November 15, 2005
Students of the Dominican Republic to Benefit from Rollins Student Organization's Major Campus Fundraising Event
Almost 150 Rollins faculty, staff and students (as well as other members of the community) took part in the Five Stones Project volleyball Tournament last Thursday, November 10. Students from both UCF and Valencia also participated. The event raised $15,000, including a $10,000 donation from actor Paul Newman. "The event was a great success," shared Rollins sophomore and Five Stones Project founder Tessie Swope. "We are so grateful for everyone's help, but we won't give up until we reach our goal of $18,000."
Money raised will go toward scholarships for students in the Dominican Republic (DR) who want to go to college. Dozens of Central Florida businesses donated food, supplies and raffle items for the event. During the event, Winter Park Mayor Kenneth "Kip" Marchman declared the day (November 10, 2005) Five Stone Project Day in the City of Winter Park. In addition, Dominican Republic Sub-Secretary of State Jose Perez traveled to Winter Park to speak to students and take part in the event.
Five Stones, a grassroots non-profit organization whose mission is to provide long-term economic security to poor villages in the Dominican Republic , has adopted a small village (named Cruz Verde) in the southern part of the DR. Last year, the organization funded and built a vocational school that will eventually be used to teach English, small business management, computer classes, sewing, woodworking and more. In addition to college scholarships, money raised will also be used to buy equipment and supplies for the school. In the past two years, Five Stones has donated more than $62,000 for projects in the DR. To learn more about Five Stones, visit www.fivestonesproject.org.
The story on Rollins College's Five Stones Project volleyball tournament fundraiser, "Volleyball games net $15,000," was included in the Friday, November 11 issue of the Orlando Sentinel.
