Adopt-A-School: Conservation through Education 
Each spring, a group of dedicated volunteers accompanied by staff from the Detroit Zoo make the long journey to Peru. Traveling by plane, bus, motorcycle-car and boat, the group reaches the heart of the Amazon Rainforest and the adventure truly begins. Over the next week, they will deliver school supplies to hundreds of children in the rural communities along the Amazon River. Each child will receive the supplies necessary to attend school and achieve a basic education.
 The donations that are received are also used to educate the communities about the diverse and vital natural resources with which they live. Sustainable farming and hunting practices are emphasized, as well as respect for community grounds, the river and the wildlife that surrounds them. Villages that have been with the program for several years are noticeably cleaner, with waste containers and signs reminding people to do their part. Many villages have latrines and several have running water from rainwater storage containers. The village of Iquique is now home to a carpentry school, due to a generous donation in memory of Christine Olsen. The school has already made tables and chairs for a new library and for the new Explorama Lodge meeting room.
Your donation of $350 can support a school of 20 children, providing textbooks, reading materials, maps, charts, reference materials, notebooks, rulers, pens and pencils. In return for your donation, you'll receive:
 1. The name and location of the school you've adopted.
2. A list of the supplies purchased for the school.
3. Photos of the students, teacher and school taken during the delivery ceremony.
4. Artwork created for you by the students of your adopted school group.
*Due to their size, some schools may receive multiple sponsors.
A $20 donation will purchase needed school supplies for one child.
Although many people have offered to send school supplies to Peru, we cannot accept them for the following reasons: 
1. The mail service to Peru is not dependable, and often it is necessary to pay customs fees up to 100% of the value of the items to release them from the customs office.
2. The money spent purchasing and shipping these items can be better spent on supplies purchased in Peru where they are less expensive.
3. Purchasing locally made products helps the Peruvian economy and ensures that materials will fit into the standardized system of Peruvian education.
 100% of your donation to the Adopt-a-School Program goes toward the purchase of supplies for student, teacher and school packets, teacher workshops and conservation projects in the communities. Participant fees from the Conservation Expedition to deliver the supplies, funding and staffing from the Detroit Zoo, and the generous donation of transportation, staff, food and lodging from Explorama Lodges support the operational costs of the program.
To donate:  Click here to download a donation form. 106.77 Kb
For more information about our Conservation Expedition, please click here. 316.47 Kb
For an application for the Roger and Bette Gay Scholarship for the 2009 trip, please click here. 27.62 Kb
For more information, please contact:
Claire Lannoye
clannoye@dzs.org
(248) 541-5717 ext. 3803
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