Skycatch is driven towards a goal of a more informed world. And education provides the foundation we all need to learn how to collect, consume, and act on information in both our professional and personal lives.
But according to UNESCO, 263 million children, adolescents and youth (nearly one-fifth of the global population) are out of school¹. Girls in particular are disproportionately affected, and are 1.5 times more likely to never be given the opportunity to even enter a classroom, let alone taught to read and write².
The Global Partnership for Education estimates that if every girl worldwide received 12 years of quality education, lifetime earnings for women could increase by $15 trillion-$30 trillion globally³. Yes, trillion. So we could not be more honored to support an organization that is taking girls’ education into their own hands.
Based in the city of Cabarete, Dominican Republic, the Mariposa DR Foundation is an organization whose mission is to educate and empower adolescent girls to create sustainable solutions to end generational poverty. Their vision is to create a holistic girls' education program that can be adopted around the globe.
Mariposa Upcycled Sails is a project of The Mariposa DR Foundation that was started with grant funding from the 11th Hour Racing Foundation. Mariposa Upcycled Sails designs, manufactures and markets durable, practical, eco-friendly bags for environmentally and socially conscious consumers. The project keeps retired sails and single-use plastic bags out of landfills and oceans, while creating jobs for local women and empowering girls through environmental education programs.
Mariposa Upcycled Sails products are sold locally, abroad, and online to provide a sustainable income for the women and their families, as well as to fund Mariposa’s environmental education programs.
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We are grateful for organizations like the Mariposa Foundation for tackling the causes that move our society forward.
“I have a Margaret Mead quote posted at my desk that says, ‘We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.’ The Upcycled project has been one of those opportunities, and adolescent girls are too! I know I speak for my whole staff when I say it is an honor to work beside Skycatch and other visionaries that support our mission. ”
-Patricia Suriel, Executive Director of Mariposa DR Foundation
Ways to Help
If you would like to support the Mariposa Foundation, you can donate directly to them or purchase Mariposa Upcycled Sails products online.
