Our Nauset Rotary Club recently partnered with the Falk Foundation and the YMCA of the Dominican Republic to help fund a pre-school project in the community of Don Gregorio.
Nauset Rotary matched a $5,000 contribution from the Falk Foundation to help establish and fund the first year of operations for the pre- school.
Pictured are Jennifer Falk; Executive Director Falk Foundation, Andres Fortunato; YMCA of the Dominican Republic and Jon Leonard; President 2023-2024 Nauset Rotary
NAUSET ROTARY CLUB ISSUES CHALLENGE GRANT
TO FUND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS TO YMCA DAY CARE
IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Fulfilling Rotary International’s 2023-2024 theme – Create Hope In The World – the Rotary Club of Nauset (Orleans, Massachusetts) has issued a challenge grant of $5,000.00 to the Falk Foundation for Education of Eastham, Massachusetts to fund capital improvements to a YMCA daycare facility in the Dominican Republic. The Nauset Rotary Club grant will be leveraged by the Foundation to raise $10,000 for the project in the Caribbean nation.
The preschool and daycare project is managed by the YMCA of The Dominican Republic ( Asociacion Christiana De Jovenes ). The Falk Foundation has partnered with Dominican national YMCA over the past decade to enhance early childhood education in the community of Don Gregorio, a humble village 60 kilometers south of the capital city of Santo Domingo.
This Rotary international service initiative will renovate a YMCA building (replace the roof, paint and refurbish interior space), construct new bathrooms for boys and girls, and install a pump to provide a reliable source of potable water, according to YMCA National CEO Andres Fortunato. Fortunato is a Past President of the Santo Domingo Rotary Club.
“Over the Nauset Rotary Club’s 83-year history, the club has established an impactful legacy of service to local Outer Cape Cod communities, as well as global projects – notable among them the Rotary International initiative to eradicate polio worldwide”, notes President Jon Leonard. “The opportunity to leverage the club’s Good Works Fund to improve the lives of children in one of the hemisphere’s most economically-challenged regions is very gratifying”.
Jennifer Falk, Executive Director of the Cape Cod-based Falk Foundation notes that the Dominican Republic government has committed to support this project with furniture, equipment, utilities, and office supplies in the first year of operation. The government will also provide breakfast, snack and lunch for the 200 children ages 2 to 5 years old served by the YMCA daycare facility.
Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. The Rotary Club of Nauset meets weekly on Tuesdays at 7:30 AM at the Gibson-Sotheby Realty Office at 6 MA 6A in Orleans. For more information on the Nauset Rotary Club visit https://www.nausetrotary.org or visit our Facebook Page: Rotary Club of Nauset/Orleans.
Story Credit: Richard Foot and Bruce Brockway
To help support the Good Works of the Rotary Club of Nauset (Orleans) contributions can be made online by using the QR code displayed below.