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School & Life Supplies on diving trips for disadvantaged kids


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#1 drifter

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Posted 04 February 2009 - 07:23 PM

Last year, I joined in on the Cozumel trip and discovered one of the "secret little projects" that Kamala and company have started that I really thought was outstanding. Everyone on the trip brought along school supplies to donate to a local orphanage or foster home school. I think this is a brilliant project that really struck a chord with me. Being a teacher, I love helping kids get ahead in their education.

I happened upon a great freebie today that will go into the pile for this project and I encourage everyone else to keep your eyes and ears open for stuff like this that will help out.

Last fall one of the departments on campus held a conference and they purchased a bunch of book bags for the attendees. Due to mass production issues, they had to order a minimum quantity and have ever since been trying to hock them to students wandering up and down the hallway. They'd dropped the price to $2 a bag and so I stopped in and told the professor in charge of them what we do and asked if she'd be interested in getting rid of the rest of her bags. She handed me a box of 40 and asked me to check back in a couple weeks as she had a few students who might like having them for free. I'm shipping them off to Kamala tomorrow to take on future trips except for a batch that I'll bring along on my next Single Diver's trip.

Keep your eye out for deals. Thanks Kamala, this project really is awesome. The cost for them to ship stuff like this to the islands is pretty outrageous, so if we each carry in a few items with our luggage, it's a huge benefit to the residents.

Scott
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#2 uwfan

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Posted 04 February 2009 - 08:38 PM

Kudos to you Scott!!! If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a librarian in an elementary school here in the states. I've taught in a variety of places from inner city Houston to China and I HAVE to say THANK YOU to anyone and everyone who helps support this school supply project.

The kids I taught in China were lucky, they were expats at an international school and in no way did without beyond the adjustments they made to living in a foreign country. The kids I taught in Houston were not so lucky. I was thankful then for the GENEROUS giving groups offered our school so that kids had pencils and paper and basic necessities for learning.

I hope we all can offer as much suitcase space and weight as possible for each of the overseas trips that are made to give simple school supplies that mean so much to the kids. Trust me, they appreciate it more than we will ever know.

#3 shadragon

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Posted 04 February 2009 - 10:18 PM

Before Grenada I went to the Dollar Store and bought $50 in crayons, pencil crayons and other school stuff. Filled half my bag with goodies. Does not take much effort to make kids happy.
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#4 WreckWench

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 04:22 AM

Thank you everyone....yes I've been found out. :cool1:

I know that people struggle to make a difference in their lives and in our world. Its hard to figure out sometimes how to help. I accidently discovered that we could make a difference in the lives of some of the poorest children in the world...and often these children live in the countries we go diving in. So now we can help orphans, foster kids and poor schools that are often overlooked on the islands/far away places we visit. They get something they need...and the school / care providers are usually surprised at our 'generosity'. See school supplies are often several hundred percent higher in these countries. In fact they are VERY expensive on island when they are quite cheap in our home locales.

My favorite finds are those like Scott...when I tell people what we are doing they often open up supply closets and give us bags, pens and other 'logo' items. I tell them they will get FREE INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING and they do...:respect: I often get bags of supplies when Walmart has a sale and I personally stock up on the CLEARANCE TABLES of the office supply stores nabbing all sorts of supplies for .25 and .50 each or at Walmarts BACK TO SCHOOL SALES getting notebooks for .10 each and boxes of crayons for .05! :thankyou:

My Personal Tips for Supplies on Trips:

1. NEVER pack glue aka liquids in your carry on. It must go in your packed bags. :tears:
2. Always comingle the school supplies with your personal belongings...NEVER pack them separately. You will be charged import duty on them if you bring them in a big box even if they are for charity. (School supplies are HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE on these islands and cost a small fortune due to the import duties.)
3. Carry as many things in your hand carry that you can afford or can CARRY DUE TO WEIGHT! I usually bring as many paper notebooks as I can in my carry on as they are heavy and therefore VERY EXPENSIVE on island. And I do not want to get dinged for weight issues so yet another reason to hand carry them.
4. School bags make great carry bags RATHER THAN PLASTIC...all that plastic seems to end up on the roads or in the ocean. And the school bags or shopping bags are STRONGER than plastic!
5. Don't bring toys or supplies that are more like a toy vs an actual supply. Why? The kids fight over them and therefore the school does not want to use them. The more basic they are...the better.
6. If you can only bring a bag of pens or a few items...do not worry. If everyone brought just one item we'd have LOTS on every trip.

And so you know...when we are on a trip we try to set up a chance for our divers to join us when we go to drop off the supplies. Sometimes the school administrators come to us...either way we end up with great pictures and try to follow the progress of our 'new friends' throughout the year. We just recently returned from Grenada in Jan where we took supplies to a small boys home on the OTHER side of the island. It was a haul to get to them and therefore tourists rarely made it that far onto the island. The first time we visited we almost could not leave. These boys were abused and left by their families. They perked up with the attention they received from us and they sang for us, performed for us and interacted with us. Ok you say...so that was a nice show now we go back to our lives and we feel better but what did we really accomplish?

Upon our return the boys remembered us. You are the DIVERS they said! And they remembered I was from Texas! I later got a thank you from the school saying that the boys were on cloud nine for days after our first visit and again after our second visit OVER 2 YEARS LATER...they had not forgotten. The school even told me that many of the boys started to do a bit better in school after realizing that there was a bigger world out there besides the small part of the island they lived on and took more interest in geography since it had become more 'real' to them.

If that isn't making a difference...I do not know what is. I can tell you TONS of stories like this one...but you get the idea.

WE REALLY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE...so little means so much!

Thank you Scott for working to help us achieve this goal and thank you EVERYONE for pitching in...every little bit adds up and it does make a difference! Kamala

Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
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#5 drifter

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 10:06 AM

I also have an idea about the old computers we get rid of on campus, but don't know if that is a viable option for the places we visit?

Thoughts or ideas? Most of these computers are 3-4 years old and still in great shape. I don't know if the campus has an flexibility in what happens to them, but will investigate if there is interest in it.
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#6 WreckWench

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 11:41 AM

I also have an idea about the old computers we get rid of on campus, but don't know if that is a viable option for the places we visit?

Thoughts or ideas? Most of these computers are 3-4 years old and still in great shape. I don't know if the campus has an flexibility in what happens to them, but will investigate if there is interest in it.


That is an awesome idea. We may run into import issues BUT...we can always check once you know the drill for disposal by the college. My guess is they sell them off to someone who refurbs them and then resells them on the secondary market.

Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !

Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
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Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906

#7 shadragon

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 12:16 PM

Support for the OLPC would be a lot more cost effective than shipping old PCs and monitors I suspect. Plus, you give them brand new technology instead of making them struggle with OS and driver issues.

To give you an idea of costs: Five large boxes of camping gear (Sleeping bags, air mattresses, flashlights and tents, etc.) sent to Grenada cost just under $1800 to ship. PC's weigh a lot. Also, that was with Grenada waving import and duty fees which you would normally have to pay as well.

OLPC
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#8 Monkey Diver

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 05:51 PM

Wow. This is a great strategy for traveling to many places our diving desires take us, and I will certainly share this with some local dive clubs that do a lot of dive trips. However, is there any particular approach to contacting worthwhile organizations, or is it just check thing out when you get there? I would really appreciate some guidance on this. It seems like such a simple way to help the areas we also depend on for our recreational enjoyment.

Wayne
Wayne :-{ )

#9 ScubaPunk

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 06:29 PM

Wow. This is a great strategy for traveling to many places our diving desires take us, and I will certainly share this with some local dive clubs that do a lot of dive trips. However, is there any particular approach to contacting worthwhile organizations, or is it just check thing out when you get there? I would really appreciate some guidance on this. It seems like such a simple way to help the areas we also depend on for our recreational enjoyment.

Wayne



Sometimes the resort will let us know where the greatest need is. When in Grenada I found out about the boys home from a Peace Corp worker at the Friday fish fry. Just depends on where you are.

#10 ScubaPunk

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Posted 05 February 2009 - 06:29 PM

Scott that is AWESOME!!!! Now you need to book at trip and help deliver the book bags yourself! :rolleyes:

#11 scubajunkie6

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Posted 24 February 2009 - 11:03 PM

This is somewhat under the category of school supplies...When I (or others) travel to my colleagues in Malaysia, we bring used children books. Apparently they are expensive, and challenging to find, especially in English. The books are a way for others (parents/grandparents and children) to learn English. :respect: A lot of paperbacks that are non chapter books can fit in your luggage. I always made sure to include a book about Texas and America :thankyou:
-Margaret

#12 WreckWench

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Posted 25 February 2009 - 09:08 AM

This is somewhat under the category of school supplies...When I (or others) travel to my colleagues in Malaysia, we bring used children books. Apparently they are expensive, and challenging to find, especially in English. The books are a way for others (parents/grandparents and children) to learn English. :respect: A lot of paperbacks that are non chapter books can fit in your luggage. I always made sure to include a book about Texas and America :respect:
-Margaret


That is a cool idea too! :thankyou:

Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !

Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
"Imitation is proof that originality is rare." - ScubaHawk
SingleDivers.com...often imitated...never duplicated!

Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906

#13 WreckWench

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Posted 25 February 2009 - 09:11 AM

Wow. This is a great strategy for traveling to many places our diving desires take us, and I will certainly share this with some local dive clubs that do a lot of dive trips. However, is there any particular approach to contacting worthwhile organizations, or is it just check thing out when you get there? I would really appreciate some guidance on this. It seems like such a simple way to help the areas we also depend on for our recreational enjoyment.

Wayne



Wayne if your friends/clubs are interested have them contact me and I'll share my secrets for finding the right organization to donate too.

Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !

Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
"Imitation is proof that originality is rare." - ScubaHawk
SingleDivers.com...often imitated...never duplicated!

Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906

#14 WreckWench

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Posted 02 April 2011 - 07:35 PM

IMPORTANT UPDATE:


We do this EVERY trip finding an orphanage or foster home that gets very little help otherwise.

We are now learning that "LIFE SUPPLIES" are equally valuable and equally as expensive. Toiletries, clothes, and other 'life supplies' are invaluable and we REALLY appreciate you adding them to your contributions.

And one final item....

SOCCER BALLS!!! You can get them uninflated and they are the BEST thing you can bring a young boy up to a teenager!!

Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !

Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
"Imitation is proof that originality is rare." - ScubaHawk
SingleDivers.com...often imitated...never duplicated!

Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906

#15 scubaski

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Posted 02 April 2011 - 10:05 PM

I have a bunch of my old company logo s/s and l/s shirts I can no longer wear that I will donate into next trip.
MADRE FELIZ DIA MAMÁ




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