MARCH 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015, 8:24 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Cambodia Club has new project
To the Editor:
Many would say that the Ridgewood Cambodia Club has been one of the most effective clubs in all of Ridgewood, and we would have to agree. The goal for Ridgewood’s Cambodia Club has been to build and enhance a school in a rural Cambodian village. Ridgewood students have been raising money and awareness to support this effort since 2007.
Our sister school, the Ridgewood Village School, was built through World Assistance for Cambodia, an independent nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia. The mission is to galvanize support for the people in Cambodia, where genocide occurred in the 1970’s. We are helping to rebuild the country through education.
With support from the Ridgewood community, the Ridgewood Village School was built in Cambodia and the dedication took place in February 2009. Since then, we have enhanced our sister school by providing the students with an English and computer teacher, an Internet connection, and a vegetable garden and outdoor kitchen. The garden and kitchen help to ensure that the students enjoy healthy lunches at school.
Our annual goal is to raise $5,500 to fund these enhancements. We have been successful in previous years and now the Ridgewood High School Cambodia Club is introducing our 55 Families Initiative to broaden the opportunity for more Ridgewood residents to get involved in our village-to-village effort. On top of the Ridgewood High School Cambodia Club, there are also active Cambodia Clubs at the George Washington and Benjamin Franklin Middle Schools. The Cambodia Club is not limited to just those schools though. All schools in Ridgewood are welcome to join us in our mission to help support the Ridgewood Village School in Cambodia.
Fifty-five Families is a way for caring members of the Ridgewood Community to be a part of the Ridgewood Cambodia Club. The 55 Families Initiative invites families to pledge $100 each to our club. Through this initiative, simply by engaging 55 families in a pledge, we can reach our annual fundraising goal. Any tax-deductible donation would be greatly appreciated and the students of the Ridgewood Village School in Cambodia would be on their way to a brighter future.
Checks can be made out to World Assistance for Cambodia with School #422 written on the memo line. Please send checks to: Liz Louizides, c/o Ridgewood Cambodia Club, 554 Linwood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ, 07450.
We thank you all for your kind consideration and generous contributions.
Elena Esteve and Simran Narula
Ridgewood High School Cambodia Club
