Dispatch Project Hands Out Shoes In Jamaica

From: KELOLAND TV - Sep 24, 2012

By Erich Schaffhauser

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA - A group working to connect the South Dakota business community with service opportunities is in Jamaica this week.
The 15-member team arrived in Montego Bay Saturday and is staying at a deaf school in a city nearby for now. During this trip team members will wash deaf kids' feet and give them shoes.

This is the second trip for the Dispatch Project, an organization that encourages South Dakota employers to send workers on service projects. The group served in the Dominican Republic earlier this year. Three team members from that trip are back for this one.

"We had such a great time last time and really were able to see the needs of the people met and also just how blessed we were. It was a chance and an opportunity to give back to other people in other countries," Tim Schoffelman said.

But most of the people on the trip are first-time participants of the Dispatch Project. They'll be visiting three different deaf schools throughout the country, distributing shoes at each of the sites.

"I'm excited just to see a different culture. I'm excited to see the kids and just try something different," Lexie Jacobsen said.

Some of the participants came courtesy of their employers. Some bosses paid for part of the trip and others either raised or provided their own funding.

The team will stay at the school until Tuesday morning when it'll move on to the next.

© 2012 KELOLAND TV.