Causes: Human Service Organizations, Human Services

Mission: The Mariposa DR Foundation, a U. S. 501(c)3 not-for-profit, is a community-run organization that provides sustainable and creative solutions to end extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic, especially empowering girls to achieve their full potential.

Target demographics: Adolescent girls ages 7-18 living in extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic.

Direct beneficiaries per year: 150 Dominican and Haitian girls

Geographic areas served: Cabarete, Dominican Republic

Programs: At the Mariposa Center for Girls we take an innovative approach to educating and empowering girls to end generational poverty. If a girl stays in school, remains happy, healthy and gains skills, she will marry later, have fewer, healthier children and earn an income that she will invest back into her family and end the cycle of poverty. We invest in the holistic development and economic potential of girls by giving them access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them, specifically - academic support, sports, arts & culture, vocational training and access to health care.