Live from Pearlington - 2

Pearlington, Mississippi
Monday, October 31, 2005

It seemed a little less cold last night, but plenty cold enough. The reception, however, has been warm and residents keep coming up to welcome Canada Jon back to town. I'm doing what good I can and Nancy spent some of the day taking an inventory of all the supplies still on skids outside the Aid Mart. It was there she discovered The Great Travesty.

I'll leave it to her to share all the details, but I need to tell you a little to explain what came after that for me. There are three skids here from a certain children's group that supposedly contain Care Kits for kids. Inside, Nancy discovered things like mustache wax, tanning dye, upper lip hair bleach....things like that. In fact, there was NOTHING in the care kit that a child could ever use, let alone a child in a hurricane situation. Everybody is incensed. Nancy is all over it and we'll keep you posted.

I met a woman standing quietly outside the Aid Mart, waiting for it to open. Her name is Theresa. Theresa lost everything in the storm - her home and her business. She has nothing. I discovered she has a beauty salon, a business she started to feed her family after her husband left. It will take some time for all the cleanup to get her up and running again to make a living. In the meantime, she took some work with a company contracted to do repairs and does secretarial work for them. She is a strong woman who has never had to ask for help and we chatted over breakfast and we cried together.

Her faith in God touched me. She recently was selected by a travelling team of carpenters to be the recipient of their services and 21 of them worked to strip out her salon and home for a full day. It would have taken her alone more than a month to do the same job. She believes God sent them. She believes He'll provide. Over biscuits, grits and ham we talked quietly; about faith, Canada, children, deadbeat Dads and hope. Then I had a thought....

I took her over to where The Travesty had unfolded and filled her truck with beauty products from the so-called children's care kits. They might as well do some good for somebody. She'll use the material to re-stock her business and will send over other colleagues who could do the same. She's offered to come on Karaoke Night (Friday) and cut hair, do makeup and nails and generally offer some of the local women a chance to feel pretty again. She got some groceries at Aid Mart and left smiling, for the first time in weeks. Theresa is good people and God DOES provide. Just ask her. There is a young boy here named Buster. He was befriended by Frisco Jen, when we
were here in September. Buster is a member of some kind of Junior Fire Club thing and has attached himself to one of the units here fighting fires from out of town. He spends the day in his junior firefighter boots and jacket, running errands and "being in charge of the unit." Just ask him.

The men are kind and generous to him and he sits like them, works like them and eats with them. Yesterday, he was climbing on the back of a four wheeler to head out somewhere. He lost his balance and reached out for the man's shoulder sitting in front of him. Steadying himself he sat down and patted the man on the back in thanks. It was a small, intimate moment for a small young man and it had me instantly in tears. Buster's doing well, Jen. He sends his love. He wants to know when you're coming back.

Speaking of Frisco Jen, her Dad and his wife are here. In fact, they've been here a month and do a tremendous job. Joe Clark runs the Aid Mart now and his wife Sharon is a nurse. Joe is the go-to man here and has his finger on the pulse of everything that could benefit these people. He has facilitated water pumps and trailers and now trailer kits to fill those FEMA trailers up with useful appliances and tools. He's a great guy and has befriended me, giving me a solid base from which to work. The Red Cross workers are likewise caring and hard-working, regardless of what politics and fumbles that agency commits. We are all here doing what we can and trying to love Pearlington back to life. Joe even has locals working in the Aid Mart to help their neighbours. If there is something you need....just ask him.

Today, Nancy is out in the community with Lynn, a woman she met, delivering food and supplies where needed and making sure those who can't get into town get what they need. I have some home visits to make and I'll be working on the Pearlington blog. Of course, things will come up and I also believe God will provide.

Just ask me.

First Day Posting - Live from Pearlington

Pearlington, Mississippi
Sunday, October 30, 2005

After an uneventful (and exhausting) drive - and easy border crossing - we arrived in Pearlington yesterday morning at 8:00 a.m. Wow, have some things changed! The Aid Mart is fully shelved and stocked, there are lots of good projects going on and lots of volunteers and workers. What hasn’t changed is the politics and the blah, blah, blah.

I won’t go into to it too much here, but it constantly amazes me how so many need to be in charge, to have control, to have their authority recognized. There have been some very stupid incidences here and some great heroism, including Miss Paula, on a return trip from Houston, throwing herself in front of an ambulance to stop the County from removing it. It doesn’t even belong to them. Doctors in the area want the Clinic closed because it’s cutting into their business, even though the residents using it can’t actually get anywhere else, for the most part. You get the picture.

Trailers are coming in more quickly, but there are still lots of people sleeping on the ground. We made contact with some of the residents I met the first time and they helped tune us in to what is going on, from the residents’ perspective. Insurance companies are pulling their usual scams and leaving families in the lurch, FEMA still does not have their act together in many respects and, of course, this all shows up on the ground, measured in degrees of misery for the folks of Pearlington. We will focus on them alone and again I am proud to be Canadian and to not have to recognize ANY authority but that of my Creator and the people I came to serve.

In the end, it was only me and Nancy Semple, from Collingwood, who set out on this mission. Together, we have 35 sponsorships of Hope Chests and we raised sufficient money to meet the needs of our Team. Eventually I decided to purchase the contents of the Hope Chests locally, as people are being turned back at the US border if they think you are coming here to help. They claim we are taking jobs from Americans. There was no evidence of our destination in our vehicle at the border and we had no problems whatsoever.

It was such an odd experience for me at first. Last time when I got here I was put to work immediately. This time, things were covered and we had nothing to do at first. It was probably just as well - we were exhausted. I asked God to direct me where we should be and we soon found out about the planned Hallowe’en party for the kids, coming up last night at 6:00 p.m. I brought a large Public Address system with me and a whole pile of karaoke music, thinking we would lift some spirits with a karaoke evening. They asked me to set it up with some “scary” music for the kids at the party. We got some Hallowe’en-type music and got ready for the kids.

In they came. There was face painting and workers in homemade costumes, lots of candy and handouts and the kids were so cute. Many didn’t have the usual things they would have had for the event, and that was a bit sad, but we made the best of it. The music thing turned into an impromptu karaoke event and an amazing transformation took place. People all over town could hear us and showed up with their families to try and have some fun. Kids sang, as did some of the parents, and we had an old-fashioned smackdown in front of the Shelter and the parking lot. People laughed and danced and workers kept telling me it was a wonderful break from all the politics in the last few days. People’s faces lit up and we had a great time. It was the first time since Katrina there was music and ready laughter and dancing in the streets. What a great event!

Just as I said to Nancy that we needed a bus to go into the community to get the kids, a pick-up entered the secure area pulling a big flatbed loaded with kids and their parents. It was driven by a woman dressed as a clown - smoking a cigarette. The kids got painted and loaded down with goodies and laughed their way through the night. One of the Red Cross volunteers had painted a mural on the side of the school and all the kids - and all of us - were invited to sign it. It was just plain fun.

We finally got to bed around 11:00 p.m. Bed is in a tent someone left behind - a big Coleman tent that fit both of us and our supplies very nicely. It was cold here last night, maybe 4 or 5 degrees Celsius - quite a change to the 31 degree nights here 5 weeks ago! The days are sunny and warm, but the nights are cold. I slept for 8 solid hours; giving me a total of 14 hours of sleep or so, in the last 72 hours. This morning, a new food service place served the residents breakfast for the first time in 10 days. We had sausage and waffles, with syrup and grits and it was fine. I didn’t get supper last night - too busy singing - so breakfast went down well.

Today, I have a few folks to visit who need to talk and I am going to set up a blog for Pearlington itself. We will post stories and updates regularly and help the world keep in touch with the folks here. The workers from the Red Cross (at the moment) are all very dedicated and loving and struggling with the bureaucracy under which they toil. We let nothing stand in the way of service to the locals and “clipboards” don’t last long. But they have had their day, here and there, and we will help the community recover from their damage.

It’s great to be back and I look forward to breaking my own heart all over again. These people - all people who struggle - deserve nothing less and we are here for them. We have a huge Karaoke Evening planned for Friday and there were enough folks here last night to spread the word and make it a seriously fun event. Everyone’s talking about what a great time was had by all last night. Enough of the hardship already - LET’S SING!

I miss my wife and my morning hug, but at breakfast little Hailey found me again and that was almost as good. On Monday we will build our Hope Chests and get to handing them out. The sun is shining, my heart is already full and I have energy to spare. Everyone loves it that Canada is here and residents are stepping up to renew our friendships. “Canada Jon” is back in town and there’s lots to be done. Rest well this Sunday and send the good people of Pearlington all the love you can spare. They so richly deserve it.

Making a Difference

Many times I’ve returned from somewhere like Bosnia, or Chernobyl or Pearlington, Mississippi and I’ve been asked if I really thought bringing friendship, song and small treasures to children really made a difference in their lives.

I’ve thought about the question over many years. It’s the nature of this kind of caring that you really NEVER know if you made a difference in another person’s life. You go and do what you can, as well as you can. You find the courage to take a chance and, as I’ve said, you break your own heart on purpose. You do it because you care and because you hope something you do will help, will make that difference. But usually, you’ll never know or ever find out.

You’ll never know if the Hope Chest you sponsored is cherished or used to its fullest. You’ll also never know if that little stuffie became a treasured toy that saw a frightened child through many a darkened night. You’ll never know if it ends up in the garbage, or in a child’s heart forever. You’ll never know if the smile you gave, or the hug or the kind word was now forgotten, or changed a perspective for a lifetime. You’ll never know.

Yet, when I think about my own life, some of the most lasting gifts came from those who will never know. The teacher who taught me to sing and saved my life, whose gift to me has been passed along to tens of thousands now, and still counting. The child who sat on my knee in a Kiev orphanage and told me her Dream was to be my daughter. Or little Ajša in the refugee camp who, on my second trip to see her in 1995, told me she knew I was coming, “because I dreamed of you last night.” She was taken away a few weeks later and I haven’t seen her since.

These people changed my life, some while they were serving me and some while I was serving them. And when we serve others we always win ourselves, not in a loud showy way, but deep in our hearts and souls where such things truly matter.

No, I cannot guarantee that when we open our hearts and hands to others we make a difference in their lives. But, I know with perfect certainty that when we do not, we don’t. I’ll never know if I made a difference by going to Pearlington, but I’m positive if I’d stayed home - I didn’t.

There are many more children in Pearlington than we have Hope Chests to give. It’s not too late to sponsor one, never too late to make a difference, for sure, in at least one person’s life:

YOURS.



Thank you,
Jon


hopechest@dreamschoolinternational.com

705-445-8713

Hurricane Wilma

As Hurricane Wilma, the strongest hurricane in recorded history, churns in the Caribbean, Pearlington and the rest of the Gulf Coast braces for the possibility of another tremendous hit. Packing winds of almost 300 kms. per hour, this Category Five storm is wreaking destruction everywhere it turns. Regardless, Team Pearlington is committed to our journey to the people of southwestern Mississippi and is readying to leave Canada next Friday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) currently has funds to purchase 300,000 trailers and mobile homes for people displaced by Katrina. To date, 45 days after Katrina struck, only 7308 (2.4%) of them have been deployed. Meanwhile, FEMA is paying $11 million PER DAY to house refugees in 192,424 hotel rooms across the south. Additionally, they have paid Carnival Cruise Lines hundreds of millions of dollars to park three cruise ships off the coast in the Gulf to serve as floating shelters. To date, they remain virtually unoccupied. In Pearlington, only two trailers have appeared. They are completely empty - with not so much as a fork or a plate inside - while the entire town sleeps on the ground in tents or under tarps.

The need for support, counselling, friendship and play therapy for the traumatized children of this devastated community has never been greater. Dream School International is deeply concerned about the long-term effects of this trauma on the residents affected by this natural disaster and intends to do what we can to alleviate their suffering and to let them know that Canada cares.

Join us in supporting this journey of hope. Make a donation or sponsor a Hope Chest. Send your prayers to the resilient people of Pearlington and pray that Wilma passes them by.

Dream School will be there and we hope you will join us in spirit as we extend a hand up to our neighbours and friends to the south.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Aid Mart....

One day, a very large man I’ll call Samuel came into Aid Mart wanting an air mattress. It wasn’t an unreasonable request, but they were at a premium at that point and I told him so. I explained that I was saving the few I had for the old and infirm.

He looked around. “Come here,” he said. He took me into the enclosed room where the meds were stored. Glancing around to ensure his privacy (which really wasn’t very possible), he said with some passion: “Infirm, huh? I’ll show you infirm.” With that, he unbuckled his pants and dropped both them and his underwear to show me an enormous scar on his rather abundant hip. “Artificial hip,” he said, with some passion. “Doesn’t that quality?” I guess I was too stunned to respond quickly enough. I was, after all, looking at a very large, very fleshy butt - another man’s butt.

“Need more,” he said? Before I could squeak out an answer, he dropped the collected garments to his knees to show me an equally large scar on his thigh. “Knee replacement,” he announced pointedly. “If anyone needs an air mattress, I do!”

I was now looking at another man’s butt AND....well, you get the picture. “Okay, okay, okay,” I yelled. “That’s enough! You win.” In the end I gave him two air mattresses, because I knew one wasn’t going to be sufficient to support all the flesh I had just seen. He hitched up his underwear and pants and, smiling, strode from the back room with his prizes under his arm. “I’m just going to grab a bit of food for the kids,” he said over his shoulder. “Is that OK, or do you need to see more?”

Samuel became a new friend and before I left Pearlington, I took him to my vehicle and gave him the beautiful, new pair of rubber, steel-toed boots I’d purchased in a WalMart on the way down. I hadn’t seen that much man-flesh since high school gym class and I hope I never do again.

Hurricanes make strange bedfellows.

"Hey, hey, hey Paula...."

I heard from Paula Buhr this morning. She is the First Response Nurse from Texas that was helicoptered into Pearlington only days after Katrina struck.

The people there are still sleeping on the ground. Only one or two of the hundreds of thousands of trailers FEMA has parked, has actually been delivered. Paula is returning this week. She is concerned about a number of her patients with health issues who are now developing respiratory problems from sleeping outside.

Paula is very much a "can do" woman. A small slip of a woman, you had to see her ordering around reluctant Army personnel and FEMA guys to get what she wanted for the people of Pearlingon. Someone had to take charge and Paula was the one. She set the pace for all that followed and lives were saved because Miss Paula was on the job. Thank God for people like her.

I also heard from Frisco Jen, the nurse with whom I worked and, like Paula, one of the original P'Town Renegaides. Her father and his wife are currently in Pearlington and I will make contact with him this week to lay some track for Team: Pearlington's visit. We are set to go and very excited about our mission there. Here's an irony only Canadians would appreciate: his name is Joe Clark - like our former Prime Minister.

If you have not yet made a donation or sponsored a Hope Chest, please consider it. We have some great plans for the kids and their families and will be flexible enough to do what needs to be done. I have already been invited to "join" or "affiliate" with other organizations, but am very careful about that. Dream School International, when responding to such situations as Pearlington, is free to "turn on a dime" precisely because we are so independent. Even though there may be funding available through other organizations, I will not jeapordize that freedom and independence if it compromises, in any way, our ability to deliver our mission.

Have a great week and pray for all the folks affected by such events.

What a Team!

We are...."now waking up

to the humbling fact that the world
has only one superpower:
the climate."
- Time Magazine, Oct. 17

The members of Team: Pearlington are coming together and I will be making an announcement soon of its final composition. We still need more Hope Chest sponsorships and on the weekend I will be posting the final list of contents each will hold. One of my local Dream Schools is excited about the possibility of being linked with the school in Pearlington - the one which housed the Shelter, Clinic and Aid Mart. It is by no means up and running yet, but the kids there still consider themselves its students. Both communities are of a similar size, on the water and have other things in common. I will announce the name of the school as I work out the details with the Principal. One of the first things we will do is to have the kids, in the appropriate age cohorts, write some Hope Cards for inclusion in the Hope Chests. These will be small postcards depicting their town, or handmade, bearing messages of hope - child to child.

Tomorrow I will appear on Rogers Cable Television here in Collingwood, an opportunity prompted by Team member Nancy Semple. Those of you local enough to view or tape it will find it on at 11:00 a.m. on the Daytime Show. Other great things are in the works and I will share as they become manifest.

I spoke with Frisco Jen last night, the nurse I worked with in Pearlington and one of the original Renegaides. Her father and mother are in Pearlington and their tasks have captured their hearts. They may be there as long as until Christmas and I look forward to connecting with them when I return on the 28th. He sounds like a wonderful guy and I am anxious for the chance to brag to him about his wonderful daughter.

Any who know me, or have ever been to one of my lectures or a Dream School presentation, know that I will maximize the chance to perform in Pearlington for the folks and kids. To this end, I have designated "Love Can Build a Bridge" as the official Team Tune. Its lyrics are spookily appropriate and it's a wonderful song. I am investigating the timing of getting into the studio to record it before I leave, to hand out in Pearlington to all who have the means to play it. Another of the Renegaides - Skylar Hamilton - had the idea of holding an old-fashioned Cajun Hoedown in the soccer field of the school. It's a great idea as a bonding event for the locals and a much-needed break from the intensity of survival. We will see what we can do.

Take care and please stretch yourselves as much as possible for this worthy project. I leave you now with a few lines from "Love Can Build a Bridge:"

"I would swim out to save you
in your Sea of Broken Dreams,
When all your hopes are sinking,
Let me show you what love means.
Love can build a bridge...."

A Question....

Plans for Project: Pearlington are coming together. We are working on a complete re-vamping of Dream School International's web site - thanks to my step-son Paul Keetch in Vancouver. We also have set up a new blog with full instructions for sponsoring a Hope Chest. Check it out at:

www.dsi-hopechest.blogspot.com

This is a good link to send friends who may be interested in the project.

This blog and the new one are linked (see the links section to the right) and please notice the photos to the right that you can view courtesy of www.flickr.com.

Today, we hear the grim news coming out of Pakistan. I know, if the resources were present, I may already have left to go there and offer my help. In times like these, with so many in need all around the world, it is hard to know what to support and where to send money that will make a real difference. So, I have a question for you that may help:

What would LOVE do?

For me, the answer is "everything I can." In a country like Canada, "broke" is such a relative term, don't you think? Self-respect and self-esteem are the wages of generosity and I know from long experience that when you reach out in service to another, you are changed - blessed, somehow - by the experience and everybody wins. But, just sending money can feel hollow when there is no feedback or evidence that you made a difference.

I make this promise to you: Dream School, as it always has, will ensure that the aid we gather will reach its target EVERY time. I have commited my life to ensuring it.

Give Dream School a chance to prove it to you.

Sponsor a HOPE CHEST.

"There's a hole in the world tonight,
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow,
There's a hole in the world tonight,
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow...."

Bless us all,
Jon

Project: Pearlington - Hope Chests

In the spirit of unconditional giving and to ensure that the families in Pearlington understand that we are not soliciting gratitude for a simple act of kindness, Dream School has created the following protocol for sponsoring a HOPE CHEST.

Here's how to sponsor a Hope Chest for the children and their families of hurricane-ravished Pearlington, Mississippi:

1) Send a cheque, to the address below, for $60.00 Cdn. for each Chest you and your family wishes to sponsor or, call 705-445-8713 to leave a credit card number; if we are unavailable, leave your number and we will return your call. Please make the cheque payable to: Dream School International.

2) Include in the envelope with your cheque, or mail separately, one photo of you, your children or your family. On the back, write your family's names (and ages of the children, if you wish). For the protection of your children and the children of Pearlington, DO NOT include your address or city/town.

3) Upon distribution in Pearlington, we will do our best to record the name and age of the child receiving your Hope Chest and provide this to you upon our return.

4) Inside each Hope Chest will be a card inviting the Pearlington family to contact Dream School by email, or by phone, when either is available, and provide the family's name. We will then cross-reference that to our list and provide your email address, if they wish to make contact with you and if you wish to be contacted.

WHAT TO DO NOW:

1) Include your cheque, photo (if desired), with your children's names and ages on the back of the photo (if desired) - please write nothing else on the photo.

2) OR call the number above to give your credit card number and mail the photo to the address below.

3) Indicate clearly if you wish to sponsor a Hope Chest for a child in the following age groups:

Up to age 6
7 - 11 years
12-14 years
Doesn't matter

4) Indicate if you are open to possible correspondence from the sponsored family sometime in the future.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity. It is almost impossible to comprehend, in the comfort of our own homes, what it must be like to lose everything in a single day.

Thousands of children here in southern Ontario and other countries continue to regularly receive our signature Dream School program. It has been our long experience in Canada, in Bosnia during the war there, with the Children of Chernobyl in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union and elsewhere, that we truly live in a global village. In the age of Internet and world-wide communications, we have a responsibility - that is, an "ability to respond" - to the pain of children everywhere. We cannot change their reality as yet, but we can offer hope and build their resilience so that they will find a way out of their maze.

Nothing does this as effectively as those children knowing that somewhere, someone cares. After all, we are all in this together.

Thank you.
Jon White, Founder

Mailing address: 262 Batteaux Rd., R.R. 2, Collingwood, ON Canada L9Y 3Z1
705-445-8713 Fax: 705-445-8231

Time to Rock 'n Roll!

Some of you, I know, are my age so you must remember this:

"We're gonna go make it happen,
Take the world in a love embrace;
Fire all of our guns at once and
Explode into space."

PROJECT: PEARLINGTON....

Wanna play?

Calling All You Angels....

For me, a Hero is an ordinary person doing an extraordinary thing. It's a person scared senseless, but doing it anyway. A person who reaches deep inside and does what they have to do because, well, it just had to be done. No time to engage their brain and talk themselves out of it, just rightful action and successful consequence.

There were many Heroes in Pearlington the day Katrina took their breath away.

There is young Amanda, who says: "The storm washed away my home. The steps that lead to my front door were down the road. My grandma, my sister and her boyfriend were at my Aunt's house and made it out alive. For three hours we stayed in the back of a pick-up truck. The water was up to the bed of the pick-up truck."

James Narvaez tells of the immediate aftermath of Katrina, part of a group brought together by the storm when they met up at the local fire station looking for shelter the day after they lost their homes. They stayed for four nights, scavenging for food and water, in the second floor of the fire house, which was later deemed too contaminated to serve as a supply distribution site. They found water at a store around the corner and some meat "that didn't smell too bad" in a freezer that had landed nearby.

Narvaez rode out much of the storm on a boat with Claude and Cookie Bello and their family. Whe the flooding began to overwhelm the neighbourhood, the Bellos rushed to a nearby two-story hous to find higher ground. As the water rose, they were forced to the attic, where they were able to board a small boat. Claude Bello's brother, Frankie Bello, found a Tupperware container large enough to hold his 8-month-old baby and floated the baby to the waiting arms of his family on the boat. The family waited six hours in heavy winds and driving rain, before Claude Bello got out of the boat and was able to touch bottom. He tied a rope to his waist and dragged the boat back to the house, where the family rode out the rest of the storm.

There is the young mother and father who were forced to climb a pecan tree, pushing their children ahead of them, as the waters engulfed their home. Many hours later, a small skiff drifted by and the young man swam for and together they "paddled out of town."

There is the quiet man from Stennis, putting his own recovery on hold as he scavenges and provides for 40 others. There is the old man, terminal with emphysema, unable to use his respirator for the lack of a generator. He has one now - thanks to the intrepid insistence of his younger girlfriend.

There is the young girl, who had to send her sister into the Aid Mart to ask an older man, a total stranger, if I thought I could find her a brassiere. There is another 13-year-old Amanda, daughter of the man from Stennis, who badly pinched her finger in a cot, setting them up for the old people. There is little Lucy, who told me "my house broke." And there is Hailey, "proud as Punch," because she finally found a pair of sunglasses that would fit her little face. She grandly took off the adult ones she'd found and asked that Renegade Shawn put them back, in case "someone else needed them."

These are the Heroes of Pearlington and now it is time to support them in a different way.

Dream School International proudly announces the inception of PROJECT: PEARLINGTON. A small team will travel to Mississippi in late October/early November to provide friendship, emotional support and ready hearts and hands to ALL the Heroes of Pearlington.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1) Make application to DSI to be a Volunteer Friendship Ambassador from Canada, travelling during the above dates to Mississippi. I am looking for another man and two or three women.
2) Create a fund raiser to help us build the $4000-$5000 we need to make this Dream a reality.
3) Sponsor one of our newly-created HOPE CHESTS, a small plastic tote with all the things different age groups of children would treasure and hang on to in the challenging months ahead....perhaps a Dream Stone....a fluffy....a pocket radio....a letter and picture from you and your family....a pen pal invitation....a Dream of Hope. Each Hope Chest will include the names, addresses and photo of the sponsoring family and perhaps a long-lasting connection can be made.
4) Send us your prayers and best wishes for a successful Dream in boosting the spirits of the good folk of Pearlington.

Each HOPE CHEST may be sponsored for $60.00 CDN., half of which will create the chest itself and the other half will be donated to the expenses of PROJECT: PEARLINGTON.

Fund raisers may include bake sales, car washes, etc. - anything appropriate that will do the job. DSI can provide information and leaflets for your guests. Dream School cannot, however, support any fund raiser that includes gambling and/or the consumption of alcohol. It's the wrong energy considering with whom we work. So far, DSI has had a total of $335.00 received, with gratitude, towards a follow-up project to my initial trip. That's a good start.


Let's show the Heroes of Pearlington that CANADA CARES!

If you are interested - and available - to travel, please contact me at:

www.heroes@dreamschoolinternational.com

If you have an idea for a fund raiser:

www.support@dreamschoolinternational.com

If you wish to sponsor a Hope Chest:

www.hope@dreamschoolinternational.com


Thank you all for your wonderful support of me as I travelled to the Gulf last month. There is much more to do and, as Canadians, we have a responsibility - that is, an "ability to respond" - that calls us to this outreach of friendship and goodwill.

Jon

"This Canadian is nothing but a big Dreamer"
- Soviet press, 1996

Be Careful What You Ask For....
Photo by Jon