Hola familia!

Ahead of my 28th birthday and Giving Tuesday I'm making it a goal to raise $2,800 for Lazos Al Futuro before the end of the year. I know that this is an incredibly busy and expensive time of the year and I promise you that even $5 goes a long way. I have felt inspired and motivated over the last year and a half by all that we've been able to accomplish with Lazos Al Futuro. We became a certified 501 c3 in June, opened two offices in Santiago and Luperon, and have successfully prepared all 30 of our youth leaders with backpacks and school supplies for the academic year. We are committed to removing as many barriers of entry for our youth leaders but cannot do it without YOU! Most of the organization's expansion has come from birthday fundraisers like this one and our own paychecks. My family, our board of directors, and our staff are committed to the work, our youth leaders, and the mission to continue to elevate, mentor, and sponsor the leaders of tomorrow in my home country Dominican Republic.

I'll share my own personal story in case it helps. My mom brought my sister and me to the United States when we were 8 and 10. By bringing us here she made it easier for us to have opportunities and access to better education, programs, and careers. The goal for Lazos Al Futuro is to be able to funnel some of that access to kids back home. Our own grandmother had to quit school in the third grade because she only had one pair of shoes. Out of a thousand students that start kindergarten in the Dominican Republic, about 219 will actually graduate from high school. We want to help increase those rates and level the playing field for our youth leaders. Kids are quitting school because they are being tasked to work and contribute to their households from a young age, or they simply don't have backpacks or school supplies to attend. We're taking small and active steps to help dismantle this and here is how:

Lazos Al Futuro Provides All Youth Leaders:

We encourage you to share, donate, and or simply visit us on our website at https://www.lazosalfuturo.org/ for more information. 100% of all contributions to this fund will go to our monthly workshops, expenses for our youth, school transportation, and supplies. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!