August 17 Meeting Recap

Thank you to host Ben Hovland for bringing us fifteen year old speaker,  philanthropist, and Hopkins High School sophomore  Dante Reminick.  At thirteen Dante founded of "Give a Goat", a program run by kids in Minnesota for other kids in Eastern Africa. Dante's life changed as a result of an eye-opening bar mitzvah trip to Uganda. While experiencing village life, he learned of the deep hunger that exists there, and of the difficult choice that young families often face: to feed their children, or to educate them. Dante consulted with village elders to learn how he might help his new Ugandan friends. "Goats", they replied! Back in the Minnesota, Dante and friends raised money to allow village children to purchase a goat at their neighboring market. With a goat, a child can be nourished with milk and become a micro-entrepreneur by selling milk in the market to fund their own education. The children with goats are responsible for paying it forward to other village children--each time a goat has kids, at least one must be given away to other children. In this way an initial investment in 350 goats has grown to 3500 goats on the ground in East Africa. Dante's hopes for this coming year are to expand his program to other Give a Goat clubs for MN students, and to gain the backing of some corporate players. He is also grateful for contributions from individuals. If you'd like to find out more or donate, here's the link: giveagoat.weebly.com and Dante's contact info: dante.giveagoat@gmail.com