Dominican Starfish Foundation Humanitarian Service Trip. Thanks to all who contributed in any way.

1. DOMINICAN STARFISH FOUNDATION SUMMARY OF HUMANITARIAN TRIP
JANUARY 19-MARCH 29, 2018
1. Jan 19: We arrived safely with 22 pieces of humanitarian luggage. We only paid $85 for all of
it. Would be better free but it’s all good!
2. Jan 19: Barry and Laura Webster donated an ipad for Darwin (Jose Taxi’s son). They didn’t know
that that very day that the director at the university told him that he needed one and they had no way
to get one for him.
3. Jan 19: We were able to give Jose the extra money from Christmas that arrived later and it was just
enough to pay Darwin’s inscription to university.
4. Jan 20: Laura, Melanie and Sharon met Glen and his wife from Saskatchewan. They later
came over and donated $100 and asked for flyers that they could share at the resort and
home.
5. Jan 21: Curtis and Kayla Webster were
privileged to choose a family to receive a new home. They chose Junior and
Marianyi and their family of 3 children. Some very kind donors from Mountain
View donated the money in Curtis and Kayla’s name. It was a wonderful
opportunity for them to participate and a huge blessing for the family.
6. Jan 21: We took a beautiful quilt made my
Melody Woodruff to the Vasquez family

2. 7. Jan 22: We took soccer balls to every child at the Maggiolo school. These were donated
by Barry and Laura Webster. The children had an amazing time!
8. Jan 22: We added an additional member to our education committee—Ray Lister. He
has so many great ideas and a commitment to make a difference.
9. Jan 23: We got matching funds to help with Tutu and Jesenia. We will soon have the money
we need to build their home. Fundraising was less that ½ finished when we came on the 19th
.
10. Jan 26: Barry and Laura enjoyed a trip to Javillar to give
give donated clothing, shoes and suitcases to Katherine who
is leaving on a mission.
11. Jan 27: We attended the baptism of Eliezer Garner,
who was the recipient of our first fundraiser in 2011
when he was burned over 90% of his body. It’s a joy to
see him today.
12. Jan 29: Carol, Ray, Royce, Melody and Louise met with Sheyla who is the
president of the Dominican Starfish in the Dominican and with her mother Amarilis,
our Executive Director/Treasurer there to coordinate our efforts for the university
scholarship program.

3. Jan 29: Royce and Melody Woodruff were able to share a computer with Luz. She is a
university student. Charlotte and Doug and group raised money to build their home.
Computers are a much sought-after item for the people in the Dominican especially those
attending university.
13. Jan 29: On the home front Phoenix
Roach and Olivia Larsen both age 12
made 120 hygiene kits to send to the
Dominican Republic. They saved $200 of their own money and also got
donations from businesses.
14. Feb 1: Laura donated a sizeable amount of her daughter’s baby clothing to one
of the maids whose teenage daughter is expecting and has nothing. This lady
was thrilled to tears. Later she also gave clothing to another maid who is
expecting a little boy.
Feb 2: We were able to make connections to get
help for a handicapped boy. His donors will be from
California and Texas.
15. Feb 3: We received $2500 in donations for Tutu and
Jesenia’s home finishing the funding for their home.
16. Feb 5: Louise was able to meet with Casey Glad who
is the director of the ILP program and help him set up
another school where they will begin teaching English in May.

4. 17. Feb 6: We were able to follow the progress of the new Starfish Center from digging the cistern, to
removing the dirt and then doing the
parging.
We made
sheets
showing
the
progress.
18. Feb 6: On the home front, the Spring Fling Axe Throwing tournament has been organized and I was able to make a
fundraising site for that. www.youcaring.com/2018springfling
19. Feb 7: Barry donated 24 soccer balls to Clarence for 4 teams of young people here in the Dominican.
20. Feb 7: We went grocery shopping and purchased food for Kate and her “family”. She takes care of 6
young Dominican boys. We also visited her classrooms and heard the aspirations of her older students.

5. 21. Feb 7: We went to Frank’s school and delivered, school supplies, food, balls, pillows
and other items. It was great for our new people to meet him and see our projects.
22. Feb 7: We saw Juliany whose home we painted in
November. She had had a knee surgery and couldn’t afford to
buy the prescriptions. They were about $200 US. I posted a
fundraising site and within 1 hours had the $200 needed for her
medication.
23. Feb 8: We received a $1000 donation for the education program.
24. Feb 9: We received a $1000 donation for the foundation from Bonnie and Mike Arnold
from PEI. They are friends that we have met on the resort.
25. Feb 10: We spend hours at the villa packing clothing, hygiene supplies and baby packs at the villa. There are so many
baby items brought by Bonnie including diapers, formula, Tylenol, lotions, shampoo etc.

6. 26. Feb 10: Louise took Sunni to the gate to meet Patricia. Sunni committed $50 a
month to help with her university. Late that night Jenn also committed $50 a
month in memory of her grandmother. We got monthly donations from Utah and
Arizona as well to help Patricia. We now have $180 that we can give her.
27. Feb 10: We have also receiving some funding to start supporting Darwin in his
university career to become a doctor.
28. Feb 10: Jenn’s grandmother died unexpectedly the second night she was here. She was soooo devastated. By the next
night, she was donating in her honor and asked me to set up a website for others to do the same.
www.youcaring.com/helga
29. Feb 10: Louise was able to get an appointment set up for Little Jose in Santo Domingo to assess
his situation for possible surgery. We made a fundraising site for this and raised the funds we
needed to help with transportation and accommodations.
30. Feb 10: We were able to visit Valbina with Sunni and Jenn and
show them the project that they helped raise money for. We took her
many gifts including things for her little granddaughter who was having
her 4th
birthday.
Feb 11: We took new guests that we met at the
resort to see our projects. Laurel and Laird MacLean, Judy Gardiner and Bonnie
Arnold were extremely impressed and want to help with future projects. We also
delivered food packs with them.

7. 31. Feb 12: We have delivered several baby packs to pregnant women and moms
with new babies, including workers at the resort. These packs were made by 13 year
old Rebecca in Boise, Idaho.
32. Feb 13: We got another home sponsored. This will be for the other family Curtis
and Kayla didn’t choose. (They chose between 2 families). The money is going to be
raised by the Keech family who are coming in
November.
33. Feb 14: Tekarra did a music class in Frank’s school with the purpose of teaching
some English. We also delivered Valentine treats to all the children at his school
as well as Kate’s school.
34. Feb 14: We delivered hygiene kits and chocolate to all of our construction
workers to express our appreciation to them.
35. Feb 14: With Keshia and Nick Larsen, we started the construction of a new
website for our foundation. They will be teaching Bonnie (our daughter) how to
keep it updated.
36. Feb 14: Bonnie was able to deliver a
suitcase full of diapers, clothing, toys and a bumbo chair to a little special needs child.
He has 3 siblings that attend Kate’s school. While there, we also delivered a suitcase
full of shoes donated by Karen Wojtowicz.

8. 37. Feb 15: Many members of our family, friends and board were able to help Kate’s foundation raise money for a funeral
after the tragic death of one of the students in her school. https://www.youcaring.com/youthupliftmentinternational-
1098393
38. Feb 16: We did our first audio interview for our future blog. Nick is teaching me how to add
audios and videos. It was a great interview with Sunni and Jenn just before they left.
39. Feb 16: Even since we arrived, we have been able to book several first-time guests to visit us
during our stay. Creating awareness has been one of the most beneficial things we do.
40. We passed out hygiene kits that Phoenix and Olivia made. We gave them to all our
workers at the center and also to others in Javillar.
41. We took a large food pack to Mela. She is being
supported monthly with food by Mary Cahoon. She
is always so grateful.
42. We took school supplies and hygiene kits to a small Haitian school in Maggiolo.
43. Louise enjoyed a 45 minute call with the President of Live Different, Charles Roberts who
partners with WestJet to build houses in the Dominican and other areas. We are getting our
name out to the community which is great.

9. 44. Upon learning the cost of diapers in the Dominican and
hearing of a specific need, Bonnie Jensen started a diaper
campaign on facebook.
Meet Wiliary — This little girl is 3. She has kidney cancer and is on
dialysis. Her kidney with cancer has been removed. Her Grandma
approached us in hope for diapers. The chemo treatments makes
her so sick, the usual ration of diapers is 1 (maybe 2) a day. She has
been going through 5. I didn’t have size 3 diapers with me anymore
because they were given to the little boy with microcephaly. My
heart is for the little children. I decided I would buy a box of
diapers. In my mind I figured diapers cost the same here as at home
in Canada. At the grocery store the diapers were on sale 212 pesos,
making the box of 104 diapers 1395 pesos. (31usd)! I can buy in
Canada a box of 204 diapers for $38 (31usd). This makes me sick. If
you were to compare their income to our income and their cost of
living to ours it would be like us paying $500 for a box of 104
diapers. This box of diapers I’ve bought will only last 20 days. I am
so grateful to be born here in Canada."
45. Amarilis was able to purchase tile for our center. With her amazing negotiating skills, she was
able to pay 98000 pesos instead of the asking price
of 175000 pesos.
46. Feb 22: We visited
Javillar with the Bach
and Allen families and
gave out food packs.
There was a sweet
reunion with David
Bach and Antonia. I
love how our projects
bless both the giver and the receiver.

10. 49: Feb 23: Bonnie Jensen took the opportunity to visit with the CFO of
WestJet on the plane. She sat with him for about 15 minutes and told him all
the she could about Dominican Starfish Foundation. This was her
introduction:
“My name is Bonnie, and I would be doing my mother a disservice if I didn’t
take this opportunity to talk to you and thank you.
My mother is the founder and executive director of the Dominican Starfish
Foundation which is a registered charity here in Canada that focuses its
humanitarian services in Dominican Republic. “
50: Feb 24: This day and many others during our
stay we made about 150 baby packs which we
gave to workers at the resort, members of the
community, the hospital, Amarilis for the
distribution center and to others for distribution.
51. Feb 26: Jack, Jose Taxi,
Megan and Ace Hillyer went
around to all the homes
which needed Starfish
installed on them and got
the job done.

11. 52. Feb 27: Through Fernando we were able to help a mother desperate for food. Fernando told us a sad story. When he
was working in town he met a little family and became friends. It turns out the man in the family had several women around
the city and his wife left because she didn’t want to contract a disease for one thing. Then her mother passed away. Because
she missed time at the death and because many times she had no one to care for her child, she lost her job at a clinic. She
then had to also drop out of university. Yesterday she contacted Fernando because she didn’t know where else to turn. She
knew he had been associated with the foundation. She said that they hadn’t eaten in days and she had no money for food for
herself and her child. She also said that her friend had told her that she had a
great body and could make lots of money on the streets in Sosua. Fernando
pleaded for her not to do that. He had $20 in his pocket that he had made that
day at the shop. He had food in his house so he got on his scooter and went to
her home to give her the money. It is heart-breaking. I know how hard it is for
him to support his own family. Eventually, I would love to have money in our
foundation for situations like this. We bought a $50 food pack and
Fernando delivered it to her.
53: Feb 27. We went to Kate’s school and delivered
school supplies and food. Jack taught an English
lesson there. It was so great to interact with the
children.
54: March 1. Charlotte and Doug Palmer brought
150 pounds of basketball uniforms. This was donated to them to bring the day before they left
Edmonton. At the same time, in the Dominican, a coach came to Amarilis asking if our
foundation could supply basketball uniforms for their group! Wow. They also brought a huge
amount of diapers and other donations.

12. 55. March 2: We went with new people we had never met before from Arizona
to deliver food packs. They are the parents and Grandparents of one of the ILP
girls. Their family name is Booher.
56. March 2: We announced
to the Flores family that they
would be receiving a new
home. They are the other
family that Curtis and Kayla
went to visit. They will be
sponsored by Kevin and
Melanie Keech and family.
57. March 2: I received a message from Brenda Horton, one of the Chairman’s Circle
people who own the beautiful “castle” on Esmeralda’s point. She had seen the video of
the Flores family and said that they would like to sponsor a home. We are so blessed to
have met kind and generous people on the resort.
58. Through a series of circumstances we
ended up hosting 4 ladies from Utah that
were supposed to be staying in Cabarete. I
had only met one of them before. We
took them to Javillar to do food packs.
59: March 3: We met with Ali and Manuela and
their family. They live in a small rented home.
Sharon Jones felt impressed to cancel her
upcoming humanitarian trip to Tanzania in June
which was going to cost her $5000. Instead, she
donated the money so that Ali and Manuela could buy a piece of land. Sharon, Robyn, Carolee
and Debbie are now going back to Utah to raise funds to build them a home.

13. 60: March 3: We went to a small church in Cabarete run by Winston Cena, a salesman at the resort. We took food packs,
clothing, candy, toys and more to donate there.
61. March 4: With Charlotte, Doug, Zoe and Gemma Palmer we visited Javillar and took gifts to their “Starfish” families.
Their family and friends have raised money to build 3 homes as well as donating for numerous others.

14. 62. March 4: We took diapers that had been donated by people in Canada for Wiliary. She is the
little girl with kidney cancer. We had an amazing, humbling visit in their home.
63. March 4: We took loads of things to Amarilis house for
later distribution. We will be so happy when we can get
this moved to the distribution center.
64. March 5: We received a donation so that Francesca can
have a new little kitchen in her home. While in
Javillar, her granddaughter, Brenda took me in
to ask if we could help.
65. March 6: Cathy Simkins and her family painted the home that Cathy had raised
money for 3 years ago. It looks so much better!
66: March 6: Cathy Simkins and her group delivered food packs in
Javillar.

15. 67. March 6: We delivered
baseball donations to a team
in the city. Sharon had
brought a full suitcase of
gloves and balls and another
bag of bats, catcher’s
equipment, shirts, hats and
more. The kids were very
excited.
68. March 7: We delivered
many baby packs made by Zoe
(15) and Gemma (12) Palmer
from Edmonton to new mothers
at the hospital.
69. March 8: Zoe and Gemma Palmer
delivered baby packs to workers
around the resort for them and for
their families in need.

16. 70. March 9: We delivered sheets and food to Mela.
She is the recipient of our first home and very poor.
She is always so grateful.
71. March 9: The Palmers delivered toys and school
supplies to the children in the Maggiolo school.
72. March 10: Tekarra Roach posted a fundraiser to
help raise money to finish furnishing the Starfish
Center. We got a $500 donation from someone in Utah I barely know.
73. March 9. Amarilis was able to purchase the tile for the front
of our new center with the money donated by David and Cyndie
Bach. They gave us $1000.
74. March 10: We went to Ray and Terry Arsenault of Calgary to
visit Denny and his family and see the progress on his home. It
will be very nice when it is finished. The majority of the funding for this home has been done by Andy Perenek, also someone
we met on the resort.

17. 75. March 10: We visited the home of Kelvin,
who is a pool boy on the resort. We are
hoping to be able to help him.
76. March 10: We visited Javillar with Jim Keech and his daughter, Marilyn. He
donated the money so that Juliany could have her knee surgery.
77. March 10: We visited Francesca and
Brenda and saw their new kitchen that
was donated by a kind donor.
78. March 11: We went in search of
land for Tommy and Fior Paulino.
Though we have had the money for their
home for a year, we haven’t build because the land they own isn’t appropriate
for building.
79. March 12: Amarilis went shopping for a
stove and fridge. The price in the store to buy
new was $5000. She went to the shipping
center and after much bargaining, bought
slightly used for $875. She also bought a stove for the ILP teachers.

18. 80. March 12: Jim and Marilyn Keech went with Jose, Jose and Amarilis and delivered 25 large food packs to people in many
communities. They was the poorest people in the congregation at church, recommended by the Bishop and Presidency in the
area. Even Amarilis said it was one of her most humbling ever experience.
81. March 13: We went with the Laird family to again look for land for Tommy
Paulino. Instead, we were able to find a 3 year old home. We had to raise another
$6500. While there, Tommy got a call that his land had sold. It had been for sale for
a year. He sold it for $2000 and was going to reduce it to $500 that day. We made
an offer on the home.
82. March 13: We went to Maimon to visit Luis Jeronimo who we
got a leg for in the fall. He is walking so well and very grateful for the
help.
83. March 13: We met Domingo Salvador. He is a former policeman
who was blown up by a bomb. He lost his eye in the accident. He is
now a security guard on the resort. His friends are asking for help from
us to get a prosthetic eye. I hope we can help him.
84. March 13: We met Maria who lives way out
in the country near Maimon. We looked at her
home and took pictures. Her husband works at
VIP Gourmet. It’s someone else that we hope to
help in the future. Her brought said that he can
find the builders if we help with the materials.
85. March 13: We were introduced to Roberto. He lost his leg in a motorbike accident 10
years ago. We really want to help but there is so much need.

19. 86: March 13: Jim Keech, Bonnie and Jack committed the additional money needed to purchase Tommy’s home. We are so
grateful!
87. March 14: We went to Aris’ school and took treats for all the children and played with them. Her school has grown so
much. It now has 210 children.
88. March 14: The Laird family walked to Maggiolo taking donations for the school and
for members of the community.
89. March 15: With the Keeches and the Laird family we tore down Valbina’s home
making ready for a new one.

20. 90: March 15: Amarilis told us of a tiny home behind Valbina’s which was for sale for only
115000 pesos (about $2500 US) Members of our group pledged the money to buy the
home so that we can have more space for Valbina and Bacillia or a tiny home for another
senior lady.
91: March 15: We went to another area of
Javillar and delivered food packs.
92. March 15: Louise, Jim Keech and the Lairds accompanied Amarilis to the bank
to exchange money to purchase two homes and a piece of land. The power was
off, so all the money had to be counted by hand.
93. March 15. We went to the
lawyer and signed papers for
Tommy’s home, Ali’s land and the
new little house we bought this
morning. The power was also off at
the lawyers office so it took way
longer than it should have. Crazy
times! It was exhausting. The
whole process with the bank and
lawyer took 6 hours.
94. March 16: Amarilis was able to buy the ceiling fans for our center for less than half of
the price quoted her originally. She is a most amazing negotiator.

21. 95. March 16: Nick Laird spoke with Jose Taxi. He has told us that he is moving to Santo Domingo in July.
We don’t know what we will do without him. He asked if he could get a home in Puerto Plata if he would
stay and he confirmed that he would. Now we are trying to figure out how we can make that happen. He
is invaluable to us in our foundation.
96. March 16: We heard from Ray and Terry Arsenault in Calgary that they will be sponsoring Kelvin to get
his home. I made a fundraising site for that: www.youcaring.com/kelvinCND
97. March 17: We went with the Laird family and donated over 1000 diapers to Angel who is a young,
special needs boy that we became aware of. We had a wonderful, humbling visit with his mother.
98. March 17: We went to Kate’s school and took supplies to families who had lost
everything in the flooding last week. One mother had a
9-day old baby.
99. March 19: Paula and family took food and items to
people in Maggiolo and also to two schools there.
100. March 19: We visited one of our “starfish” families.
It was nice to see them caring for their beautiful home.

22. 101. March 20: We spent a lot of the day cooking for the grand opening of our new center. We made 9 large sheet cakes.
Several people helped out.
102: March 20: We had the grand opening of our new Starfish Center in Javillar. About 175 people were in attendance
throughout the evening.

23. 103. March 20: While festivities continued at the center, Jack went with Maximo (our chef) to see his home. As we
suspected, it’s not so nice and we would love to help him sometime.
104. March 21: Pearl, Paula and Louise went to the ILP building and did a
presentation about the foundation for the teachers. There are 30 teachers there who
are volunteers teaching English.
105. March 22: We went to Kate’s school and took donations of food, clothing and
school supplies. Pearl brought a white t-shirt for every child in the school.

24. 106. March 22: We visited Frank’s school and took food brought by Paula Lythgoe and school
supplies donated by Cathy Simkins and Corrie Newman. He was very grateful. When asked
what he needs most, he said composition books for the children. He also dreams of the day
when he could leave his full-time job and run the school with his family. That would require
$400 a month. I would love to be able to help with
this.
107. March 22: We went to La Sirena and Treana
Anderson and Heather Francis bought over 100
composition books for Frank’s school.
108. March 23: We went to the hospital to
take donations we had gathered. Most of the donations were from Pearl Giles and
her group.
There were also many donations of Tylenol from various people. We also gave baby
packs to the new mothers.
109. March 23: We went to Frank’s school
and delivered the composition books. He
was so thrilled. He shared some awesome
experiences with us. Pearl also left baby
packs with him to give to members of his
congregation. Paula brought so much food to
donate.

25. 110. March 23: With our group of 16 people, we went to Javillar and took down the new little house we built and also
Bacillia’s home. Participating were Paula Lythgoe’s group, Pearl Gile’s group and the Giuaques who joined us from Utah. The
Giauques are parents of one of the dentists who came last summer. At Christmas they raised over $20000 for the 3 homes we
were fundraising for. They were able to meet the families.
111. March 24: Kent Giauque who is a dentist expressed interest in coming back to Puerto Plata to do humanitarian dental
work. He hopes to buy a chair which would be put permanently in our center.
112. March 24: Among the guests staying with us we raised money to help Luis Miguel get a new
part that will help increase his internet service area. He is a wonderful, amazing
help to the foundation and we are thrilled to be able to help him.
113. March 24: We packed up so many donations at the villa and took them to
Javillar. Amarilis’ house is getting crazy full of stuff. The things from this trip are
in the livingroom. There is a bedroom full of things as well.
114. March 24: We did food packs yet another time. Every
time a new group comes, it is an opportunity for them to meet
the locals and see how they live. Paula bought pastries and
passed them out as well.

26. 115. March 24: Paula Lythgoe delivered a computer to a
young person in Javillar who is a friend of Luis Miguel’s.
She is a new teacher.
116. March 25: I went with David and Brenda Horton to
Javillar. They had expressed interest in helping with our
projects. The thing that really spoke to Brenda was the
possibility of building a playground for the children. There
is a piece of land very close to our starfish center
that Amarilis would like to buy for that. It is a
place that we have been storing our sand and
other materials on while building our center.
117. March 25: We went to visit and take
donations to more of our “Starfish Families”.
These were both families that Pearl and Lynn
Giles had helped with their groups to have
homes.
118: March 26: Pearl and Lynn went with
their group to the hardware store to buy
paint for Marcelena’s home. They then
painted the outside from and the main room
in the house. It looks so, so much better.

27. 119. March 26: At the request of Deanna who works in accounting at the resort, I
took her relatives who were visiting to Javillar. Joanne is an artist. She took lots of
pictures. They want to help in the future. Joanne has offered to do a painting for our
auction. They visited our distribution center and many of the homes that are on our
list to build. They also distributed clothing and items to people in the neighborhood.
120. March 27: After visiting at supper about a man we met in Javillar, we went
back at 7:00 in the morning to announce that he would get a new home. Chloe (age
16) had made friends with him the day before. His home is in deplorable condition.
With her mother’s support, Chloe is going to be in charge of the funding for this
home.
121. March 27: We took 3 bikes
to Maggiolo and had a draw with
the children there who would get
the bicycles. Paula had brought
money for 2 of these and one was
from Taylor Webster in Las Vegas.
She raised the money for her 9th
birthday.

28. 122. March 28: We packed up all the rest of the donations and took them to Javillar. We had a great
visit with Amarilis and Jose Taxi. We spoke with him about the possibilities of getting a home in Javillar.
He is very grateful. He told us the story of his childhood.
123: March 28: We went one last time to see the distribution
center before leaving. It is looking better each time that we see it.
124. March 28: We went to see Rosendo’s home. Last July he
had asked us for help. He had been building his home for 4 years
and because of health problems was not able to go any further. Karen Wotowicz, Jill
Barkhouse and others raised funds to make this possible. It is beautiful.
125. March 29: We gave baby packs and other baby items left by Cathy Simkins to Llairo on the resort. He is a salesman. He
later sent pictures and donated to 15 different women with new babies.
IT WAS AN AMAZING PRODUCTIVE TRIP!
THANKS TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED!