Thanks for all your help!

Thanks to help from many friends and family members, we've packed up 6 55-gallon drums with more books and have shipped them off to Dominica, where they are scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks.

We're in the final stages of preparation, with clothes strewn all over the dining room floor, snorkel gear, cameras, more books and food. This year we will be bringing books both the to school (where Alden and Willow have attended classes the past years) and to the town of Mero, which we have heard has created a makeshift library by re-purposing a shipping container. We are looking forward to seeing the new library in Mero and adding our shipment to the shelves there.

The girls are collecting lesson plans and assignments so we can continue school work while we're there. And Alison is speaking with the local principal about the possibility of teaching a class or two with Alden and Willow at the primary school.

Thanks so much for the support you have offered, whether it's boxes of books dropped on our doorstep, words of encouragement, or donations to help us fund this venture. We hope you enjoy hearing about it as much as we enjoy making this happen. Ultimately your collective support has enabled us to take this project much further than we ever envisioned. If you're able to help again, we're trying to make it as easy as possible. Check out the "Chip In" option to donate on the blog or simply click this link to make a payment online through PayPal or with a credit card.

If you'd prefer to send support by mail, please send checks to our home address:
698 State Street in Portsmouth, NH 03801

Thanks again, and we hope you'll follow our adventures this year. We leave for Dominica this Wednesday and after a layover in Puerto Rico, we'll be settled in the seaside village of Mero on Thursday just in time for dinner.