Hi, my name is Jaret Caraballo and I'm a high school senior. I'm here because I have a dream and I need help to achieve it. I want to open an English learning center to help realize the dreams of possibly hundreds of kids in the Dominican Republic. Knowing English, especially in the Dominican Republic, can change lives, opening new career paths, new learning opportunities, and ultimately can help grow their self-confidence. Unfortunately, the path to learning English, especially in rural areas, is close to impossible as these families don't have the money to afford English lessons or put their kids in schools where English is being offered as a second language course. Again, with that being said, I want to give them an avenue where they do have a chance to take free lessons in a safe space.

Throughout my time in the Dominican Republic, I've seen firsthand as an English native speaker the intrigue, especially amongst the kids, to want to learn English. And since young, I've taught kids here and there some words and phrases. Unfortunately, I'm unable to be in the Dominican Republic for an extended period to be able to teach them much. However, the passion of the kids to want to learn a second language really hit me and I want to do something to help them out.

Within my local community, everyone has been so welcoming and loving of the idea and I even had the chance to partner up with my school's English second language program to help fundraise. Seeing this movement I helped start making a change within my local community has been inspiring and has made me realize I truly can change the lives of a lot of kids.

So once more, please join me in the mission to help these kids grow.