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Help continue "Dreams of Sand" during the pandemic

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Hello, my name is Clery. I am originally from Peru, and currently living in San Francisco, California. My dear friends Rossana and Dito started the project "Dreams of Sand" in 2016 in the community of Huacachina in Ica-Peru. The project aims to empower youth and improve their quality of life by way of sandboarding. They use the sport to teach them to surpass themselves and cultivate the importance of discipline, respect, perseverance, teamwork, and much more. Most of the participants live in situations of social vulnerability, including the children of the INABIF organization (youth refuge in Ica). 

Dreams of Sand gives the kids access to a free sports program organizing the following activities:

-Sandboard lessons twice a week in the dunes of Huacachina.
-Physical and mental conditioning.
-Motivational speeches destined to boost self-esteem and foster improvement.
-Workshops focused on developing values and supporting career development.
-Active involvement of the child's close friends and family in the group workshops and attending training sessions.       
-Environmental education activities, like picking up trash from the desert.
-Provision of nutritional supplements, and full meals for participants in most need. 

How can you help?

The project has been run by the Snowboard & Sandboard Xsports Club Peru and financed by the company Dito Sand Xsports - Professional Sandboard & Sand ski School, which caters to adventure tourism. However, in light of the coronavirus pandemic that mostly interrupted international and domestic tourism, their only source of income was severed. Subsequently, they find themselves without sufficient resources to maintain Dreams of Sand and the livelihoods of instructors involved in the project. With the help of even the smallest donation, they will aim to cover:

-The wages of 3 instructors
-A child psychologist to facilitate group workshops and provide individual support to participants during this difficult time.
-The rent for the sandboard school premises that stores the appropriate equipment for the activities (board, boots, bindings, helmets, back protection, wax, etc.).
-The costs of food for youth. Furthermore, your contribution will help them assist the families of participants in most need of critical support with food supplies. 

Additionally, your support will help them implement adequate precautions related to the prevention of the spread of COVID 19 to participants and staff. The safety measures will include:

-Providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves.
-Disinfecting the Sandboard School premises, before and after using. 
-Teaching participants about disinfecting the equipment and take the opportunity to educate on and promote safety practices for their daily lives.
-Using the sport as a way to fortify their mental health throughout this traumatic and tumultuous pandemic.
-Reducing the number of children per instructor from 10 to 5 will ensure physical distancing, and adding instructors and sessions so that all students may benefit from the program. Concurrently, this will help maintain the livelihood of the instructors and their families.

The entirety of the donations will be destined for Dreams of Sand, to run the project for the duration of the pandemic until they can go back to financing it themselves. We understand that times are difficult for everyone around the world, and we would greatly appreciate any contribution you can provide. Your solidarity is admirable, and if you cannot afford to help, thank you for showing interest in the project and in what we do out here in the Peruvian desert. Feel free to share the message with other open-minded individuals out there!

Who is leading the activities?

Dito Victor Chavez, 4-time sandboard world champion, the first Peruvian ever qualified to a Snowboard World Championships (Park City 2019 USA). He used to be a resident of INABIF himself (youth refuge in Ica) during his childhood.  Right now, he is training to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Beijing 2022, which the International Olympic Committee and Peruvian Olympic Committee supported. Dito is also the head coach of "Dreams of Sand," inspiring the youths never to give up no matter what and being the director responsible for the project since 2015.

For more information about Dreams of Sand, please visit:

https://www.dito-sandxsports.com/sand-xsports/social-projects-suenos-de-arena/?v=1d7f01208cb3
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Donations 

  • Paulette Zaki
    • $200 
    • 3 yrs
  • Miguel Becerra
    • $25 
    • 3 yrs
  • Clara von der Ropp
    • $25 
    • 3 yrs
  • Spencer Tessier
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
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Fundraising team: Dreams of Sand (4)

Clery Villacrez
Organizer
Raised $1,453 from 21 donations
San Francisco, CA
Alejandro Veliz
Team member
Raised $284 from 7 donations
Rossana Rodriguez Rodriguez
Team member
Raised $110 from 3 donations
Victor Chavez
Team member
This team raised $3,253 from 52 other donations.

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