PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Special thanks from Cristhian and Karla to all the
supporters of Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners of the Americas.
They were our youth representatives who traveled from Nicaragua
to Wisconsin in August as part of the 2009 Youth projects. Watch
for new Global Giving Youth Project updates, and opportunities
for you to host the W/NP Photo Exhibit in your community (seen
behind Cristhian and Karla in the above photo).

As we re-group after the loss of Sherin, two of our
stellar volunteers, Joanie & George Hanson, have stepped in to
help us rearrange our Wisconsin office area. We now have a
volunteers room that will provide;
* Unique Nicaraguan items for purchase such as coffee, doll
dresses, pottery, pine needle baskets and more.
* Space and a computer for volunteers to come in and help us
work on various projects.
* An area to enjoy Authentic Nicaraguan coffee while
brainstorming on W/NP projects.
* Easy access to W/NP brochures, videos, travel information,
language learning tools, and other educational resources we have
available.
September Quarterly Meeting:
The September Quarterly Meeting will be held Saturday,
September 19. Please continue to check here for information
about time and location.
Bike/Hike 2009
Plans for
Bike/Hike 2009 are already in the works. October will
be here sooner than we think! For
information, click
here.
Congratulations to Kylie Lackore (Appleton, Wisconsin)
and Mayra Mendoza (Estel, Nicaragua), winners of
the 2008 Bike/Hike Grand Prizes! To see the winners and
learn about the results of the 2008
Bike/Hike event,
click here.
Wisconsin Swings for Nicaragua
Golf Outing

Wisconsin Swings for Nicaragua was an even greater
success this year than last! Thank you to all those who
participated in making this year's event a hole in one.
Wisconsin Swings for Nicaragua is an annual event that
takes place at Winagamie Golf Course, southwest of Appleton, on
the last Wednesday of every July. Next year's event
is scheduled for July 28, 2010. For information,
contact Judy Miller at
jmi54911@aol.com.

Getting to know you is a lyrical description of the premier
event that took place in Chicago in June. Partners of
the Americas (POA), one of the largest volunteer organizations
in the Western Hemisphere, hosted the first Midwest Regional
Conference on volunteerism that featured the power of citizen
diplomacy, the primary force in bringing together the two great
continents of the Americas and Central America...
Click here to read more.

Participants from the 1st Midwest Regional Meeting, June 27,
2009

Great discussion occurred with our Youth
Ambassadors who traveled from Nicaragua to represent W/NP Youth
Initiatives at the 1st Midwest Regional Partners of the Americas
event in Chicago, IL June 25-27. Clockwise from left: Steve
Vetter, CEO, Partners of the Americas; Matt Clausen, Vice
President of Partnership Development, Partners of the Americas;
Sonia Barre, Program Officer, American Fellows Program; Grace
Hernandez, 2009 W/NP Youth Ambassador; Alvaro Davila, 2009 W/NP
Youth Ambassador.

VERY SPECIAL THANKS to all who helped support &
spread the word about W/NP's entry into the American Open
Challenge W/NP has completed the competition and has secured a
permanent spot on the Global Giving website by receiving $4,534
from 115 donors in 3 weeks for the youth initiative.... First
Steps to Cultural Understanding for US Teens 
Photo: Evansville, Wisconsin. Visiting teens
from Nicaragua helping to increase passion and capacity among US
teens at the Evansville High School! Here they are sharing
information about their home country and responsibilities as
global youth citizens and social entrepreneurs.
W/NP Sports Action Update:
Click here
for a great example of teaming up!
Remember to use GoodSearch:
W/NP earns approximately 1 cent each time you search
the Internet using GoodSearch. So far we have earned $266!

The 2009 Nicaraguan Youth
Ambassadors:
What a wonderful success this program was this year!
Eight youth (and two mentor-chaperones) visited Wisconsin April
22 - May 2. They had a very full itinerary with visits to Wisconsin businesses and
schools, meetings with state and local officials, a tour of the
state capitol building, and an afternoon on the National Guard
Ropes Course at Volk Field. The Youth Ambassadors each take home
a Keepsake Book
full of photos and information about their experience in
Wisconsin. It serves as a wonderful memento as well as an
excellent reference as they share about W/NP with their
communities back in Nicaragua. If you would like an overview
of the Youth Ambassador program
click here. For a look at some of the activities in which
the 2008 Youth Ambassadors participated, click on
Photo Slideshow.
More information about this project is
available on the
Youth Ambassadors Project
page or by going through the Cultural
Diversity page under Programs.

Sherin Bowen:
As we work to carry out the mission of W/NP we will
continue to cherish the memory and vision of Sherin Bowen
who passed away on March 20. Thank you to all of you who have
sent thoughts and words of comfort. Please visit
www.sherinbowen.com.
if you would like to learn more about Sherin's life and vision.
Please also take a moment to read this
letter from our Program Director and the
poem that follows it.
W/NP in the News!
For a look at recent articles highlighting W/NP
activities, click on the following headlines:
What is a Sacuanjoche?
To find out read our March 9
E-Newsletter.
You can also click
here to read our past E-Newsletters.
Movie Night in Milwaukee:
This ongoing monthly fundraising event takes place at
various establishments throughout Milwaukee.
Admission is free. For information about what's showing,
location and to reserve your seat, contact Omar Barberena at
profesor00@yahoo.com.
Fall 2009 Newsletter:
It's in the works. In the meantime,
if you haven't seen the Winter 2008 Newsletter,
click here to check it out.
Library Project Overview:
For a brief overview,
click
here. We have plans and requests for several
new libraries this year and for help to support
those already started. We welcome and need your support to
continue this project that promotes reading and literacy
development.
2008 Retrospective:
2008 was a year full of activity for W/NP. Click
on the link below for a quick snapshot of the year. A glance at
the faces and you will see why we do what we do, day in and
day out.
http://www.uwsp.edu/special/wi_nicpartners/Streams/2008review.aspx

It's a new year! Now is the time to renew
your membership!
We reached our goal last year of increasing
memberships by 50%. We're looking forward to
increasing our membership again this year. To renew
your membership registration, click on this link.
http://wnp.uwsp.edu/involve/member/member.htm
Student $10 Individual $25 Family $30 Group
$100
Life Member $500
Wisconsin/Nicaragua
Partners of the Americas
Nelson
Hall, Room 129
1209 Fremont Street
Stevens Point, Wisconsin 54481
715-346-4702
Current Annual Report:
2007 was a busy year for W/NP, please take a moment to
look over our 2007 Annual Report.
Click
here to view the report.
Youth Sports Management Exchange Program:
Nicaraguans love baseball! This exciting program is
helping to improve sports opportunities for youth in Nicaragua.
The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and
managed by Partners of the Americas. Amy Wiza, Program Director
for Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners, coordinates activities for the
program. We have just completed Phase III of the "Sports
Project". Click here for updates of
Phase I and
Phase II. An update of Phase III will be available soon, so
keep checking this page!

VOICE Project:
The goal of the VOICE Project (Validating
Our Initiative and Creating Equality)
is to develop a sustainable learning program for upcoming
leaders in Nicaragua. A better future for all involved using
proven empowerment tools, mentors, and networks will be explored
for building team skills, overcoming barriers, and making
lasting contributions to their communities. For information on the VOICE
project
click here.
Travel Opportunities:
Interested in traveling? Visit our
Travel Opportunity
page to find out more, or go directly to the page by
clicking here.
Volunteer:
Interested in volunteering? The
volunteer
page is now available. For current volunteers, a form to log
your time and expenses is available for download at the
mentioned page. The page is also accessible from the
Involvement menu as well.
Scholarships:
To learn about W/NP's Scholarship program,
click here.
Map updates:
Map of Nicaragua and links to current projects. Click
here
or go to
Site Map.
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