WOO Family:
Thank you for taking the time to read the newest installment of ‘State of the WOO’ – our newsletter aimed to update and inform our community of supporters.
Project WOO is in the midst of some very exciting changes, all of which will enhance our ability to improve the quality of life for the people of Gigante, Nicaragua.
Since our last newsletter, Project WOO’s co-founder and Program Director, Adam Monaghan, returned to the United States after serving 5+ years on the ground in Central America. Over three of those years were spent launching Project WOO and getting numerous projects off the ground in Nicaragua. Today, Adam is conducting community development projects in one of the most volatile places on earth, Afghanistan. All of us at Project WOO salute Adam for his courageous work and thank him for his many contributions to Project WOO’s success.
Since Adam’s departure from Nicaragua,
WOO’s projects have seen continued success thanks to WOO’s Nicaraguan staff and a recent partnership with The Fabretto Children’s Foundation; an incredibly successful and likeminded organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for Nicaraguan children and families through education, nutrition, health, and community development.
That said, Project WOO’s programs are about to get a huge boost of innovation and stewardship as WOO Program Manager, Bo Fox, will officially be relocating to Gigante, Nicaragua in January 2011. Bo will be taking over in-country programmatic operations and could not be more excited! Upon arrival, he will dedicate himself to furthering the sustainability of WOO’s current projects, deepening the community integration into the programs, and beginning work on some exciting new initiatives.
As you can tell, we have been busy! We hope you read on to learn more about our grassroots work in Nicaragua!
Thank you for your support –
PROJECTS
Gigante Bus Project
The Gigante Bus Project is the culmination of a very diligent, two-year community development process. This project was democratically elected by the community to answer their biggest need: transportation. Prior to The Gigante Bus Project, the community had little access to the nearest town, Tola, roughly 10 miles away. For the residents of Gigante, reliable transportation to this central city is essential for access to commerce, healthcare, basic necessities, and education (the closest high school to Gigante is in Tola). For the approximately 35 high school students in Gigante, getting to school took the arduous effort of walking 2-5 kilometers down a muddy road and hitchhiking or waiting for a bus, which was often late or never arrived. As one could imagine, this was a huge deterrent for the students when considering making it to school.
Today, those 35 students regularly attend high school in Tola via The Gigante Bus Project. Many thanks to Reef Redemption, the Arenas Bay Homeowners, and The Fabretto Children’s Fund for their generous contributions to finance and manage The Gigante Bus Project. Going forward, the objective for the bus is to cover operating expenses through for-profit commercial ventures to make the project truly sustainable and available to the entire community. This is one of Mr. Fox’s primary initiatives as Program Manager for 2011. Follow this link for the complete story and details on The Gigante Bus Project.
After School Program/School Support Program
This program provides a subsidized bus fare to students active in the WOO after school program. In exchange for a free passage to school, these students must attend WOO’s After School Program.
The After School Program focuses on fostering stronger study habits for the children of Gigante and introduces supplemental education topics not covered in normal Nicaraguan classrooms: environmental education, life planning, sustainable farming, etc.
The School Support Program subsidizes the salaries of three additional teachers at the elementary school in Gigante and provides them with comprehensive teacher training. Previously, one teacher instructed all 80 students alone. Thanks to the continued support of The Fabretto Children’s Foundation and local residents Lynn and Betty Mangum, this program continues to serve the children of Gigante. Follow this link for more detailed information on these programs.
Gigante Surf Program
This summer, Firewire Surfboards CEO Mark Price generously
donated seven surfboards to Project WOO. WOO jumped on the opportunity to put them to good use. The goal of the Gigante Surf Program is to provide incentive to the students of Gigante to improve their performance in the classroom. In partnership with Kassidy Mefford at Dale Dagger Surf camp in Gigante, the Gigante Surf Program allows the local kids of Gigante to “check out” the boards at their will – as long as they have perfect school attendance and participate in Kassidy’s weekly town/beach trash cleanup.
Surfing to inspire education. One positive activity to motivate another. More info here.
NEW INITIATIVES
All of us at Project WOO are very excited about the new initiatives described below. They are designed to further Project WOO’s community development mission through leveraging the talents and interests of Project WOO’s family of supporters.
Ambassador Program
Friends and family of Project WOO are constantly asking us how they can help. The WOO Ambassador Program was designed for just this purpose. The WOO Ambassador Program recruits runners, triathletes, swimmers, climbers and any other adventure-driven athletes to dedicate their next challenge to supporting Project WOO. WOO will set you up with the online infrastructure to make fundraising a breeze. Congratulations to WOO’s first Ambassador, Matt Finster, who braved the 50 degree waters of the Puget Sound for a 2.3 mile swim. Matt exceeded his fundraising target, supporting both Project WOO and the Brent Rice Memorial Foundation. Learn more about the Ambassador Program and dedicate your next adventure here.
Voluntourism
Project WOO believes that we as traveling surfers have a responsibility to give back to the rural costal communities we frequently visit and that now is the time for meaningful travel. With the birth of the Voluntoursim Program, WOO is not only looking to provide a culturally rich journey to Nicaragua, but more importantly, to engage their volunteers in meaningful grassroots development work.
WOO is proud to announce the successful completion of two volunteer programs this past year! The LeBaron family was the brave leader as they embarked on a weeklong program to Gigante. Equipped with their first and fourth grade daughters, the LeBarons headlined Gigante’s pen-pal program, participated in Gigante’s monthly beach clean up, and joined the high school students on a field trip to Tola’s historic sites via the Gigante School Bus. 
Mid September saw WOO’s second volunteer group. For a full week, nine bros surfed and served along side the community. Highlights included the introduction of WOO’s incentive-based Gigante Surf Program, a hands on first aid/CPR class presented by our very own firefighter volunteers, and just as many Nicaraguan surf wipe outs as good rides. Check out the video of the trip posted on the website to see some action!
Surf ‘N’ Serve
In conjunction with the Volunteer Program, WOO has designed a Surf ‘N’ Serve Program aimed at providing high school surf teams and clubs with a unique and inspiring surf adventure. This two-week program is focused on combining community volunteer work with surfing to excite a more global perspective for its participants. Break the mold and experience new lands and waves while supporting lasting sustainable change.
To learn more about one of our custom Surf ‘N’ Serve programs please visit us here.
Sponsorships
Many thanks go out to the Reef Redemption Foundation. Reef has
been a major supporter of WOO from the beginning, and their continued support has been instrumental to WOO’s success. Reef continues to commit resources to keep Project WOO running, support WOO’s existing projects, and keep WOO moving toward the future. Thank you Reef!
Earlier this year, Project WOO received a $10,000 grant from the Genung Wunderlich Opportunity Foundation (GWOF). GWOF is dedicated to providing resources to those that strive for excellence, progress, and advancement, but are limited by poverty and living situations that make attaining their goals difficult if not impossible. This grant will be allocated specifically to preparing a feasibility study for and launching a new community development project in Nicaragua this coming year. Project WOO is working hard to raise matching funds from our supporters to maximize that project.
Fundraising Efforts
A fundamental part of WOO’s growth is to raise awareness and of course, the needed funds to keep existing programs up and running. Fundraising events are one of many tools WOO uses to spread the word. This year has been no exception. With the help of many a friend and associate, WOO was able to organize and benefit from over six fundraising events in 12 months! And there are more to come!
A very special thanks to Stephanie and Marty Driscoll for their generous support of Project WOO throughout all of their wedding celebrations!
A huge shout out to Melanie Michaud with Graffiti Beach is in order! Melanie has been a strong supporter of WOO throughout all her work with Graffiti Beach and her celebration of the local independent artist. Thanks, Mel!
Please check out Graffiti Beach’s 2nd annual Bikini Rock Party on Dec. 17th with Project WOO as the beneficiary. There will be live music, art, drink, a bikini fashion show and a killer raffle to be put on by WOO!!
To make a 501(c)3 tax deductible donation to Project WOO, see our donation page on our website. As a primarily volunteer staff, we work hard to maximize every penny donated to support our mission.
Lastly, thank you to all of our friends and family for your continued support and encouragement. Our base of supporters continues to grow every day. Together, we are improving surfing’s global footprint.
- The Project WOO Team
