School Grounds in 2009

School Grounds in 2009
Future site of the Library

Ron Paul Felt Memorial Library

Ron Paul Felt Memorial Library
Blueprint Perspective

IN MEMORY OF RON PAUL FELT
(1981-2004)

My son, who passed away at the young age of 22, left a legacy of dedication to improving educational opportunities for children in Indonesia. Prior to graduating from Jakarta International School, he and a friend organized a high school club devoted to raising funds to assist children in the neighboring kampung with educational costs. This ongoing fund helps defray costs of uniforms and textbooks, allowing many poor children in Jakarta the chance to attend school where they may otherwise be forced to drop out.

In his honor, our family has chosen to assist the children of the San Isidro Integrated School, to improve their educational environment and to build a new edifice that will house a library and computer lab. Ron Paul valued reading and learning and he loved children. We hope to dedicate the future library to his memory.

PROJECT MISSION

The Heart Felt organization seeks to improve the educational environment for the children of San Isidro in order to prepare them for a better, more meaningful and more purposeful life.


Accomplishments to Date:

In 2009, before our involvement and assistance, San Isidro Integrated School was overcrowded. A Kindergarten and six grades met in 5 classrooms with nearly 40 children in each room. The desks and chairs were rotting and full of splinters. The mostly-English textbooks were old and tattered, many with missing pages. The children had no library or computer resources, and few reading books were available in classrooms.

Since that time, thanks to the support of family and friends and increased local government interest, the school has improved in the following ways:

- SIIS expanded through Grade 11, and the final Grade 12 classroom will be built in 2014

- All of the old desks were replaced

- The children learn from newer, better quality textbooks and, as a result, their National Test Scores are improving

- The students have access to more books to read

- A computer lab is set up

- The playground is vastly improved

- A fresh-water tank is installed

- Improvements are continually being made as needed


GOALS:

#1: To construct the Ron Paul Felt Memorial Library

#2: To provide space for the computer lab in the new library

#3: To continue to gather and ship textbooks, instructional materials and library books to San Isidro

#4: To continue to locally purchase needed classroom materials annually

#5: To maintain an enjoyable playground

#6: To establish Sister-School relationships between San Isidro and US schools and to involve any schools and organizations interested in contributing to the education and welfare of San Isidro students

#7: To help San Isidro teachers improve their English-language teaching skills

#8: To provide assistance as new needs arise



---Classroom Improvements---


Classroom Setting in 2009

Classroom Setting in 2009
Jonber teaching Grades 3 and 4

Old Desks

Old Desks
Rough hewn desks and chairs have been replaced

New Desks

New Desks

Worn Out Textbooks

Worn Out Textbooks
The old textbooks have now been replaced with

New Textbooks

New Textbooks

Monday, February 1, 2010

Donations of Books and Supplies

Thank you for all of the letters of support that are pouring in!

So many of you have expressed a desire to help, so I've offered a few suggestions at right, many of which do not involve financial contributions. For those of you who do wish to make donations, Phase 1 is all about gathering and shipping age-appropriate books and classroom supplies, and your contributions can make a big difference.

Global Book Exchange has been a wonderful resource for gathering textbooks. They also have a great selection of children's library books. They typically request $25/box of books procured from them. Recently, they generously allowed me to collect 27 boxes of textbooks--including expensive teacher editions--for a donation of $500. I would like to repeat that previous process, flying into San Jose, renting a cargo van and driving to GBE to collect another $500 worth of library books. I will then transport all the books that have been collected to my shipping source in San Jose.

There are many ways you can lend support with Phase 1:

- Provide cash donations that will go directly to actual costs of obtaining and transporting books and supplies. (Fortunately our shipments to the Philippines at this time are provided by a generous donor. Mrs. Odette Mabalatan has offered to ship all donations to the Philippines for free on an as-space-is-available basis. Bless you, Odette! )
- Donate school supplies
- Donate new or gently used books for K-6 reading levels. Sources may include:
  • Your own children's collection of gently used books
  • Yard sales and thrift shops
  • Friends with children who may be moving
  • School or public libraries that may be discontinuing books or weeding out their collections
For anyone living in Utah or who may be coming to Utah to visit, I will be happy to receive and store any donated books or supplies at my home in Park City. I could then load up a U-Haul trailer and drive it out to San Jose for shipping.

If anyone prefers to ship their donations, please contact me at SanIsidroChildren@gmail.com for shipping instructions.

I promise to keep an accurate accounting of all donations and assure you that 100% of all funds received will be applied to benefit the San Isidro Primary School.

Any size or type of donation is greatly appreciated. No gift is too small!





Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)