From Judy Greenberg, President of the Board of Directors of the DREAM Project

"Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle... You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second law of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

Martin Luther King Jr.

This quote is an inspiration to me. After my first visit to the Dominican Republic nine years ago, I was very moved by the children I met there, and by their friendly, warm openness, and the openhearted invitation they gave us to visit their homes and their families. Their passion about the books my children brought down with them inspired my whole family to do something useful for them in return. With the help and guidance of Tricia Suriel, we began collecting school supplies, books in Spanish, and children's clothing here at home in Vermont. I talked to all the classes in my kids' schools, to the local Jewish Community Center, and the local newspapers. Everyone seemed so anxious and delighted to donate something!

They felt good about giving donations and we felt great to have the privilege of delivering them to the local schools around the Cabarete area. I started a not-for-profit so that people could make tax-deductible donations. One thing has led to another, and with the blessings, support, and help of so many wonderful folks, the DREAM Project began. I want to take this opportunity, as the president of the Board of Directors, to invite you to participate in this growing undertaking.

The best thing about the Project is that it will make you feel good to serve and help others. It makes the recipients feel good about the value of what they receive and its immediate and long-term impact on their life. Thank you so much for your support in whatever forms it takes!

US Embassy Honors Tricia Thorndike Suriel

On July 12 the American Embassy in Santo Domingo awarded Tricia Thorndike Suriel the "Distinguished American Citizen Award".

The award reads:

"Your tireless efforts on behalf of the Dominican people exemplify the very best of American values and reflect honorably on you and your country".
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic July 4 2003

Tricia is the executive director of the DREAM Project.

Cabarete's First Computer Lab

Vela Windsurfing school and Velero Beach Resort have teamed up to bring the first computer lab to our community. The computer lab will be situated in the library at the Puerto Cabarete School. We will have 6 computers and will be offering evening classes. We will have 2 volunteers working in the library starting in September.

Mario Magnan, general manager of Velero Beach Resort and our committee leader for the Puerto Cabarete School, not only organized a fundraiser at Velero on Canada Day, but also gave lunch and baseball uniforms to a group of boys who in turn spent three days picking up garbage on the entire bay of Cabarete. They were led by Mario Velero who has painted the school and filled in the yard with gravel. Starting August 15, Velero will supply the Puerto Cabarete school with 24-hour power!

New Classrooms & Facilities at Callejón de la Loma

On July 1 we started construction at the Callejon de la Loma School. Four new class rooms are being built, as well as bathrooms with running water. Just think, four years ago they did not even have a latrine at this school! Now every child in Cabarete will be able to attend school! The new addition to the Calejon school was made possible by a generous grant from John and Leslie Taylor. They came to Cabarete and went on an Iguana Mama bike tour and learned about the DREAM Project.

While staying at Coconut Palms resort, they saw a picture of the plans for the school that was designed by Margoon Kassam. He and his wife Patty have been on a crusade to get funding to build the addition to the school, as well as a playground. Thanks to their work and the Taylors', the school was completed. Hans Nanny, a long time resident of Cabarete, donated an additional sum that allowed us to build bathrooms and bring running water to the school. Richard Weber worked especially hard to coordinate all of the construction and permits. Thank you to all of the other volunteers who have been involved to make this Dream come true.

"Golf-A-Thon" Raises Money for DREAM Project

A recent visitor to Cabarete came away so impressed with the local kids and the DREAM Project that he went home and organized a charity golf event to benefit them. Dave Noland, a free-lance magazine writer, golfer, and former marathoner, vacationed in Cabarete for a week in April with his wife and 7-year old daughter, and got to know Tricia and Tatianna. Upon his return home to Cornwall New York, he came up with the idea of a "golf-a-thon" fund-raiser. Friends, local golfers, and businesses made pledges ranging from 10 cents to $2.00 for every hole Dave managed to play in one day.

He teed off at dawn on June 30 at Storm King Golf Club in Cornwall. By dusk, fifteen hours later, with the help of a fleet of electric golf carts and a cadre of volunteer drivers and ball-spotters, he had completed 216 holes--twelve rounds of 18 holes--and raised more than $5,000 for DREAM and a local children's charity group. Noland's scores ranged from 82 to 94, and he took two 20-minute breaks to eat and one 45-minute pause to swim in a nearby pool and recharge his batteries.

Donations are still coming in, and it's not too late to make your own contribution. Check out this link to find out how you can donate.

Sponsor a Child at Flavia Vidal's School

For $250 dollars a year you can sponsor a child to go to Flavia Vidal's school. This school is unique to our community because of Flavia's (the director) dedication to all of the children. There is no maid, like at the public schools; the children are taught to pick up and clean the school. More than half of the families that have students in the school cannot afford to pay tuition.

By providing scholarships, we will aid the school to become self-sufficient. Your $250 donation provides a child with cost of tuition, transportation, books, school supplies, back pack .The names and photos of the children who need sponsors will be on our website in August. Special thanks to Maribel Perez, Mike Gussack and Julius Geier for your involvement to get this program running. Anyone who is interested in Sponsoring a child, please contact us as soon as possible.

We are currently trying to raise $14,000 US so that 2 more classrooms can be added this school year. Due to lake of space, the children in the 6th grade may not be able to continue at her school if we do not get this funding.

Welcome our new Program Coordinator

The first of September Adam Kipp a graduate of Dartmouth College and a volunteer at Flavia Vidal's school last summer, will be our first full time program coordinator. He will be living in Cabarete and working directly with our volunteers and the teachers of the schools to help develop new curriculum as well as implement the curriculum that the government has already designed. Adam will be working to get our sports program off the ground, as well as working with UNICEF to start to implement a basic Hygiene program in the schools.

Sports for Girls and Boys

October will commence with our first all girls and all boys soccer league in Cabarete, we will be using the baseball field until a better location can be provided. 8 weeks of soccer will be followed in February by 8 weeks of baseball!

Thanks all of you who have brought down sports equipment. , Ryan Carruths a professional soccer player and brother of Dartmouth volunteer Ashley will be head coach for the program. Ian Wilson from Wilson's Beach Houses has already helped to get the baseball program started. We will need all the local support we can get for T-shirts, equipment and lots of volunteers. This is a very important program since it will affect a very large group of girls and boys. Focus will be on good sports manship and self esteem. Special attention will be made to get as many girls involved as we can.

Volunteers

A special thank you to The Tucker Foundation of Darthmouth College which has supported forty volunteers in Cabarete to date. Our number of volunteers is growing fast! We now have volunteers signed up to work in our projects from the following nations: Germany, Belgium, US, Canada, Norway, and Dominican Republic.

We are requiring a $35 application fee, 3 letters of recommendation, a letter stating why you want to volunteer, a resume, and a minimum of 10-week commitment. If you or some one you know is interested, please mail the above to: DREAM Project, P.O. Box 4136, Ithaca, NY 14852, USA.

We thank those of you who helped out this winter and spring and look forward to working together with our new volunteers for the 2003-2004 school year.

THANK YOU - Merit Jacobsen, Alison Bullard, Patricia Castro-Vega, Heidi Dewil, Wendy Ingelbosch, Sandy Praster, Robert Baca, Alex Robbins, Ashley Carruths, Ryan Carruths, Kristen Briggs, Megan Howe, Omar Guzman, Diane Booth, Howard Booth, Brendan Murphy, Heather Sumrell, Linda Luder and Jennifer Wile.

Pen Pal Program off to a Good Start

As of this Spring, 140 students participated in our first pen pal exchange to and from the DR and New York State. This project has been initiated by the hard work of Mr. Ed Esposito and his wife, Sheila Harmon.

The following schools have participated: Friends Academy, East Meadow, and Northport High schools all from Long Island, NY, as well as EAC Montessori School in Ithaca New York. Sheila is helping to design this program, so that hundreds of schools will be able to get involved in this wonderful cross culture experience. More information will be on the web site this fall.

A very special thanks to all of our founding partners

Supporting Partners

Active Cabarete
Cabarete Beach Houses ~ Tel: (809) 571-0744
Carib Bic Windsurf Center ~ Tel : (809) 571 0640
Debbie's Dominican Travel
Guzman Ariza & Asociados~ Tel: (809) 571-2880
Haciendas El Choco ~ Tel: (809) 571-2932
Home Key Management ~ Tel: (809) 571-0370
Iguana Mama ~ Tel: (800) 571-0908
Remax Dominican Republic Real Estate ~ Tel: (809) 571-2604
Sea Horse Ranch ~ Tel: (809) 571-3880
Vela Windsurf Center ~ Tel: (809) 571-0805
Velero Beach Resort ~ Tel: (809)- 571-9727

Partners

Alta Gracia - Amber Coast Adventures - Blue Moon - Café Cito - DRpure.com - Hotel Caracol - Juan Perdomo Century 21 - L'Agence Real Estate - Olas de Oro - Otra Cosa Restaurant - Palm Beach Condos - Puerto Plata Report - Wilson's Beach House - Windsurf Resort - Beat and Theares Wyler