CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS . . .
A little girl runs along a hot, sunny beach at low
tide,
throwing parched starfish towards the sea.
An adult, observing that there are thousands
of marooned starfish, tells the girl,
“There are too many for you to make a difference.”
Picking up one more starfish, the girl answers,
“I will make a difference for this one.”
Nicaraguan School Children Project
Paul’s oldest sister Susan (there are eight sisters in all),
raises money to send impoverished children to school in Nicaragua. When she
first began, it cost $75 for each child. With experience, she has gotten that
cost down to $50 for each child, including uniforms, shoes, and supplies. The average daily wage is only $4 a day, so
most families struggle to send even one child to class.
We
donate all of the Botrytis Riesling tasting fees ($2.00 per taste) and also 10%
of the gross sales of the Botrytis Riesling. With your help, we raised $5000 in
2005, 2006, and 2007 and have a goal of $7000 for 2008. If you are interested
in donating directly to the project, please make checks payable to “IHCenter/1
Starfish” and send them to our winery address below or visit www.1starfish.org for more
information.
Susan
pays all of her own expenses, overhead, and administration costs so ALL of the donations go straight to the
school project. In 2006 we bought sewing machines and began producing all the
uniforms. Now two women have full-time jobs and are earning triple the average
Nicaraguan wage and we cut the cost per child by one third.
In 2001,
when Susan started this project, she outfitted 25 kids. We were able to outfit
126 kids for the 2008 school year. This year the fundraising is on target to
reach 300 kids and provide a third job. The eventual goal is to ensure that all
1000 children in San Jorge will be able to go to school.
Here is
a letter from Susan regarding her project:
Dear
Friends,
Muchas gracias for your help and generosity. To your credit in 2008, 126 impoverished Nicaraguan kids are
going to school, completely outfitted with uniforms, shoes, and supplies. This
year, their families will eat a little better because they won’t have to choose
between school and food.
In addition, two local women are now employed sewing the
uniforms. This way, the benefits of your donations are reaching further into
the small community of San Jorge.
It’s heartbreaking to personally know six-year-old children
who spend their days hustling chewing gum and bottled water in the street so
that they can earn money for their next plate of rice. Without school, these
little ones have no chance.
Thanks so much for giving at least 126 of them a future.
Love
and thanks,
Susan
D.
More detailed information
The
mission is to equip all impoverished children in San Jorge, Nicaragua, with
school uniforms and supplies so they can attend school and to create sewing
jobs within the same community.
Nicaragua,
the second poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has free public schools,
but families must provide basic supplies like clothing, notebooks, and pens. It
costs about $50 per year to outfit one child, which for many people is more
than one month's salary and therefore an insurmountable obstacle. Currently an
education is an impossible dream for about half of the children in San Jorge
(pop. 5000). The purpose of this project is to ensure that all San Jorge
children can be equipped with the basic supplies necessary to attend school and
to stimulate the local economy by creating sewing jobs.
The goal
of the project is to raise money and then purchase and distribute uniforms and supplies
at the start of each school year in January. In 2001, the first goal of
sponsoring 25 students was attained. Fundraising has grown and it has been
possible to outfit more kids each year. We outfitted 126 kids for the 2008
school year. Future goals are to sponsor 300 students in 2009 and 400 in 2010.
So far,
the project has raised an average of $5,000 a year from family and friends. In
2005, it was possible to purchase sewing machines and construct a sewing shop
with a special donation designated for job creation. We currently employ two
San Jorge women who make all of the uniforms. As the project expands, we hope
to create more sewing jobs as we approach the goal of outfitting 1,000 kids for
school. All purchases of materials are made as locally as possible with the
idea of recirculating donated money within the
community as long as possible.
My
interest in conditions in Nicaragua developed when writing my University of
Washington undergraduate thesis on the Nicaraguan Contra War. In 1999, it was
possible to spend the year as an orphanage volunteer for Nuestros
Pequeños Hermanos in San
Jorge. It was appalling to learn that many children in the community did not
attend the free public schools because they could not afford the required
clothing and supplies.
San
Jorge is a community of approximately 5,000, half of whom are under 15 years
old. Due to lack of industry, there are few jobs and widespread, extreme
poverty. The main hopes for improving individual lives and increasing options
for the community are education and job creation (i.e. more seamstresses).
As the
project grows, literacy will increase and there will be hope for a better
future. For example, living standards have improved dramatically for the
families of both of our seamstresses. All of their children have enough to eat
and attend school. One of the older girls is a first-year university student.
This
project also has an important and growing impact on my own community in
Washington State. Many friends, family members, and business owners are
involved in advising, planning, fundraising, and implementation. Some of the
San Jorge students are matched with particular donors and this has encouraged
activism in a very personal and satisfying way.
While
working in San Jorge as a volunteer at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos orphanage in
1999, I saw a specific need that could realistically be met. Upon returning
home, I began developing a modest plan to help all the children of the
orphanage employees. With a lot of assistance from 20 generous individuals, the
plan became a reality and we outfitted 25 children for the 2001 school year.
In
subsequent years, the program grew to include more students, local uniform manufacturing,
and local purchasing of supplies. In 2005, we contacted people with other
sewing projects in Nicaragua. With a group of San Jorge seamstresses, we were
able to visit two projects with the goal of obtaining a more specific vision,
personal connections, and local expertise. We received encouragement and advice
from the projects’ personnel in Cardenas and Santo Tomás.
There has been incredible support from the people of San Jorge who have shared
their expertise, their homes, and their lives with many of those who have
worked on this project. It has been a privilege and a lot of fun becoming
involved, so much so that in 2006, I quit my job and sold my house to make it
possible to devote enough time and resources to the project.
Thank you to all of you for being so generous with our
charitable project.
Think
Pink – Drink Pink – Tastes Good – Does Good! October 1-31, 2008
October is Breast
Cancer Awareness Month. Our Rosé Paradiso is our way
to make a difference during the month of October. One dollar ($1) of single
bottle purchases and $25 from full-case sales will be donated to Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to assist in finding ways to alleviate and
cure breast cancer. Your wine will be even more pleasurable and satisfying to
drink.
And thank you very much for buying our
wine!!
Come
taste the wines of Paradise!
Paul & Barbara
COME TASTE
Paradisos del Sol
www.paradisosdelsol.com
509.829.9000
509.829.5590
Updated