Thanks!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Online Campaign
We have just announced our online campaign! If you are interested in contributing to our cause visit: www.indiegogo.com/voydoysoy
Monday, April 25, 2011
Gracias a Nuestra Querida Armenia
We recently returned from our weeklong stay in El Salvador, which passed far too quickly. We spent our days working on the homeless shelter, meeting friendly Salvadoreans, dining with Las Señoras de la Caridad, and walking through the beautiful, yet poverty-striken, streets of Armenia.
Our trip coincided with Semana Santa (Holy Week), so we were able to see the beautiful celebratory traditions of Armenia for a third time. On Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday), the Christian community gathered in the streets dressed in purple to greet Jesus. Along with the locals, we carried palms throughout the town and were blessed with holy water. On Viernes Santo (Good Friday), church members were adorned in purple once again, but the Friday procession honored Jesus' sacrifice. Members of the church carried a 2000 pound representation of Jesus carrying the cross, along with the figure of Mary Magdalene, St. John, and Virgen Mary. Following the procession, the people of Armenia constructed alfombras of colored salts, sawdust, and paints. The following procession occurred Friday night until early Saturday morning, in which members of the church wearing black carried Jesus' coffin, Virgin Mary, St. John, and Mary Magdalene over the alfombras. The processions are a wonderful display of the beauty, culture, and community of Armenia.
Las Señoras de la Caridad held a reception for us, in which we dined together and shared our thoughts. This was a very emotional meeting for all of us and truly reminded us why we do what we do. Following the reception, we were interviewed for the local television channel and radio station, which was exciting!
The homeless shelter stands with one completed wall and three walls that are currently being constructed, along with a fraction of a roof. With the money that we brought over last year, we were able to lay bricks to nearly complete the second wall. We have been working with two kind Salvadoreans, fifteen-year-old Javier and his father Don Israel, along with several locals of Armenia.
Due to generous donations, support from our community, and hard work, we were able to donate $6,675 to Las Señoras de la Caridad to continue construction. We also donated $200 to less fortunate families of El Salvador, who were in turn deeply grateful. We greatly thank everyone who has donated their time and effort to the cause, especially our high school community. We also thank those of Armenia who welcome us with open arms, support us, and make the town of Armenia the beautiful place that it is. We especially want to acknowledge Las Señoras de la Caridad, Jóvenes Pro Arte en Armenia, Armenienses and Unidos Residiendo Afuera de Armenia, Armenienses Pro Desarrollo Social, several groups who are also "trabajando por una Armenia mejor" (working for a better Armenia).
We need $8,000 to complete the shelter and hope to do so within the next year. The shelter is expected to open early next year to start housing the homeless of Armenia, but will not yet be fully constructed. Once the structure is built, we will need to purchase beds, washing machines, linens, dining tables and chairs.
If you are interested in helping out or making a donation, you can email us at voydoysoy@gmail.com or visit our Donating page to find out how you can contribute.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Donations
Hi all,
As a reference for all that would like to donate, checks can be made out to VoyDoySoy, and mail can be sent to the following address:
VoyDoySoy
3999 Mission St, Ste. A
San Francisco, CA 94112
Thanks to all for your continued support.
-The VoyDoySoy Team
As a reference for all that would like to donate, checks can be made out to VoyDoySoy, and mail can be sent to the following address:
VoyDoySoy
3999 Mission St, Ste. A
San Francisco, CA 94112
Thanks to all for your continued support.
-The VoyDoySoy Team
Friday, March 18, 2011
Voy Doy Soy at Spotlight on Civic Engagement
Interested in supporting Voy Doy Soy? Purchase tickets for the Spotlight on Civic Engagement at www.lwhs.org/soce
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
New Facebook Page!
Hello Followers!
We just made a Facebook page for VoyDoySoy in an effort to connect with more people via Facebook. If you have any messages for us, or want to just check it out and like it, that would be much appreciated! The website is:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/VoyDoySoy/190088607670169
Hope to see you guys there!
The VoyDoySoy Team
Emma-Arnesty-Good, Emily Hills, Sara Peletz, and Francesca Zepeda
We just made a Facebook page for VoyDoySoy in an effort to connect with more people via Facebook. If you have any messages for us, or want to just check it out and like it, that would be much appreciated! The website is:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/VoyDoySoy/190088607670169
Hope to see you guys there!
The VoyDoySoy Team
Emma-Arnesty-Good, Emily Hills, Sara Peletz, and Francesca Zepeda
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Armenienses Pro Desarrollo Social
We are not the only ones working for a better Armenia! Armenienses Pro Desarrollo Social is an organization, also founded in San Francisco, which strives to make a better life for children, families, and the community of Armenia. The four core projects of APDS are: Escuela de Fútbol Armenia (Soccer Academy), Centro de Instrucción Musical Armeniense (Music Academy), Centro de Inglés (English Academy), and helping the environment.
To find out more visit:
www.apds-sanfrancisco.org
To find out more visit:
www.apds-sanfrancisco.org
Monday, January 3, 2011
The New Year
We would just like to wish everyone a happy new year filled with peace! This year we are going to need as much support as possible in order to complete our goals. So please donate on our page or if you do not have a paypal account email us at voydoysoy@gmail.com and we can arrange another way for you to donate. Anything and everything is appreciated! Thanks so much and we hope everyone had a great holiday season! We also love to hear feedback about how we can improve our system and get the word out. Feel free to use the comment section or send us an email! Thanks again!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
What Does "VoyDoySoy" Mean?
Voy--"I go"
We go to El Salvador to work on the construction of the homeless shelters, and develop connections with the El Salvadorean people.
Doy--"I give"
We both give and receive when we visit El Salvador. We donate the money we fund raised throughout the year, as well as delivering clothes that we gathered in San Francisco.
Soy--"I am"
What we do defines us.
We go to El Salvador to work on the construction of the homeless shelters, and develop connections with the El Salvadorean people.
Doy--"I give"
We both give and receive when we visit El Salvador. We donate the money we fund raised throughout the year, as well as delivering clothes that we gathered in San Francisco.
Soy--"I am"
What we do defines us.
Meet VoyDoySoy
Las Chicas de la Caridad: a Philanthropy Project
“I have found that among it’s other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver”-Maya Angelou
Two years ago, we had an idea. We were merely freshman in high school, and we knew little of global injustices and hardships. Going to Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, a prestigious private institution, we were aware of our privilege. The philanthropic values instilled upon us during our fall/winter semester of that year had a large impact on us. We knew that our resources at Lick and our privilege would be valuable in not only educating ourselves but reaching out to a community less privileged than our own. Entering our spring semester, we got connected with Las Senoras de la Caridad, a group of elderly women who worked to better their community of Armenia, El Salvador.
Francesca Zepeda, one of the four members of our group, had deep connections with the town and organization because of her paternal family’s presence in the town. Her grandmother, the leader of this group, spoke to Francesca about a plan to build a homeless shelter. The construction of this shelter had been stopped due to a lack of funds. She decided to team up with three of her closest friends: Emma Arnesty-Good, Emily Hills and Sara Peletz, to begin a project that would support the continuation of construction on the shelter.
Taking on this project seemed daunting to us. We weren’t part of a larger organization and we didn’t possess any type of foundation to build off of. But we had an idea: we could do it on our own. While our parents were supportive, not everyone else could grasp the idea of four fourteen year olds initiating such a large project. As one member of the administration at our school asked us, “You guys are just going to go to El Salvador and build a homeless shelter?” While we were slightly discouraged by this opposition, our answer was firm. “Yes.”
Two years later the shelter stands with three walls and a roof. Despite other’s discerning views of our project, we continued. We organized bake sales, garage sales and a letter campaign, in total raising over 3,000 dollars. We went to El Salvador over our spring break during freshman and sophomore years. While delivering the money we had raised, we also laid bricks and did other miscellaneous jobs around the construction site. Getting our hands dirty and seeing the money we had raised put to use was the most rewarding part. We were adopted by Las Senoras de la Caridad our first year there and honored with the name “Las Chicas de la Caridad.”
“Caridad” meaning charity is defined as something given to a person in need. While the community of Armenia, El Salvador was in need of homeless shelter, we were in need of an educational experience to broaden our world views. Philanthropy, in a sense, is a mutually beneficial relationship. Through our experience of fundraising and visiting El Salvador we have been introduced to a loving community that has welcomed us year after year and gained knowledge of the determination and motivation needed to take on a project such as this one. It has become more of a privilege than a duty or obligation to participate in the support of a cause. This is one of the key values that should define any philanthropic project.
Beyond the financial aspect of our cause we have developed a unique connection with the community we seek to help. Through attending town celebrations, we have been able to interact with the people of Armenia. It has been very interesting to explore a community so different from ours, so impoverished, yet so generous and welcoming. Previously the people of El Salvador might have felt differently towards privileged American students. We had hoped and proved that our presence would change their preconceptions of our intent. Our connections made the experience all the more rewarding and grew a mutual understanding between our separate cultures.
In our third year of involvement we hope to educate others about our cause, inspire them to embark on similar journeys, and take our fundraising to the next level in order to complete the homeless shelter. Our independence with this project is what has caused the development of the project to include our own feeling of responsibility towards the community of Armenia. We encourage our peers to attempt this kind of project because it has been a large contributor to our maturity as people.
“I have found that among it’s other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver”-Maya Angelou
Two years ago, we had an idea. We were merely freshman in high school, and we knew little of global injustices and hardships. Going to Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, a prestigious private institution, we were aware of our privilege. The philanthropic values instilled upon us during our fall/winter semester of that year had a large impact on us. We knew that our resources at Lick and our privilege would be valuable in not only educating ourselves but reaching out to a community less privileged than our own. Entering our spring semester, we got connected with Las Senoras de la Caridad, a group of elderly women who worked to better their community of Armenia, El Salvador.
Francesca Zepeda, one of the four members of our group, had deep connections with the town and organization because of her paternal family’s presence in the town. Her grandmother, the leader of this group, spoke to Francesca about a plan to build a homeless shelter. The construction of this shelter had been stopped due to a lack of funds. She decided to team up with three of her closest friends: Emma Arnesty-Good, Emily Hills and Sara Peletz, to begin a project that would support the continuation of construction on the shelter.
Taking on this project seemed daunting to us. We weren’t part of a larger organization and we didn’t possess any type of foundation to build off of. But we had an idea: we could do it on our own. While our parents were supportive, not everyone else could grasp the idea of four fourteen year olds initiating such a large project. As one member of the administration at our school asked us, “You guys are just going to go to El Salvador and build a homeless shelter?” While we were slightly discouraged by this opposition, our answer was firm. “Yes.”
Two years later the shelter stands with three walls and a roof. Despite other’s discerning views of our project, we continued. We organized bake sales, garage sales and a letter campaign, in total raising over 3,000 dollars. We went to El Salvador over our spring break during freshman and sophomore years. While delivering the money we had raised, we also laid bricks and did other miscellaneous jobs around the construction site. Getting our hands dirty and seeing the money we had raised put to use was the most rewarding part. We were adopted by Las Senoras de la Caridad our first year there and honored with the name “Las Chicas de la Caridad.”
“Caridad” meaning charity is defined as something given to a person in need. While the community of Armenia, El Salvador was in need of homeless shelter, we were in need of an educational experience to broaden our world views. Philanthropy, in a sense, is a mutually beneficial relationship. Through our experience of fundraising and visiting El Salvador we have been introduced to a loving community that has welcomed us year after year and gained knowledge of the determination and motivation needed to take on a project such as this one. It has become more of a privilege than a duty or obligation to participate in the support of a cause. This is one of the key values that should define any philanthropic project.
Beyond the financial aspect of our cause we have developed a unique connection with the community we seek to help. Through attending town celebrations, we have been able to interact with the people of Armenia. It has been very interesting to explore a community so different from ours, so impoverished, yet so generous and welcoming. Previously the people of El Salvador might have felt differently towards privileged American students. We had hoped and proved that our presence would change their preconceptions of our intent. Our connections made the experience all the more rewarding and grew a mutual understanding between our separate cultures.
In our third year of involvement we hope to educate others about our cause, inspire them to embark on similar journeys, and take our fundraising to the next level in order to complete the homeless shelter. Our independence with this project is what has caused the development of the project to include our own feeling of responsibility towards the community of Armenia. We encourage our peers to attempt this kind of project because it has been a large contributor to our maturity as people.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
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