Founded 2010 Location Grand Rapids, Michigan Method Aid | Focus Education Area served Latin America | |
Founders Greg Chapman, Geilyn Chapman | ||
Republica United is a non-profit organization that raises money for students and children in need in Costa Rica. Their mission is to assist impoverished children and early education schools in the agricultural regions of Costa Rica. They help by donating school uniforms and supplies such as note books and pencils.
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History
Republica United was founded by Greg Chapman and his wife Geilyn in January 2010. Greg was born and raised in Caledonia, Michigan, and went to college at Western Michigan University and continued at the Chicago Graduate School of Theology. His first job out of college was in international business. He has been to 14 different countries on 4 continents. Through Greg's international experience, he understood the needs of children who couldn't afford to attend school. With this experience, research, and hard work, he and his wife founded Republica United.
Mission
Republica United's vision is to eliminate illiteracy and impact the lives of children who do not have the opportunity or financial resources to attend school, and to develop globally aware leaders who have the opportunity to obtain knowledge and access to resources through the use of technology.
Republica United provides direct assistance to impoverished children and early education schools in the agricultural regions of Costa Rica through new or improved educational infrastructure, uniforms, and programs resources.
To bring that vision into reality, Republica United identifies schools and individuals who are in need of assistance. Through generous support and the work of their volunteers, Republica United assists in the repairs of schools, introduces technology, provides program resources, introduces leadership programs, and provides school supplies and uniforms.
Services
Republica United is currently working on receiving donations to help schools in Costa Rica, and they look forward to helping Nicaragua and other parts of Central America. Many children in Costa Rica miss out on school because they cannot afford school Uniforms. Republica United uses donations to help local children attend school by providing uniforms for them. They also negotiate with local companies in Costa Rica to produce the school uniforms rather than using expensive shipping methods to transfer them. The local schools inform the organization on what children are in need of school uniforms.
Money not spent on school uniforms is put toward school furnishing, repairs and new supplies for students. The government of Costa Rica does not help pay for school supplies for the children, so many students do not have all the resources to get the most out of their education. Many of the schools are not in the best condition, so money is also spent to help make repairs to help make the schools a better place to learn. Republica United is also looking to help with computer labs. This can be very difficult because it is nearly impossible to ship computers over to Costa Rica because of legal regulations. Republica United is looking to make a difference wherever they can by providing students with notebooks, pencils and school uniforms.