Hi, my name is Chase Edwards and I am organizing a fundraiser to support the Haese Academy in the Domincan Republic.

What is it? The Haese Academy is a non-profit organization that lifts Dominican youth out of poverty through education and athletic training. The goal is for students to utilize their academic and athletic abilities to realize their dream of higher education.

"The Haese Academy functions as a bilingual elementary school and secondary education community center offering tutoring, athletic training, healthy nutrition, exam prep, and formal English education."

Why am I supporting them? Susan Haese and her husband Derek are the founders of the Haese Academy. Mrs Haese was my first grade teacher at Key Elementary School. I had the honour of being able to go to the Dominican Republic recently to visit her, and see the school and academy. I even had the chance to teach the students Chinese!

When I was down there, I noticed a lack of school supplies, things I take for granted having here in DC. So, my mom and I have created a 'Build-A-Backpack' fundraiser to provide the necessary materials for the students and the classrooms. By providing backpacks filled with basic school supplies, we can make a change and impact on the students who go to the Haese Academy .

What are my goals? We are hoping to build a complete backpack for each of the students. Each backpack costs $50 to fill (and ship). Once we have covered the costs of the backpacks, any additional contributions will go towards books, dictionaries, nutrition bars, calculators, and maybe even laptops if we are lucky!

Thank you for considering contributing a backpack. We are hoping to make this a yearly campaign, as new students join the academy and move towards higher education. Mrs Haese was a well-loved teacher at Key School. I hope you can help support hers and Derek's amazing efforts.