Full Basket Belize

Last updated

Full Basket Belize (FBB) (formerly known as International Friends of Belize (IFOB)) is a US-registered, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization that supports two programs: scholarships and community-based development projects in Belize. These programs are funded entirely through donations to Full Basket Belize. Since Full Basket Belize is completely run by volunteers, fully 100 cents of every dollar received directly support FBB projects in the communities of Belize.

Contents

Donations may be made at the Full Basket Belize website, , or by mailing a check to Full Basket Belize, 6016 NE Birch St, Hillsboro OR 97124 USA.

Programs

FBB Scholars Program

While a secondary school (high school) education is increasingly necessary to enter and compete in the Belizean job market, many Belizean families are forced to choose which of their children, if any, they can afford to enroll in secondary school. Secondary school fees and related costs are relatively high in Belize (between US$750-1500 per year), and for many Belizeans secondary school is simply not affordable. Approximately one-third of Belizean children do not make it past primary (elementary) school. [1]

The FBB Scholars Program offers deserving students the opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty that plagues a large segment of Belizean society by providing the means for Belizean children to attend secondary school.

The FBB Scholars Program was established in 2005, with the aim to providing secondary school scholarships to needy and deserving students in Belize. As of the academic year 2023-24, 463 scholarships that pay for their tuition, fees, books, and uniforms have been awarded.

The FBB Scholars program is implemented on a school-by-school basis, with memoranda of understanding (MOU) signed between interested school administrators—typically by the school principals — and FBB. Using this model, FBB has signed MOU with secondary schools in all six Belizean districts. FBB annually solicits accredited secondary schools to participate in the scholarship program. For more information on how to participate in the FBB Scholars Program, please visit https://www.fullbasketbelize.org/scholars-program/].

FBB Community Grant Program

Full Basket Belize established a Community Grant Program in 2006 to provide small grants to community-based development projects in Belize in the areas of education, environment, health, youth and community economic development. Typically, seven grants of up to US$1,000 each are awarded yearly. More than 88 projects have been funded as of January 2023. For further information on the FBB community grant program, please visit https://www.fullbasketbelize.org/community-grants.

History

International Friends of Belize (IFOB) was started in the spring of 2004 by a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers who had all served in Belize. Founding members included: Jeffrey Cleveland, Kristi Drexler, Robin Mardeusz, Maya Ravindranath, Sarah Reynolds, Sandy Roter, Donna Statler, Maura Varley, and Brenda (Link) Williams. By April 2004, the initial steering committee was formed, bylaws were written, 501(c)(3) applications and paperwork were submitted, and two small seed grants were secured — one from the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), with which the organization is affiliated; and the other from Johns Hopkins University. In 2012, the organization changed its name to Full Basket Belize (FBB).

Since its inception in 2004, the organization has grown significantly in both world-wide support and contributions. In 2005 the first scholarship program was created in Stann Creek District. In 2006 the Community Grants Program was established. By the fall of 2023, 463 Belizean students had received scholarships to attend secondary school, and more than 88 community organizations had received grants in the areas of health, education, environment, youth and community economic development.

Every year Full Basket Belize elects a Board of Directors. Day-to-day operations are handled by board members and a small group of volunteers. The organization's mission is to improve the education, health, and environment of Belizean communities and support youth and community economic development through scholarships and community grants.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology</span> Ministry of Japan

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community. The ministry is responsible for funding research under its jurisdiction, some of which includes: children's health in relation to home environment, delta-sigma modulations utilizing graphs, gender equality in sciences, neutrino detection which contributes to the study of supernovas around the world, and other general research for the future.

Children International is a global nonprofit humanitarian organization that helps children break the cycle of poverty. It addresses children’s critical needs through early intervention and regular interaction in community centers. The goal is to help children overcome the effects of poverty, support their education, and prepare youth to contribute to society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AmeriCorps</span> Independent agency of the US government

AmeriCorps is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors. These programs include AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering." It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. In September 2020, the agency rebranded itself as AmeriCorps, although its official name is unchanged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASSIST (student exchange organization)</span>

ASSIST is a nonprofit, international student exchange organization based in the United States and active in more than twenty countries worldwide. ASSIST places academically and extracurricularly excelling international students on one-year merit-based scholarships at American independent secondary schools.

Teacher Corps, whose correct title was the National Teacher Corps, was a program established by the United States Congress in the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve elementary and secondary teaching in predominantly low-income areas. Individual Teacher Corps projects were developed by "institutions of higher education" in partnership with local school districts. The local director was a college professor, and courses specific to teaching inner city students and disadvantaged students were developed by the college and used in the master's level education program. Teams of interns under the supervision of master teachers worked in the district's schools to help carry out project goals. The purpose of the Teacher Corps was to train and retain teachers for disadvantaged school districts, who would work with the communities they served. Some of the interns became teachers in the communities they had worked in after the program ended. Others took jobs elsewhere teaching disadvantaged students, usually in their home states. Interns worked on community projects in addition to teaching. One of the Trenton, NJ community programs that continued for years after the program ended, was an annual carnival fundraiser to raise money for the Mott Elementary School library.

The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation was a private, independent organization created by an act of the Parliament of Canada in 1998. It received an initial endowment of $2.5 billion from the federal government to provide awards annually for ten years. The foundation distributed $325 million in the form of bursaries and scholarships each year throughout Canada in support of post-secondary education. As well, the foundation conducted research into post-secondary access, via the Millennium Research Program.

The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) is one of 17 schools comprising the University of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1957 to study national and international public administration, GSPIA prides itself on its "Local to Global" distinction. As of 2018, it is one of only two policy schools with programs in the top 20 for both International Relations and City Management and Urban Policy. The former mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, is a GSPIA alumnus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friends of Mongolia</span>

Friends of Mongolia (FOM) is a US-registered, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization registered in Mongolia and the United States. Friends of Mongolia is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, and developmental purposes. Friends of Mongolia exists to develop partnerships with the people of Mongolia in furtherance of cultural exchange and human development. It is affiliated with the National Peace Corps Association, but membership is open to anyone with an interest in Mongolia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malawi–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

The United States established diplomatic relations with Malawi in 1964 after Malawi gained independence from the United Kingdom. Malawi's transition from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy significantly strengthened the already cordial U.S. relationship with Malawi. Significant numbers of Malawians study in the United States. The United States has an active Peace Corps program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, and an Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Malawi. Both countries have a common history and English language, as they were part of the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinea–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Guinea – United States relations are bilateral relations between Guinea and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis Smith Kids Foundation</span>

The Otis F. Smith Foundation was a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that partnered with targeted Jacksonville, Florida elementary schools to provide programs and services to disadvantaged children in the areas of education, personal development and recreation. It was one of the first "celebrity" charitable foundations in the First Coast region that supported initiatives to help at-risk youth and was active for almost two decades.

Education in Belize is governed by the Education Act.

The Foundation for Excellence is a publicly supported non-profit organization. The FFE's focus is to provide funds for higher education to students in India who are academically gifted and from low-income families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belize–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Belize and the United States have traditionally been close and cordial. The United States is Belize's principal trading partner and major source of investment funds. It is also home to the largest Belizean community outside Belize, estimated to be 70,000 strong. Because Belize's economic growth and accompanying democratic political stability are important U.S. objectives, Belize benefits from the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. Belize is the only country in Central America that has never received a visit from an American president.

International Voluntary Services,Inc. (IVS) was a private, non-profit corporation for benevolent, charitable, and educational purposes chartered under the laws of the District of Columbia in 1953 to place volunteers in international humanitarian and development projects. From its founding until its dissolution in 2002, IVS placed volunteers in 39 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Its largest and longest programs were in South Vietnam, Laos, Algeria, and Bangladesh. Although the organization's roots were grounded in part in Christian pacifism, it operated on a nonsectarian basis, accepting volunteers regardless of their religious beliefs or nationality., Over its lifetime, the IVS program evolved from the placement of only American citizen volunteers to placement of internationally-recruited volunteers and then in later years to recruitment of local volunteers from within the country being assisted. Elements of the IVS program model have been adopted by the U.S. Peace Corps and many present day non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Sections below discuss the IVS program model, activities over time, and legacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School for International Training</span> Institution of higher learning

The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Institute administers a wide range of internationally-focused master's degree programs as well as a Doctor of Education degree in Global Education. SIT Study Abroad administers undergraduate study abroad programs which combine field-based experiential learning with academic research or internship opportunities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roma Education Fund</span>

The Roma Education Fund (REF) is a non-governmental organization established within the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion by Open Society Foundations and the World Bank in 2005. The organization's goal is to reduce the educational achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma in Europe through the provision of scholarships to Roma students, supporting the development of quality education, and supporting the removal of segregation of Roma students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Trust Foundation</span>

Daniel Trust Foundation is a youth development non-profit organization founded by Daniel Trust. It was launched in 2009 and provides mentorship and scholarship opportunities to high school seniors and student-selected recognition and funding for high school teachers. The foundation has offices in Bridgeport, Connecticut and New York City, and aims to be a student run organization for students by students.

Restore Belize is an organization based in Belize and directed by the government of Belize. Founded by former Prime Minister Dean Barrow on June 2, 2010, its primary aim is to make Belize a more peaceful and productive nation by implementing law, order, and community building through active citizenship.

GO Humanity (Giving and Organizing for Humanity) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 in Georgia by Dale McGowan, originally under the name Foundation Beyond Belief.

References

  1. "Statistics in Brief: Education in Belize". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)