#UnitedKingdom, December 12, 2017 – North Caicos’ D.C. Cynclair Musgrove brought to our attention the ambitious, highly commendable work of Raymond Gardiner High School students. Briann Gardiner & Astacio Ariza, together with their fifth form peers, are championing the repairs and refurbishment of their community facility at Horse Stable Beach.
This integral landmark not only hosts civic and social functions, such as the annual Rake n’ Scrape, Season Jam, pageants, recitals, graduations and meetings among others, but is also a very popular tourist destination. Though since the passing of Irma and Maria, it has been forced to close. This has already led to two major community functions being affected.
In their letter to HIRTAC, they stated that they would like to ‘give back to the island that gave so much to them’. The students’ resourcefulness, compassion and wisdom is beyond their years. We owe it to these future leaders of TCI to encourage and empower their goals.
Since then we have been in discussion with officials; the Ministries of Education, Infrastructure, Planning and Public Works are all very supportive of their initiative and for contributions towards the scheme. We would like the pay special thanks to our advisor & TCIG Senior Quantity Surveyor, Dominique Durham, who has been instrumental in assisting the cause. We are all very exited to work together with the students.
SO, WHAT ARE WE DOING?
HIRTAC are kick-starting their campaign with an initial grant of $20,000! This is thanks to all of your generous donations so far; THANK YOU! Also, thank you for being patient while we ensured that your contributions will be well invested and meaningfully delivered.
In order to help make their dream a reality, we still need to do more. We are working alongside the students to help establish and advise on the works. We are committed to realizing their vision for a resilient, celebrated site that seizes the full potential of its location.
We will be running a series of community-engagement programmes with local practices and individuals to develop not only the students’ proposal for the site, but also to offer design education outreach. We believe it is important to not only help restore this facility to beyond its former glory, but to also engage and empower this community.
With official assessments totaling repairs at over $130k, we need your help.
We are seeking monetary or material sponsorship on behalf of the students. You can make donations here, or please get in touch to learn more and find out other ways you can contribute.
We will be announcing developments with their project along the way & opportunities to get your sleeves rolled up in 2018.
WELL DONE Briann, Astacio & peers! Your determination, and that of your hardworking District Commissioner, is truly inspiring.
#TCIstrong #BuildBackBetter #HorseStableBeach
Press Release by: HIRTAC
About HIRTAC: HIRTAC is a non-profit relief initiative, founded by UK-based Turks and Caicos Islanders and past residents.
HIRTAC works in conjunction with an advisory panel of varied expertise in the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) comprising local non-profit charity Food for Thought, as well as a number of other established individuals in their respective field
OUR MISSION:
To establish a mode of reputable, transparent funding to support the humanitarian response in the TCI following Hurricane Irma.
THE METHOD BEHIND THE MISSION
- 1. Short Term: To act as an agentto support emergency relief efforts which assist local communities in restoring their homes & businesses. This includes receiving donations of goods and facilitating outreach programmes/initiatives.
- Long Term: Invest funds raised in rebuilding opportunities for the youth of the local communities in TCI.
THE MONEY BEHIND THE MISSION:
WHERE YOUR DONATION GOES
STEP 1 | DONATE |
You raise and donate incredible amounts of money to help the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. For those in the US, please note you can make 501(c)(3) tax-deductible contributions. Fiscal sponsorship has kindly been made available to HIRTAC through the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund.
STEP 2 | ALLOCATE |
We add together all the money and use it to give grants to organisations whose purpose aligns with our mission of supporting urgent relief and rebuilding opportunities for the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In this immediate period, we are helping to identify suitable proposals and reaching out to the communities in need.
Please get in touch to find out how to apply for a grant here.
STEP 3 | DISTRIBUTE |
It takes several weeks for each batch of funding to be allocated so we can ensure the most efficient use of donations. Money is given out in stages rather than a lump sum so we can regularly maintain its most effective use.
During this process, HIRTAC endeavours to obtain sponsorship of every avenue, from transport to external service/administration costs. This means that every penny you give is most efficiently invested in rebuilding opportunities for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
STEP 4 | OVERSEE |
We oversee projects & provide updates on the success stories of your generous contributions!
