Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SPRING 2018 • sai-national.org 22 PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE was forged by envisioning the community of Deschapelles flourishing educationally and culturally. On June 25, 2010, Sister Cities Essex Haiti, Inc. was formed and became a member of Sister Cities International, an organization formed in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower to encourage cultural understanding, economic relationships, and humanitarian projects. In September 2013, Sister Cities Essex Haiti received designation as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization." (www.sistercitiesessexhaiti. org/background) e People-to-People project has been serving the citizens of Haiti for over forty-five years, first pioneered by former director and Philanthropies Board Member Ruth Sickafus. Current items for this project include stands, repairs, mouth pieces for various instruments, trombones, and baritones. Rota Island, Northern Mariana Islands People-to-People received a request to assist in the creation of a new and under-funded music program at Dr. Rita H. Inos Jr/Sr. HS (RHI) on Rota Island by Joseph Parenteau, a retired Army musician working with the school's ROTC program and volunteering his time to start the music program. A full-sized electronic keyboard was donated for the program. (See full article on the next page.) Ongoing Projects e People-to-People project has many ongoing projects with various chapters of SAI. Currently, the Eta Tau Chapter of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV, is holding an instrument drive to aid in the enhancement of their local school districts. Lambda Beta Chapter President Fallon Jae Hyder will be participating in a team traveling to Tzanchaj, Guatemala, located near Lake Atitlan. "e primary work will take place at Nino's School, through our partnership with PEG Partners, which is a U.S. based non-profit organization focusing on issues of literacy, critical thought, and artistic expression, in partnership with Guatemalan schools and libraries. is non profit was founded by award winning musician David LaMotte and his wife Deanna. Since then, this organization has supported over a dozen schools and libraries in projects to expand their buildings, book holdings, classrooms, teachers' salaries, and infrastructure. ousands of children's lives have been touched in the process." Her project will include items such as recorders, sheet music supplies, a keyboard, and a projector to show concerts and teach world music. Recent Donations ere are many other generous donations that are currently in the process of relocating to new homes to further the cause of music. Some of our most recent donations have included 1991 Baptist Hymnals from Choir Director Betsy Smith of Rhoadesville Baptist Church, materials from Donald Swisher in honor of his wife and SAI sister, Gloria Swisher (who served on the SAI Philanthropies Board, is in the SAI Composers Bureau, and edited the current SAI Songbook), and a collection of classroom music from Buffalo Alumnae chapter member Nancy Osolkowski. Thank You ank you everyone for your generous efforts and contributions to the People-to-People project. It has been an honor and joyous experience to serve the past year and a half as your project director, and I look forward to seeing how this project will continue to grow. People-to-People Director Susan Christopher is an initiate of the Gamma Gamma Chapter, the current president of the Winchester Alumnae Chapter, and serves on the board of SAI Philanthropies, Inc. Don and Doris Peavy with children at Ebenezer Glenn Orphanage in Haiti and instruments donated via P2P in 2014.

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