We are a club within LaSalle Secondary School made up of students in grades 9-12. Our club is sponsored by Rotary International, and is called The Interact Club. We are a group of about forty students who work on good deeds such as collecting for the food drive, orientation day for incoming students, collecting toys for the Toy Drive, collecting hats and mitts for the youth shelter, etc.
Our goal is to visit Nicaragua in May of 2017 for ten days. For the first eight days we will be teaching English to local children at an enrichment facility. Outreach360 is a charitable organization that works in Central America. They facilitate students visiting from all over the world, to enrich the local children's lives, and to be immersed in the Latin American culture. To learn more about Outreach360, visit www.outreach360.org. Here is a quote from their website:
The children we work with are intelligent, have great personalities, and a lot of hidden talent and abilities. Because of their situation in life, they have not had the opportunities to develop and release those talents. They don't have access to excellent schools, to sports leagues, music and art lessons, travel opportunities, etc. The driving force behind the creation of Outreach360 and it's ongoing operation is providing opportunities to those kids, to Release the Hero Within.
For the final two days of the trip we will have a chance for a cultural tour including visits to a black clay pottery cooperative, a sustainable coffee plantation, and even an active volcano in a national park.
This is the third time our school has held this opportunity. In 2013, the LaSalle Interact club had twenty-eight students go on this same trip. Here are some quotes from students and staff who had this opportunity in 2013:
Source: Kingston Whig-Standard
"The service trip to Nicaragua, through the La Salle Interact programs, is a once in a lifetime experience. It is an experience that will challenge students and their views of education both in Canada and in a developing country. Education is the key to success in every part of the world and this service trip provides education at a high level for both our students and the students in Nicaragua. We are proud of the efforts made by all of our students to bring this experience to life!"
Bob Seitz -
Vice-Principal La Salle Secondary School
2013 and 2015 Nicaragua Trip Chaperone
The Interact Club of the LaSalle Secondary School is currently working hard to fundraise to enable us to go on this trip to Nicaragua. We have several fundraising ideas, and will be finalizing plans over the next few weeks. We plan to hold a Music Night with a silent Auction, a Golf Tournament with a BarBQ dinner, and a 30-Hour Famine, as well as selling products such as chocolate covered almonds and coffee. We will post more details regarding dates, locations and times for the fundraising events as we know them. If you would like to assist us, perhaps by donating an item for the Silent Auction, please contact Ms. Laurie Labrie at [email protected]
To donate to this wonderful opportunity for Canadian students to be immersed in Nicaraguan culture and to teach local children English, please follow these directions:
Continue with the donation, ending with generation of your tax receipt for this charitable donation.
THANK YOU!
To Donate to Outreach 360, the charitable organization that will host us in Nicaragua, to help fund their good work, facilities, school supplies, etc., please follow these directions:
(please note that the LaSalle Secondary School Interact Club that is raising funds does not have access to donations made to Outreach360):
1. In your internet browser go to http://outreach360.org/nicaragua/
2. Click on the To Donate tab.
Thank you for your generosity to this worthwhile cause.
"In May, about 30 students from LaSalle Secondary School will have the opportunity to visit Nicaragua as part of the Outreach 360 program. For a week we will live in Jinotega, a small rural town in the mountains. This is an area of extreme poverty and no tourism.
While there, we will be working in a Literacy Centre and Literacy Camp teaching english to the town's children. The goal of the group is to enrich the lives of the children and make a lasting impact. I think that our interactions and exposure to such a different culture will also have a lasting impact on the lives of each of the students who go. I am very excited and appreciative of this opportunity."
-Quinn T.
"For a few years I've been interested in travelling foreign countries to see and experience their ways of life and compare them to my own. I've also always enjoyed helping others as it improves their life and changes me for the better."
-Nathan R.