Donations by Businesses and Charitable Organisations

Stichting Help Sosuakids Naar School Foundation

In April 2012 we were presented with a further donation, of 4,400 euros from the Dutch foundation Stichting Help Sosuakids Naar School.  The presentation was made to us at a Sosua Kids Board meeting by the foundation's President, Sylvia Berkley, who was on one of her regular visits to Sosua.  This donation follows an earlier one of 3,600 euros last September, which means that, in addition to help given to us in earlier years, we have received  a total of 8,000 euros from the foundation in this school year alone.  We are so grateful to Sylvia and her foundation for the continued significant help which they have given us for several years.

Beyond The Beach Childrens' Foundation

On Thursday 2 February 2012 visiting members of the Canada-based childrens' foundation, Beyond The Beach held a "meet and greet" meeting in Costambar for representatives of the various local childrens' charities which the foundation supports.  At this meeting Sosua Kids was presented with a wonderful donation consisting of a bankers' draft for US$ 1,000 and 27 specially hand-made backpacks, suitable for younger children, filled with supplies.

Beyond The Beach President and Vice-President, Olive Thompson and Chris Willott (centre) present the bank draft to our Secretary John Bosworth and Treasurer Jenni Paulger

Beyond The Beach is a longstanding supporter of Sosua Kid (please scroll down this page for information about the help they have given us in the last two years).  We continue to be immensely grateful for the support which members of Beyond The Beach give us and for their confidence in our work.

The Jolly Roger Bar, Sosua

Sosua Kids is one of several local charities which benefit from regular donations from The Jolly Roger Bar, Sosua, mainly from funds raised by its popular Tuesday afternoon Bingo Games.  So far this school year (i.e. between 1 August 2011 and 31 January 2012) we have received donations amounting to 14,500 pesos through this game.  Thank you to all concerned!

The Britannia Pub, Sosua

In June 2011 The Britannia Pub in Sosua started a weekly Thursday-afternoon Pub Trivia Game with the intention of supporting local charities and Sosua Kids is one of three charities to benefit.  The game soon became very popular and in the period between 1 August 2011 and 30 April 2012 we received donations totalling 27,450 pesos.  Again, Thank you to everyone concerned!

Support for 2011 Christmas Fun Fair

Our Christmas Fair on 17 December 2011 was made possible by sponsorship donations from a wide range of local businesses as listed in the following poster.  The Fair raised 118,000 pesos to support our work.

Thank you also to Casa Linda, whose sponsorship donation was received after this poster had gone to press.

More Help From The Stichting Help Sosuakids Naar School Foundation

We are so grateful for a further donation of 3,600 euros (equivalent to 182,880 pesos) presented to us in by Sylvia Berkley on behalf of her Foundation during her visit to Sosua in September 2011.  The support given to us by Sylvia and her Foundation over a number of years has been invaluable in enabling us to develop our work to its current extent.

A Further Donation from Music For Good

Thank you to Music For Good, the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based organisation, for a further donation of $200 Canadian presented to our President, Janet Williams by Christopher Daw on 6 August 2011.

AFFH (Academy For Future Health)

On Thursday 16 June 2011 members of the AFFH group, based in La Mulatta, presented a generous donation of 4,000 pesos plus school supplies to Sosua Kids President and Vice-President Janet Williams and Barb Andersen.

Janet and Barb receive the donation from AFFH members Michael Salb and Ulrich Muhl,

Sosua Kids is of course very grateful for this donation in support of our work.  For more information about AFFH click on this link.

Amber Coast Realty

Coldwell Banker Amber Coast Realty has generously provided sponsorship of 3,000 pesos towards the set-up costs of our 2011 Easter Family Day which will raise further founds to support our work.

Kiteboarding For Kids Competition 2011

For the third year running Sosua Kids has received a generous donation from money raised by the annual annual Kiteboarding For Kids (KB4K) competition held in Cabarete.  Our President and Vice-President, Janet Williams and Barb Anderson, attended the event's closing ceremony on Sunday 13 March 2011 where they were presented with a cheque for 1,000 dollars.  This is enough to enable us to put 25 children into school for one year.

The competition is held specifically to raise money for charities working with kids in the Cabarete area.  This year eleven local charities benefited from the event.  For more information about the competition, its sponsors and beneficiaries, visit the competition web site.

Needless to say, Sosua Kids is again immensely grateful for the help given to us by these generous kiteboarders.

SK President and Vice-President, Janet Williams and Barb Andersen, with the cheque donated by KB4K.

"Whose Wives Are They Anyway?"

The production of this play, presented at The Sosua Convention Centre on 25 and 26 February 2011, was a great success.  The large audiences at the two performances clearly enjoyed themselves and the play produced a healthy financial surplus which was distributed among four local charities.  Sosua Kids was very grateful to receive a donation of 30,000 pesos (sufficient to put 20 children in school for a year).  Thank you to the actors and everyone else concerned in the production!

In addition we were able to use the opportunity to earn a little more money for Sosua Kids.  For details see the Recent Events page of this web site.

Beyond The Beach Helps Us Again

Beyond the Beach, the international charitable foundation based in Canada, has supported Sosua Kids again with a generous donation of $1,500 plus some school supplies.  This was presented to our President, Janet Williams, by Olive Thompson, President of Beyond The Beach who was visiting Sosua, on Tuesday 1 February 2011.  It follows similarly generous support given to us by the foundation in previous years.  We are of course extremely grateful for this continuing support for our work.

The stated mission of Beyond The Beach is to "encourage travellers to make their journeys more than just vacations; to reach beyond the beach and assist us in equipping the children of the Dominican Republic with the tools necessary for learning and living, dreaming and achieving; to empower the children to free themselves from the restraints of poverty & lack of opportunity, and decide their own futures".  We at Sosua Kids are proud that our work is valued as contributing to this inspiring mission.

Sosua Kids President Janet Williams receives the donation from Olive Thompson, President of Beyond The Beach.

Support for 2010 Christmas Fun Fair

A wide range of businesses and local organisations, identified in the following poster which was posted at The Fair, provided sponsorship or other support which made The Fair possible and thereby helped us raise over 70,000 pesos to fund the provision of school uniforms and supplies to underprivileged children.

The North Coast Charity Golf Classic Continues Its Support

The Third Annual North Coast Charity Golf Classic, held at Playa Dorada on 9 October 2010, resulted in the organisers making a donation to Sosua Kids of 93,600 pesos. (Another local charity also received a donation of the same amount).  We are of course extremely grateful for this wonderful donation.  To see some photos of the event, please click here.

First Donation from Music For Good

At the meeting of the Sosua Kids Board (Junta Directiva) held on 8 September 2010, Christopher Daw presented us with a cheque for Canadian $ 207 on behalf of the Music For Good organisation based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  This donation, resulting from a recent fund-raising event, was the first payment from a programme which Music For Good hopes will provide us with sufficient funding to support 250 children with the costs of their uniforms and supplies so that they are allowed to attend school.  Thank you to all those involved with Music For Good.  

Sylvia's Foundation Helps Us Again

Our friend Sylvia Berkley has recently given us a further donation of 162,000 pesos raised by supporters of her foundation Stichting Help Sosuakids naar School, which is based in The Netherlands.  The donation was presented to us on 17 May 2010 by Sylvia on one of her regular visits to Sosua.   It brings the total donated by Sylvia and her foundation since last October to a magnificent 237,000 pesos

As always we are so grateful to Sylvia and her friends for their continuing support for our work.  Thankyou!

Sylvia in discussion with Sosua Kids Board member Jenni Paulger

 Calego International

Sosua Kids is grateful to Calego International, a Canadian licensing company specialising in childrens' bags and accessories, for a generous donation of childrens' backpacks.  Thank you!

Rotary Club of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

We thank the Rotary Club of Mississauga and its members for the donation of $Canadian 1,000, presented to us in January 2010. This converted to 31,000 pesos which, at current costs, is sufficient to fund 20 school uniforms and supplies for poor children in the Sosúa area.

Kiteboarding 4 Kids

Sosua Kids is very grateful to the organizers of the Kiteboarding 4 Kids event in Cabarete, 12 - 14 February 2010,  for their donation to us of US$ 1,000 from the funds raised by this event which were distributed to several local charities.  This donation follows the support given to us by KB4K after their first annual event in 2009.  Thankyou to all KB4K organisers and participants for the help they have provided to Sosua Kids and other local charities!

Sosua Kids President, Karen Conquergood, and two representatives of other charities awaiting the presentation of donations.

An expectant audience (moved indoors because of the weather) also waits for the presentations.

Beyond The Beach Continues Its Support

The Canadian-based foundation Beyond The Beach, which raises money to help the children of this part of the North Coast of The Dominican Republic, invited members of Sosua Kids and of two other local charities (Mustard Seed and The Dream Project) to a reception at Playa Dorada Golf Course on 26 January 2010.  At this reception each of the three charities was presented with a donation of US$ 1,500 plus supplies appropriate to the work of the individual charities.

Sosua Kids is grateful and proud that Beyond The Beach continues to regard us as worthy of its support.

Our President, Karen Conquergood, receives the donation from Olive Thompson and Chris Willott, President and Vice-President of Beyond The Beach.

Please look at our Gallery for some further photos of this event.

A Generous Donation by The North Coast Players

The North Coast Players have made us a wonderful donation of 19,650 pesos, being our share of the money raised for local charities by their recent production of "Wait Until Dark" at The Casa Marina Amphitheatre.

The letter from Judith Fox-Hogg, Founder of The North Coast Players, which accompanied the donation stated "We recognize your Charity as being an important one in this community and hope we will always be able to contribute in some way"

Sosua Kids is of course extremely grateful for the donation and congratulates The North Coast Players and their helpers on this successful first production which proved to be such an effective fundraiser for local charities.

The donation was formally presented to us on 1 December 2009 at the Sosúa office of West Indies Real Estate by Mary Kay Ballack and Linda Stapleton on behalf of The North Coast Players.

The photo shows (from left to right) Linda Stapleton, Janet Williams (Sosua Kids Treasurer) and Karen Conquergood (Sosua Kids President)

A New Notice Board for Sosua Kids

Marje and Jim Hughes of Sosúa, together with Jim's business partner Dave Hudson, recently presented Sosua Kids with a portable notice-board, made by Dave and Jim.  This generous gift will enable Sosua Kids to have a much more effective presence at fund-raising and other local events. It made its first outing at the recent performances of "Wait Until Dark" at the Casa Marina Amphitheatre.

The photo above shows Dave and Jim presenting the notice-board to Sosua Kids fundraiser Sue Bryans.  The photo below shows the sort of information that we can make available on the board.

(Note:  Examples of Dave and Jim's furniture etc. can normally be seen at The Jolly Roger "Thieves Market" on alternate Saturdays).

Another Generous Donation From The Isle of Man

On 18 September 2009 a group of our supporters based at The Heron Pub on The Isle of Man, presented us with cheques amounting to £1,900.  Click here to see some photos of this event, which took place at The Britannia Bar, Sosua.  This money had been raised by a variety of fund-raising events which we understand included a social evening at The Heron, a "Guess How Much Money in The Bottle" competition and an auction of some items linked to the famous Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.  Thank you to everybody on The Isle of Man who contributed to this generous donation.

See also our Fundraising Events page information on other income received as a result of events organised by or on behalf of Sosua Kids.