For the past eight years, Maria Gabriela Chavez Verwiel has organized International Night, a festival hosted at Savannah Arts Academy. The festival consists of students who model the traditional wear of various countries, performers who represent different countries through various forms of performing art, and booths that provide a taste of culture through food. Each year the International Night has grown and blossomed so much that in the 2015-2016 school year we chartered for the International Cultural Exchange of Savannah Arts Academy. Not only does this organization host International Night, we also do various community outreach programs, bonding experiences and fundraisers to spread our vision. Last year we donated 24 Christmas boxes to the San Antonia Boy's Home in Camaguay, Honduras. Each box had a variety of toys, school supplies, etc. and each boy also received their own personal hygiene kit and their own head-to-toe outfit. The International Cultural Exchange also donates to the Heiffer International- an organization providing villages in Africa with a source to feed their village. We are an organization committed to service, honor and global impact. Through hard work, we can change the world.
For our first fundraising activity, we collected items for Mexico City to help them after the devastating earthquake that hit on September 19, 2017. Many people lost their homes and personal belongings, leaving them with nothing. As an organization, we collected food and toiletry items to donate to those in need.
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The International Cultural Exchange Organization packaged shoe boxes as Christmas gifts to ship to Honduras. Each shoe-box contained a variety of school supplies, toys and crafts and a personal hygiene kit for the boys. In addition we raised enough donations so that way every boy had a shirt, a pair of shorts, a ball cap and socks and sent two big boxes full of wrapped toys. The Soto Cano Air Base and their chaplain CPT Angel L. Berrios worked with the International Cultural Exchange and delivered all of the packages. It is so amazing to see what an impact we have on the world! Way to go guys!
Some of our members went to Windsor Forest High School to support their Cultural Fair. Although we're from different schools we share the love of celebrating and learning about different cultures.
Over the summer Gina Velazquez met with John Newton, the editor of La Voz Latina, to talk about the organization for an article in their August Edition.