BeachCorps projects focusing on education and culture will include three areas: 

• The bedrock of BeachCorps Education projects will be working as an English teacher assistant under the supervision of trained Dominican teachers working with existing great nonprofits.  
• BeachCorps projects will eventually incorporate partial scholarships for beneficiaries, in primary school and/or in university.  
• BeachCorps projects will seek opportunities to work with and support existing planned events like the Punta Cana Carnival and will encourage support for local and traditional culture.

English Teaching

The bedrock of BeachCorps Education projects will be teaching English as a teaching assistant working under trained Dominican teachers.  English opens the doors to underserved communities, allowing the poor to obtain jobs in tourism and even as lawyers, doctors and entrepreneurs that would otherwise be out of reach, especially in Latin America.  The lack of English learning possibilities is a serious limitation on development.  A 2013 study found that “in almost all 60 countries and territories surveyed, an increase in English proficiency was related to an increase in per capita income.”  Increasing income levels will help countries and communities address endemic issues.  

In addition, learning English helps create global citizens who are better able to work for peace, reconciliation and sustainable development in our increasingly conflict-ridden world. “The world we live in faces many problems that require global solutions, people and things move more easily than ever, and we are connected physically and electronically to each other.  In such a world, people are expected to have a global perspective. Learning a foreign language gives us a different way of thinking; when we use a foreign language, we can communicate with more people. Therefore, an education in foreign languages ​​helps to promote global citizenship and sustainable development.”  (From “English for sustainable development: Promoting global citizenship”)

Promoting Scholarships

A key component of BeachCorps projects in ALL focus areas will be to give partial scholarships to program beneficiaries who are also “paying it forward” in their own communities.  The “results” of these projects are standing right next to you as you volunteer: empowered youth and adults who are getting a better education!  Scholarships are also an effective way to promote transparency and accountability, because “following the money” with scholarships is easier since there are so many eyes making sure that scholarship money is properly used.  By publicly publishing scholarship awards made by nonprofits, beneficiaries, schools and universities, nonprofits and BeachCorps will all make sure scholarship funds are used as intended. As BeachCorps projects grow and generate extra funds to pay for scholarships, we will start reporting results, such as with our project to support the Punta Cana-Bavaro Interact Club.

Support for Culture

BeachCorps will soon be posting opportunities to support culture and cultural events in the Dominican Republic.  One of our main partners is the Puntcana Group Foundation, part of the the Puntacana Group that supports the AMAZING Punta Cana Carnival each year.  This carnival invites the best carnival troupes from around the Dominican Republic and the entire Caribbean!  In addition, many BeachCorps projects will include cultural presentations by both Dominicans and foreigners so that both sides learn from each other.  BeachCorps will have multicultural musical and dance projects designed to support a great cause while promoting cultural enlightenment.  Finally, many BeachCorps projects will include local artists who are promoting and maintaining traditional culture, such as the wonderful perico ripiao traditional merengue bands.