Valpo Surf Project Midseason Letter
Dear Friends, Family, Followers, Supporters and Surfers,
First let me say that we and our students and our students’ families are all alive and well following what was the fifth biggest earthquake in recorded history. The VSP house came out of the quake without electricity, but aside from that, intact and in good shape. We showed up to teach an English class a few days after the quake, and to our delight, our students were already at their desks, notebooks and pencils in hand, with giant smiles on their faces. We already knew they were all safe thanks to communications we had with the President of the Community Center where we teach, but to see them in good health and with a good attitude was an enormous relief.
Our job now is to continue to provide a stable and dependable program that can be counted on in a time when so many other services cannot. Many of you have offered to send food and other supplies to us to dispense to our students. The food and water shortages however, are much more severe in the South. Our focus is to stand as bedrock amid school cancellations and general unrest, and there are myriad ways in which you can help us accomplish that.
A brand new aspect to our website is the “Donate Now” button. It is now possible to donate directly to the Valpo Surf Project via our website. We are operating on a shoestring budget, and any financial contribution that can be made will be a huge help to us in terms of maintaining the stability and quality of our program.
Another thing we are in dire need of is youth wetsuits. To our surprise and delight, we have recently had an influx of young students between the ages of 8 and 10. While we originally designed our program for students between the ages of 12 and 17, this younger age group has proved to be enthusiastic and capable, and they stand to benefit from our program as much as anybody. Because of our original plans, however, we did not anticipate so many young students, and thus we have a shortage of youth-sized wetsuits. At the moment, we are unable to accommodate all of our students because of this fact. If any of you have an old youth wetsuit that you are willing to donate, look no further than the next paragraph to learn how. And don’t worry about the condition of your wetsuits, the Community Center is throwing a sewing party for our students’ mothers this week so they can repair all of the worn out suits that have already been donated!
As far as donating gear or materials is concerned, everyone should know that our needs extend far beyond surf equipment. We can always use school supplies, tools (power drills, saws, etc.), and a variety of other miscellaneous items. Depending on where you live, it is likely that you won’t even have to send it out to Chile. We have donation centers in many major cities, and all you have to do is contact us at contact@valposurfproject.com for the address and drop it off. Within the next week all of our donation centers will be listed online complete with an address and a contact person. If you have something you’d like to donate, but aren’t sure if we could find a use for it, email us to ask, but the answer will almost definitely be yes.
The last thing we’d like to call your attention to is our new Twitter account. We can be found on Twitter under the username @valposurf. We are also on Facebook and we have a website that is constantly being updated with new content. We cannot emphasize how important it is for our program to have as many followers as possible in terms of social media. More fans/followers on Facebook and Twitter translates to more support from corporations and grant-giving foundations. If you are on these sites, please become a fan and invite all of your “Friends” to do so as well.
Well, that’s all for now. If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or donations, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at contact@valposurfproject.com. The waves are good, the kids are better, and we couldn’t ask for a better job.
Sincerely, the Valpo Surf Project Team
Henry Myer
Andres Ponce
Jon Steuber
Wiley Todd
valposurfproject.com
contact@valposurfproject.com