Florida Kids Hold Yard Sale To Benefit Indigenous Kids In Costa Rica



May 4, 2005 -- Belleview, Florida Old toys went on the block recently, and were sold in a yard sale to benefit The Bridge, a project of a USA non-profit organization operating in Costa Rica. (photo available)

Something unusual is afoot in the driveway at Michele Kohan's home in Belleview, Florida, near Ocala. Her children, 8-year-old-Alexandra and 7-year-old-Douglas, are laying out their toys in preparation for a yard sale. The idea Sell their old toys and donate the proceeds to help Bribri children go to school! (photo available)

Alexandra is looking over hand lettered signs the family made up to advertise the sale around the neighborhood. But their marketing went beyond local supermarket bulletin boards.

Mom Michele Kohan describes their efforts:

"We've gone from just one box of the kids old toys and a bright idea - to over a dozen boxes of donated items, plus a few larger items, such as a car luggage carrier and a freezer. I've got bright yellow neon signs made up, flyers in English and Spanish that I'm posting everywhere, and even radio advertising, if you can believe it! (thanks to my brother-in-law who works part time for a talk-radio station - they have free Swap N Shop on-air advertising Saturday mornings)." (photo available)

How'd it work out "We made $127 and sent it to The Bridge", Michele said. "We're happy about that!"

Barry and Nanci Stevens, co-founders of The Bridge in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica, are happy with it too. "This is a very creative approach to gathering funding and generating community support", they said. "And Thank You! to Michele and her children!"

The Bridge provides food, educational assistance, and microloans to indigenous people - the Bribri Indians - in the southeastern part of Costa Rica. The goal of the organization is to help people help themselves to self-sufficiency. The organization currently serves 29 families with supplemental food, serves over 75 individuals meals in a three-day-a-week soup kitchen, has placed 26 children in public school this term, and has made 15 microloans. It has aggressive plans for growth, which include construction of service and teaching facilities, course development in health, nutrition, job training, and in the Bribri language and culture.

The Bridge is a project of the US-based Serendipity International Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit based in Carlsbad, California.

Nanci Wright-Stevens has dedicated the profits from the sale of all of her art work to the operation of The Bridge. A limited edition print series of her wildlife art is being sold on eBay. You can visit the eBay store by going to http://stores.ebay.com/Taproot-Trading

Donations to The Bridge may be made on the organization's website, at www.elpuente-thebridge.org

Also available on the site: the organizations plans, operating budgets and expenses, as well as their "wish list".

Contacts:
Barry Stevens, toll free from the US to Costa Rica at 1-866-462-7585 do not publish

email contact: e-mail protected from spam bots OK to publish

Michele Kohan at her evening number - (352) 347-6095 do not publish
Nanci Hartland for The Serendipity Foundation 619-994-2964 do not publish

High-resolution JPG photographs available on request.





Florida Kids Hold Yard Sale To Benefit Indigenous Kids In Costa Rica