CAAHFI Prepares for the Second Annual Back-To-School Drive
CAAHFI
Caribbean American and Heritage Foundation Inc. (CAAHFI) is ready to start this endeavor for its fifth Annual Back-To-School Drive, benefiting underserved, economically disadvantaged students in the Caribbean and, in particular, the island-nation of Haiti. Our partner in the first years of the School Drive in Los Angeles is the Los Angeles Public Library Librarian, Mrs. Cynthia Bowles ensuring that the students received their donation of school supplies. Mr. Mark Johnson from City Lites and Bruno Fried Jaubert from L.A Community Services
Mrs. Vivian Bell had the pulse of the Caribbean community and has been instrumental in assisting CAAHFI in identifying the students most in need of assistance as they strive for excellence in their education. She showed genuine care and concern for these eager young minds and endeavored to do whatever she can to assist them through her partnership with CAAHFI. We are grateful for the assistance in our Annual School Supplies Drives these many years. A special thank you to all!
Over the past 5 years, CAAHFI typically sends 4-44-gallon barrels contained over 3,330 items including over 800 notebooks and more than 1110 No. 2 pencils to Haiti and other Caribbean islands during our Annual School Drive. Other items in the barrels included pens, pencils, crayons, and pencil sharpeners. CAAHFI will continue to do its part to assist the future leaders of Haiti and the Caribbean achieves their educational goals and objectives.
Our Annual Back-To-School drive supports the United Nations Sustainable Goal 4: Quality Education - "Obtaining a quality education is a foundation to improving people's lives and sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools.
Over the last 5 years alone, CAAHFI donated a combined total of over 13,000 school supplies items including notebooks, backpacks, pens, pencils, and erasers to assist students in school both in Haiti and also in the Caribbean islands.
As we embark on our fifth (5) Annual Back-To-School Drive, it is our hope to raise funding to double our efforts: we endeavor to send over 10,000 or more school supplies items to the Caribbean for the 2021-2022 school years. But we need your help. Will you consider donating to our fifth (5) Annual Back-To-School campaign? A donation of as little as $35.00 can provide up to 30 composition notebooks.
In 2019 CAAHFI participated in the Long Beach Public Library's 2019 Children's Summer Program. The Program included but was not limited to: arts and crafts; technology day; performing arts events; field trips; community projects; fun activities such as sports and chess and monopoly games, a quiz competition, and much more. It was a distinct honor to donate and volunteer, design, and print sixty (60) t-shirts, with a logo on the front promoting the sponsor's name and logo. In 2016, we also donated over 100 backpacks to deserving students in Trinidad & Tobago.
Through our Annual Back-To-School Drive, The Caribbean American Heritage has partnered with schools in the Caribbean to provide some of the resources necessary to create the future leaders of the Caribbean. Our program continues to target underserved economically disadvantaged students who have abilities to strive and create excellence in their academic lives. Please assist us in helping these bright minds achieve their goals and objectives.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. The broad goals are interrelated though each has its own targets to achieve. The total number of targets is 111. The (SDGs) cover a broad range of social and economic development issues. These include poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment, and social justice. The Caribbean American Heritage Foundation of Los Angeles supports these 17 global goals.
Four of the Sustainable Development Goals are directly aligned with our initiatives. They are listed below:
ZERO HUNGER
Food Security, Nutritious Meals and Renewed Emphasis on Agriculture
It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food. If done right, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes while supporting people-centered rural development and protecting the environment. Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests, and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development and is central to hunger and poverty elimination. Our Caribbean School Feeding and Nutrition Program aligns with the United Nations' Zero Hunger Sustainable Goal.
GOOD HEALTH AND WELL BEING
Ensure Healthy Lives and Promote Well-Being for All at All Ages
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being of all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality. Major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, many more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.
QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL
Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning
Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people's lives and sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools, particularly for women and girls. Basic literacy skills have improved tremendously, yet bolder efforts are needed to make even greater strides for achieving universal education goals. For example, the world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys.
Our Annual Back-To-School-School Supplies Program and our Caribbean Libraries Initiative align with the United Nations' Quality Education Sustainable Goal.
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
Promote justice, education in our inclusive societies
The Sustainable Development Goals is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.
Our Social Justice and Sustainable Development align with The United Nations' Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Sustainable Goal.
Celebrating Haitian Heritage in May month and Caribbean Heritage month in June
Caribbean immigrants have been contributing to the well-being of American society since its founding. Alexander Hamilton, the First Secretary of the Treasury was from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. We count among our famous sons and daughters, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Cicely Tyson, WEB Dubois, Jean Baptiste Point Du Salle who discovered Chicago, James Weldon Johnson, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Harry Belafonte, and Sidney Poitier just to name a few.
Two of our core missions is to recognize our annually celebrate National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, June of every year; and the Haitian Heritage Month in May; in doing so, we work to bring awareness to the contributions made to our society and culture by peoples of Caribbean heritage and highlighting the contribution made by Caribbean immigrants to the United States and Europe.
