Ruth Plaut Kindergarten

our goal is to give children aged 3-5 a safe environment to socialize, express creativity, and learn the basic skills necessary to further their education. About the School:
The Ruth Plaut Kindergarten was founded in 2006 and named after the mother of cofounder Gideon Plaut. Until Ruth Plaut Kindergarten, our community of Los Brazos/La Mina had no Kindergarten available for its community of at lea

st 3000 Inhabitants. Most of them would stay at home with their siblings (since most parents must work), watching TV or playing in the street. Our idea was to give those children, aged 3-5, a safe environment for them so they can have social interaction with other kids their age, express creativity, and learn the basic motor skills necessary to further their education. As of right now, we have the capacity to teach up to 30 children – even though the need is much higher. A Day at Ruth Plaut:
The children start at 8:30 am and stay until 12:00. We provide a second breakfast for them at 10. Usually, we split the kids in 3 groups and introduce them. We then read books, learn basic alphabet and number, and learn about shapes and colour in accordance with each child’s abilities. The next section of the day is dedicated to creativity. Here, students are encouraged to paint with different tools and engage in basic crafting. We also dedicate time each day to teaching hygiene (i.e., washing hands and brushing teeth). Finally, there is a large, enclosed playground where kids can play safely. This is important since our school and the community is built next to a major highway connecting the Cibao with the North Coast. About the Community:
La Mina is a very poor village located in a town called Jamao Al Norte in Northern Dominican Republic. In this small town, men usually work on farms or in construction, while the women travel to the nearby tourist centers to work cleaning houses or as kitchen help. Most of the parents have almost no education. Unfortunately, some don’t even know how to read or write themselves. As a result of this, nobody has the ability or time to teach their kids or prepare them for school. Our Goal:
Our Kindergarten is a way to cut through this vicious cycle by providing students and their families access to local education for children under 6. With this environment, the Ruth Plaut Kindergarten aims to encourage their kids to love everything that has to do with education – from creativity to hygiene, to physical activity. Over the years, Ruth Plaut has taken pride seeing the many students have graduated from the school and have entered primary school prepared to learn and grow into productive students. Over the years we have established a close relationship with American volunteer Groups that would come to help in the kindergarten. Along with them, they would bring us much needed donations for the school (i.e., materials, supplies, etc.). However, since Covid, these groups have ceased to come due to travel restrictions. Now, after a year and half, our funds are depleted, and the work of 15 years is in danger. The school – a community center for the whole village and a valuable place for the children – is in great need of your help. For the first time since the pandemic began, schools in the Dominican Republic have finally opened. However, students and schools alike are lacking the resources necessary to obtain quality education.