DOSTI³ (Dream of School through Inform, Involve, Inspire)

DOSTI³ (Dream of School through Inform, Involve, Inspire) is a community development project, aimed at providing quality education to financially backward children. The project provides financial assistance to these underprivileged children as well as helps fund the target schools where these children are likely to attend.

The word 'DOSTI' means friendship in Hindi (The National language of India). The 'I³' stands for the three I's in the ICON caption: Inform, Involve, Inspire. These core values are the cornerstones of this project.

Our Mission and our Goals

The mission of DOSTI³ is to provide need based financial assistance to financially backward children, irrespective of their social and religious affiliation. Our mission is also to provide quality education and opportunities to children so they become responsible and productive citizens, positively impacting their families, communities and country.

To achieve our mission, these are some of our goals that we plan to start with:

Increase awareness about the needs of the students and the schools from financially backward communities
Provide financial assistance to support tuition fees for students from poor families
Reduce the financial burdens of parents by providing school kits at the beginning of the year
Provide volunteer teacher training programs
Help with the schools infrastructure, including but not limited to libraries, computer labs, educational labs, drinking water, recreational areas, etc
Encourage school to adopt modern administrative methods and practices with the help of volunteer trainers.

When will this project be launched?

We plan to run a pilot program for this project in 2008. It will include
(1) Offer financial assistance for students from poor families to attend school
(2) Enhance the library facility at the school
(3) Work towards increasing female enrollment in the schools

Target Pink

We believe that educating female students empowers them, therefore, positively impact the community. Our target is to select at least 65% female students from financially backward families to receive assistance. We encourage preferential selection of female candidates to increase female enrollment in the schools.

Funding the project and distributing the help

The funds for the project are obtained by generous donations from individual supporters, organizations, churches or institutions who believe in the mission of this project. The program provides the opportunity to sponsor one or more students, provide a designated amount every month, and or provide a one time donation toward a specific need.

The funds collected will be used solely for the specified goals of this project with no administrative and overhead charges included. The volunteers of ICON Charities, Inc underwrite any and all administrative expenses incurred during the process. All donations to ICON Charities is tax deductable as per US Federal Tax Laws under chapter 501(c)(3).