peace Corps Volunteers, Dominican Republic
Instructions for Making Donations
1. Checks should be made payable to: Dominican Foundation, Inc.
2. Please write “Peace Corps Program” on the check memo line
3. Checks should be mailed to:
Dominican Foundation, Inc.
5840 Red Bug Lake Road, Suite 280
Winter Springs, FL 32708
4. Please include your name and a return address. You will receive a thank-you letter from the Dominican Foundation which can be used as a receipt for tax purposes.
5. Please also send an e-mail to Peace Corps Volunteer Chris Moore at b.christopher.moore (at) gmail.com or PCV Jessica Stearns at stearns003 (at) gmail.com confirming your name and your donation amount.
Dearest Family and Friends,
Saludos from the Dominican Republic! It is our greatest hope that this letter finds you well. All is well in the Dominican Republic; Peace Corps Volunteers are busy promoting and positively affecting sustainable development throughout the country.
As you may or may not be aware, volunteers, of all sectors, are involved in secondary projects. These are projects not part of our initial assignment. Most of these projects involve youth, and range from local reading projects to regional summer camps, etc. Projects are designed to present opportunities to deserving motivated youth in each of our respective communities that might not otherwise be available. One project in particular is especially important to volunteers and for this reason you are reading this letter.
“Celebrando El Cibao” (or Celebrating the Cibao) is a summer camp that takes place over the course over three days and two nights in the Cibao region, or the northern region of the Dominican Republic. For the past three years, participating volunteers have brought between two to four youth from their respective communities, who have expressed an interest in participating in the camp, usually through an application process.
Once at the camp, participants are encouraged and engaged to get to know and share with other volunteers and participants. The theme of the camp is “Celebrating Diversity.” Diversity is a very important topic here in the DR. The homogeneity of the country often causes Dominicans not take the time to look outside of their own backyard.
The camp engages participants, through a course of physically and mentally challenging activities and exercises, to the think about the world. Presentations are given covering topics looking not only at the DR, but to the island of Hispaniola, that is shared with Haiti, as well as the world outside the DR. Participants will then look at the role that they play in these settings and how their actions, both positive and negative, affect those around them. Gender, racial, physical, and religious are just a few of the forms of discrimination looked at over this three-day/two night camp. Members of foreign embassies, dance instructors, chefs, as well as nationals from other countries all share their experiences with participants.
From the camp, we have seen participants come away from the experience with the understanding of the importance of diversity as it relates to their everyday lives. Campers also gain the realization that we are all human beings and deserve to be respected and honored for whom we are inside and out. Following the camp, participants will be charged to return to their respective communities and initiate diversity-related activities that can range from a school presentation to a sports event using the skills and tools acquired during the camp.
If you are wondering how you fit into this equation, let us fill you in. Celebrando El Cibao is planned and executed by Peace Corps Volunteers and has been since its inception three years ago. Volunteers solicit financial resources yearly from the Dominican community and from friends and family in the US. Your donation to our cause would be greatly appreciated. The budget for this camp is approximately $4000 US Dollars. Donations of $25-100 dollars would cover the budget of our camp. With your donation we would be able to continue providing this once in a lifetime opportunity to deserving youth.
Below is the information for those interested in assisting our efforts. Thank you so much for you time.
Respectfully,
“Celebando El Cibao” Committee
Peace Corps Volunteers, Dominican Republic
Check Information and Mailing Information
Please make your check payable to Jessica Stearns. Please mail your check to the address listed below.
Celebrando el Cibao
c/o Marita Lamb
SDQ 8148
P.O. Box 025725
Miami, FL 33102-5725
For questions or comments please contact:Rachelle Olden, 2006 Celebrando el Cibao Chair (rachelleolden (at) yahoo.com)Jessica Stearns (leave a comment on this blog)
My brother and his wife, Kelly, had a baby! John Michael Stearns was born Sunday (July 9, 2006) at 10:58 am. He weighed 8 lbs 7 ozs. Mother and baby are doing well. My parents and I are looking forward to visiting soon and meeting the new member of the family!
Today my morning started with an epic battle against a horde of ants. At least, from the ants' perspective it must have been on a Lord of the Rings scale. Now, don't get my wrong. Ants serve their purpose. They nicely carry away the remains of dead cockroaches and spiders and other misc inhabitants of my humble abode. But they last two mornings I opened the front door to let out my cat, only to find the floor by the door swarming with millions of ants. Apparently this particular colony decided to migrate with all their eggs into my house. So, today they experienced a flood, although no redemption was promised. An hour later, with a freshly bathed kitchen, perhaps only a hundred or so ants remain, scrambling to regroup, and I can rest with my coffee and wait for everything to dry. With any luck, they won't be here to greet me and my kitten tomorrow morning!
