San Ignacio School Havana Campaign

Hello! My name is Tom Millington and I coordinate a study abroad program in Havana, Cuba. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a wonderful school in Old Havana for young Cubans to learn how to become bartenders, waiters and waitresses and cooks. Their dreams are great, but they are challenged by the conditions of their school. They have no air conditioning and the walls are not in the best shape and certain parts of the ceiling are falling apart; they study on broken desks and teachers instruct them using chalkboards that are in very bad shape; the bathrooms are not up to standard. Yet, these students never complain. They always greet me with a smile and a kindness that is hard to forget.  Spending time with them I know that I am in the right profession and it confirms my belief that future generations of Cubans and Americans will develop long-lasting friendships, despite the economic embargo that has made life difficult in Cuba. I always bring my students to this school, San Ignacio, to help their peers practice their English, but while this is a worthwhile endeavor, I would like to make a contribution that can help in other meaningful ways by providing them with materials that their school desperately needs. 

If I were a millionaire, I would give a substantial donation to the school. But I am not, so I turn to the kindness of people to help me raise funds so that the school can purchase equipment and materials that it needs.  

I have listed $1,500 as the target for fundraising. From this amount $1,200 will go to the purchase of two large air conditioners ($600 each). The remaining $300 will go to cover materials (books, papers, pens, markers, etc.) that the students will need. I hope to raise this amount by December 1, 2017. As a sign of thanks, I will have each Cuban student in the school send you a thank you note.

If you would like to learn more about my background, check out my LinkedIn profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommillington/  or my website at http://www.abroadia.com . 

Thank you/Gracias!

Tom