I am proudly posting this on behalf of Dave (mdwest) who is the acting Charity Sponsor for this important project.
This post and the subsequent post will be updated frequently. -Eric
Several months ago BradMc (BOTL Charity Liaison) and I entered into a discussion about how BOTL might get involved in some sort of charitable action or initiative that could make a meaningful difference in one of the tobacco growing countries and really impact peoples lives in a positive way. Some of you may know that last year I founded a 501(c)3 Non-Profit called Micro Project Initiative (with much assistance provided by a couple of key BOTL board members along the way). The purpose of this non-profit is pretty simple, to capitalize on a global network of contacts and find ways to deliver low cost, but high yield, sustainable development services in developing countries that improve the lives of children. In short, MPI is NOT a job or a career move really so much as it is a tool that can be used by other groups (such as BOTL) to do good things for good people in communities around the world. It is not intended to “make money”, pay a salary, or do anything other than act as a link between donors and recipients, and help with some of the challenges associated with delivering services into developing countries… Anyway.. the discussions with Brad lead to us speaking with Eric about all that is typed out below… (which he thankfully supports whole heartedly)..
In short…. We’re (BOTL) adopting a classroom full of kids in Esteli!
MPI will act as the vehicle we use to raise funds, offer tax deductible receipts for all donations, etc. and will assist in delivering those funds to Esteli. This however is a BOTL project (just don’t want any confusion about why we’ll be pointing you to the MPI website on occasion for donations or other actions). Everything we do from this point forward is about the BOTL community and what we can achieve as a group.
The school year in Nicaragua runs roughly the same dates as it does in the US. The school day however is only 4 hours long in Esteli. At the mid-day point students are released. The learning environment presented in Esteli schools is inadequate for optimal learning and many school aged children in Esteli also suffer from malnutrition and often limited to only the evening meal at home. In response to these deficiencies in the Nicaragua education system, privately funded Educational Centers such as the Maria Auxiliadora Education Center (MAEC) in Esteli give children a place to go for the remainder of the day to continue with learning subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic. The MAEC even has a small computer lab where children are taught basic computer skills. Children attending classes at MAEC are also fed a nutritious meal as part of the school lunch program which aids in the children’s food security and overall health.
Details on how BOTL is going to make a difference are as follows:
WHO: US! The collective membership of BOTL.
WHAT: Raises $7500 to completely fund a primary school classroom for six months in Esteli, Nicaragua (includes salaries for 2 Primary Education Teachers, teacher training/technical assistance, learning materials, and daily school lunches for all children, and covers all associated project delivery costs).
WHERE: Maria Auxiliadora Education Center, Esteli Nicaragua
WHY: While Estelí enjoys relative prosperity compared to other regions in Nicaragua, poverty still reaches and impacts the population. Almost 25% of the people in Estelí live in extreme poverty by the definition provided by the World Bank (less than US$1.25 per day). Many of the impoverished work in the city´s cigar´s factories. The impact of poverty is evident in the poor standard of education. In Esteli the school day is only 4 hours long, and provides only minimal educational opportunities to children.
The Estelí Education Center provides refuge and opportunity to children living in the city and surrounding rural areas. The center offers support for children in two key areas:
BOTL’s membership has the opportunity to “give back” and help improve the lives of children in a community that has given so much to BOTL membership.
WHEN: WE START RIGHT NOW!
Funds to be distributed no later than September 2014 (actual date to be determined dependent on the availability of BOTL representative for travel and Esteli student group availability).
HOW: We’re going to run a series of fundraising activities over the next couple of months. Expect to see a raffle, an auction, and an opportunity to direct purchase some items (t-shirts, etc) in the coming weeks, with all proceeds going toward our goal (neither BOTL or MPI is taking any money out of this… every penny donated will go toward the execution of this project)..
In the meantime, while we start putting together these fundraising events, if you are so inclined, you can go to the MPI website and click on the “Operation Esteli” donation button located at http://microprojectinitiative.org/donate. DO NOT click on the other, general “donation” button. We want to make sure that there is no co-mingling of funds and that all money intended for Operation Esteli goes directly there (please pay attention and click the correct button!).
Also, please help us SPREAD THE WORD. Go check out BOTL and MPI facebook and like our Operation Esteli posts. Follow both of us on twitter and re-tweet our Operation Esteli messages. Share a link to this thread. Tell your friends and family, etc..etc.. Help us reach our goal and do something meaningful for a poor and impoverished community that has played such a huge role in bringing us happiness and joy. Tell everyone you can, tell them how to join in on the action, and lets make this happen.
Lastly, GET PERSONALLY INVOLVED. Money is not the only thing we need to accomplish this mission. If you cant afford to participate financially, or choose to for any reason at all, that is ABSOLUTELY OK.. but please consider helping out in other ways.. There is a whole lot to do here, and Brad, Eric, and I only have so much time/ability to get it all done ourselves. You don’t need to have any particular skill set or experience. We’d just like as many BOTL members as possible to be a part of this as possible, and welcome any assistance you can provide.
If interested in getting your hands dirty and digging into this thing with us.. shoot me (mdwest) a PM and we can talk about a number of different ways to get you plugged in.
ACTIVE FUNDRAISERS
Various auctions in the marketplace
COMPLETED FUNDRAISERS
Wear and show your support with a BOTL Gives Back - Operation Esteli 2014 T-shirt!
https://www.booster.com/operationesteli2014
87 shirts sold - $870 raised!
This post and the subsequent post will be updated frequently. -Eric
Several months ago BradMc (BOTL Charity Liaison) and I entered into a discussion about how BOTL might get involved in some sort of charitable action or initiative that could make a meaningful difference in one of the tobacco growing countries and really impact peoples lives in a positive way. Some of you may know that last year I founded a 501(c)3 Non-Profit called Micro Project Initiative (with much assistance provided by a couple of key BOTL board members along the way). The purpose of this non-profit is pretty simple, to capitalize on a global network of contacts and find ways to deliver low cost, but high yield, sustainable development services in developing countries that improve the lives of children. In short, MPI is NOT a job or a career move really so much as it is a tool that can be used by other groups (such as BOTL) to do good things for good people in communities around the world. It is not intended to “make money”, pay a salary, or do anything other than act as a link between donors and recipients, and help with some of the challenges associated with delivering services into developing countries… Anyway.. the discussions with Brad lead to us speaking with Eric about all that is typed out below… (which he thankfully supports whole heartedly)..
In short…. We’re (BOTL) adopting a classroom full of kids in Esteli!
MPI will act as the vehicle we use to raise funds, offer tax deductible receipts for all donations, etc. and will assist in delivering those funds to Esteli. This however is a BOTL project (just don’t want any confusion about why we’ll be pointing you to the MPI website on occasion for donations or other actions). Everything we do from this point forward is about the BOTL community and what we can achieve as a group.
The school year in Nicaragua runs roughly the same dates as it does in the US. The school day however is only 4 hours long in Esteli. At the mid-day point students are released. The learning environment presented in Esteli schools is inadequate for optimal learning and many school aged children in Esteli also suffer from malnutrition and often limited to only the evening meal at home. In response to these deficiencies in the Nicaragua education system, privately funded Educational Centers such as the Maria Auxiliadora Education Center (MAEC) in Esteli give children a place to go for the remainder of the day to continue with learning subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic. The MAEC even has a small computer lab where children are taught basic computer skills. Children attending classes at MAEC are also fed a nutritious meal as part of the school lunch program which aids in the children’s food security and overall health.
Details on how BOTL is going to make a difference are as follows:
WHO: US! The collective membership of BOTL.
WHAT: Raises $7500 to completely fund a primary school classroom for six months in Esteli, Nicaragua (includes salaries for 2 Primary Education Teachers, teacher training/technical assistance, learning materials, and daily school lunches for all children, and covers all associated project delivery costs).
WHERE: Maria Auxiliadora Education Center, Esteli Nicaragua
WHY: While Estelí enjoys relative prosperity compared to other regions in Nicaragua, poverty still reaches and impacts the population. Almost 25% of the people in Estelí live in extreme poverty by the definition provided by the World Bank (less than US$1.25 per day). Many of the impoverished work in the city´s cigar´s factories. The impact of poverty is evident in the poor standard of education. In Esteli the school day is only 4 hours long, and provides only minimal educational opportunities to children.
The Estelí Education Center provides refuge and opportunity to children living in the city and surrounding rural areas. The center offers support for children in two key areas:
- Primary Education/Education Enrichment: Provides academic support and extracurricular opportunities for children and adolescents to reinforce important subjects like reading and math. The program also includes teacher training and/or technical assistance, distribution of school supplies, and parent engagement.
- Food Security and Nutrition: Seeks to improve the nutritional levels of children and increase the food security within communities through the provision of daily school lunches, school/family garden assistance, and community workshops.
BOTL’s membership has the opportunity to “give back” and help improve the lives of children in a community that has given so much to BOTL membership.
WHEN: WE START RIGHT NOW!
Funds to be distributed no later than September 2014 (actual date to be determined dependent on the availability of BOTL representative for travel and Esteli student group availability).
HOW: We’re going to run a series of fundraising activities over the next couple of months. Expect to see a raffle, an auction, and an opportunity to direct purchase some items (t-shirts, etc) in the coming weeks, with all proceeds going toward our goal (neither BOTL or MPI is taking any money out of this… every penny donated will go toward the execution of this project)..
In the meantime, while we start putting together these fundraising events, if you are so inclined, you can go to the MPI website and click on the “Operation Esteli” donation button located at http://microprojectinitiative.org/donate. DO NOT click on the other, general “donation” button. We want to make sure that there is no co-mingling of funds and that all money intended for Operation Esteli goes directly there (please pay attention and click the correct button!).
Also, please help us SPREAD THE WORD. Go check out BOTL and MPI facebook and like our Operation Esteli posts. Follow both of us on twitter and re-tweet our Operation Esteli messages. Share a link to this thread. Tell your friends and family, etc..etc.. Help us reach our goal and do something meaningful for a poor and impoverished community that has played such a huge role in bringing us happiness and joy. Tell everyone you can, tell them how to join in on the action, and lets make this happen.
Lastly, GET PERSONALLY INVOLVED. Money is not the only thing we need to accomplish this mission. If you cant afford to participate financially, or choose to for any reason at all, that is ABSOLUTELY OK.. but please consider helping out in other ways.. There is a whole lot to do here, and Brad, Eric, and I only have so much time/ability to get it all done ourselves. You don’t need to have any particular skill set or experience. We’d just like as many BOTL members as possible to be a part of this as possible, and welcome any assistance you can provide.
If interested in getting your hands dirty and digging into this thing with us.. shoot me (mdwest) a PM and we can talk about a number of different ways to get you plugged in.
ACTIVE FUNDRAISERS
Various auctions in the marketplace
COMPLETED FUNDRAISERS
Wear and show your support with a BOTL Gives Back - Operation Esteli 2014 T-shirt!
https://www.booster.com/operationesteli2014
87 shirts sold - $870 raised!
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