IMPROVE SCHOOL FOR 700 DOMINICAN STUDENTS IN NEED

Dear donor, please receive a warm greeting. No doubt, your contribution to this project plays a key role in achieving the educational goals of hundreds of young people from vulnerable communities of the tourist destination of Punta Cana.

We remain focused on getting better life conditions for the students and all of the members of the Ann & Ted Kheel Polytechnic School in the community of Veron, through the improvement of this educational center.

Your support has made a great difference in this process !.

We are delighted to inform to you about the recent achievements:

• In the last July we held the 18th graduation ceremony, in which 69 youth were graduated from high school, some students and teachers were awarded for their performance. It was a meaningful and emotional ceremony, as always. We were also very happy because we used the newly built events room. The director of the school exhorted the graduates to never forget the human values that were instilled in them.

• The school staff took advantage of the summer vacation to elaborate the calendar of the training activities for the teachers and the co-curricular activities for the students, among others. After an evaluation of the technicians, the maintenance labors of the facilities were accomplished ( outdoor painting, land scape, among others)

• The 2023-2024 school year started in the last August. Due to the shortage of schools in the region, our educational center started to offer the second grade of middle school ; in addition to the high school education

• 4 students participated for a month in the summer internship ”Veranitos” at Grupo Puntacana company (specifically in the areas of technology and water and electricity supply). It is a wonderful vocational program that supports the future generation of professionals on their way to success.

• Our vegetable garden was inaugurated with the presence of the Israeli ambassador to the DR and executives from Fundacion Grupo Puntacana and Save the Children. Thanks to the partnership of these entities this vegetable garden was developed. Using Israeli drip irrigation technology, it integrates students so that with an education and follow-up program they learn to cultivate and harvest the land through the proper use of resources and respect for the environment.

• Thanks to the partnership with the Junior Acchievement entity, we started the Digital Woman program, which is offering the opportunity to 25 female students to change their lives and reach new levels of economic and professional development through technical skills training in areas such as financial education, design of web pages, coding, cybersecurity, among others.

Please see the pictures attached to this report .

In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project. If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

Thank you very much again for your support, we really appreciate it !

Best wishes !

Dear donor, please accept a warm greeting. Thank you for your donation, we are thrilled to have your support. Through your donation we have been able to accomplish many goals and continue working towards to offering an affordable and quality education that fosters the professional and personal development of the young beneficiaries. You truly make the difference to us, and we are extremely grateful!

This and all the reports to follow will update you periodically on our progress and how your donation work in the community of Veron, at the eastern region of the Dominican Republic.

This project makes it possible for over 300 Dominican students from low-income families attend the educational center with the objective of preparing them for workforce development and helping them get placed in jobs. The students receive a technical degree in the areas of Maintenance (Refrigeration / Electricity), Waiter and Bartender, Computer Science and Cooking. In addition, it has an English language teaching program and co-curricular activities (art, culture, community service, environmental education)

We are striving to provide a comprehensive and complete education, in order to obtain the best training for students, because not only cognitive development is important, but also emotional and physical. We are promoting a program that includes both educational and formative aspects: intellectual, physical, artistic, social or emotional, thus providing students with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life.

We are delighted to share with you the recent achievements:

• We are developing an innovative vegetable garden thanks to a collaboration agreement with the Israeli embassy in the DR and Save the Children

• Students of the waiter and bartender skills course benefited from a Marketing and Customer Service workshop led by Starbucks representatives.

• 3 students participated in the regional edition United Nations model conducted by the DR Ministry of Education

• 15 students attended to the Harvard Glee Club concert at Puntacana Village and had the opportunity to chat with the members of this famous musical choir an learn from their experiences  

• 45 students participated in beach cleaning days in the Bávaro area

In the other hand, we are expanding the facilities of the school by building new 4 classrooms due to the current ones are insufficient to meet the growing demand of the community. The new versatile space will also be used as a multipurpose room when necessary.

Please see the pictures attached to this report

In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project.

If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

Thank you very much again for your support, we truly appreciate it !

Best wishes !