Hola, Patty here with Big Dreamers School. I have been assisting and working with the founder and principal, Omar Rodas, since February 2018. It has been quite a journey for me to experience first hand what life looks like in rural Honduras. It’s difficult to imagine living in a place where people don’t have running water every day or garbage service to pick up trash...EVER. Many things people living in the US and Canada consider basic needs are simply not available. Governmental and corporate corruption is just a part of everyday life here.

Omar firmly believes that the key to change for Honduras is education. Omar and Big Dreamers are dedicated to making a difference by providing a quality education to the children in these rural communities. Approximately 60% of our students tuition are funded by scholarships and donors like you.

We have 2 fundraising needs at this time:

1. 2022 budget -- We are currently looking at a shortfall of $16,500. If you can make any cash contribution it will help us achieve this goal.

2. We need financial sponsors for the 2023 scholarship program. The scholarship for one child is $125 per month. Can you help by sponsoring all or part of a scholarship?

One of my favorite things about Big Dreamers School is THE TEACHERS! They represent a new generation of Hondurans. We are grateful and happy to have 6 excellent teachers and staff. They not only keep the school running smoothly, they are also role models to our students, working so hard to help break the chain of poverty in their communities. Teaching the children the importance of education and that having a different and better life is a choice.

Just to list a few of the 2022 accomplishments:

• The first round of students to finish 6th grade!

• We have 34 students in the honor roll for 2022 with an average of 90% or better

• And we promoted 8 students from kindergarten to first grade

• We added a second van and driver this year so we now have 2 bus routes each morning and afternoon. The routes have a 20 mile radius picking up kids from many different villages in the area.

Don’t miss this cute video of the sixth graders speaking at the graduation. (touch or click on this link to view it!)

Short video of 6th graders speaking at the graduation

We are proud of the 8 kindergarteners for 2022 who have been promoted to 1st Grade!

WAYS TO GIVE

If you want to make a one time donation, we have 2 options for receiving funds:

Option 1 (no fee): Through Virtu, our US 501(c)3 non-profit partner. Donations made by check and mailed to Virtu. If you write a check please note that it is for BDS so we can make sure it gets to the correct account, (and let us know so we can celebrate!) .

Virtu

14414 SE 184th Pl

Renton, WA 98058

Option 2: through the GoFundMe fundraising site that can be accessed here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/big-dreamers-fundraiser

If you are willing to pledge a monthly contribution toward a scholarship, many people use their online billpay tool to send a check automatically each month. Of course you can also mail a check monthly or give online monthly through the GoFundMe link above. We would value a smaller, repeating monthly payment of $25, $50 or $100 – any amount helps! Please communicate back to me what you are pledging so we can budget accordingly.

Donations made either through GoFundMe or Virtu are tax deductible and you will receive a tax receipt via email or US Mail.

We are also looking for volunteers that can help with teaching in person or virtual classrooms, marketing, accounting and business administration. Please let us know if you want to participate as a volunteer or to visit the school in person.

Thanks so much for your continued support, time and attention.