Planting Seeds Project – Dominican Republic

The mission of La Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Niñez y la Juventud de la zona suroeste en Santiago, República Dominicana is to support our youth by developing their leadership skills, provide sports activities for physical and mental well-being and to provide a safe space where they can thrive in our environment. By implementing our foundation’s core values ​​of integrity, innovation, creativity, community, and responsibility we aim to develop future leaders. We hope to inspire and realize the dreams of our future generation with love and care, strong values, excellence and unity.

Short Term Goals

•Supplies Donation (Computers, Art supplies etc.)

•Volunteers (to teach computer and leadership skills)

•Fundraising efforts to support projects

Long Term Goals

•Build a park for the community to house a baseball field, soccer field and basketball court. 

•Build up the center with leadership programs

•Enroll more women in the male dominated space of STEM related fields. 

S.T.E.A.M.  Fun Facts: 

•The Dominican Republic is credited with creating merengue (music that is fast-paced and a rhythmic dance; Also creating Bachata, music/dance that originated in the countryside of the Dominican Republic. 

•The famous amber stone with a prehistoric mosquito preserved inside, is housed in The Amber Museum in Puerto Plata, also seen in the movie, Jurassic Park. Amber is a fossil tree resin found in few places in the world.

•The gemstone Larimar, also named Stefilia’s Stone, is a rare blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic.

•Dominican Oscar de la Renta is one of the best-known fashion designers of the 21st century. His clothes were worn by celebrities such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Bullock, Victoria Beckham, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna, and others. 

•The Dominican Republic is the biggest economy in Central America and the Caribbean, and the ninth largest economy in Latin America.

•The Dominican Republic produces 55% of the world’s banana market.

•With more than 8 million people on the web in 2021, the Dominican Republic is home to the largest online population in the Caribbean.