Rollins Student Tessie Swope Given Key to the City of Winter Park

April 30, 2007

Thursday, April 24, Rollins College student Tessie Swope was presented with a Key to the City of Winter Park. The key was presented by Winter Park City Commissioner Margie Bridges. Following the presentation, a letter of recognition from Former Vice President Al Gore was read.

Winter Park City Commissioner Margie Bridges (left) presents a Key to the City of Winter Park to Tessie Swope (middle), Rollins College student and founder of Five Stones Project. Peggy Crosby, benefactor of a full-tuition scholarship (along with her late husband Phil) that allows Swope to attend Rollins as a Crosby Scholar, was also on hand.

The Key to the City is awarded to honor distinguished personalities for their contributions to the City of Winter Park and the greater community. During the event, Commissioner Bridges said, "It is my privilege to recognize a student, Tessie Swope, who has in her own way, made the world a better place."

Swope is the founder of the Five Stones Project, a non-profit grassroots organization whose mission is to provide long-term economic security to poor villages in the Dominican Republic. Five Stones has adopted a small village (named Cruz Verde) in the southern part of the DR. The organization funded and built a vocational school that teaches a variety of classes (including English, small business management, computer classes, sewing, woodworking and more).

In addition to college scholarships, money raised was also used to buy equipment and supplies for the school. To date, Five Stones has raised $76,000 for the project and received a $15,000 grant to build a well to provide a permanent water supply for water to the village.

For more information about the Five Stones Project, visit www.fivestonesproject.org.