Article Archive

Project Chacocente Update 

Published November 10, 2021

The global pandemic continues to affect all of us, and as we try to adjust to the “new normal” we fear for those living in poverty near and far. For those living day-to-day in rural Nicaragua, the needs are great.

Project Chacocente, a registered 501(c)(3) organization, works alongside Nicaraguans as they journey out of dire poverty. We continue to refine a model of working with the poor by educating children from pre-school through high school at Chacocente Christian School and then supporting them through college, by offering emergency food relief during times of extreme need, and by providing a living wage to our teachers and staff. Chacocente began by helping families living in the Managua city dump form a new community in rural Masaya, then teaching them the skills needed to survive and thrive on their own. They learned how to read and write, and attended classes on farming, home construction, hygiene and parenting, among many disciplines. We now also work with families living in the community that surrounds the Chacocente campus.

We invite you to share their journey by taking part in our second virtual 5K, The Iguana Trot.

Spend the month of November walking, running, biking, or trotting (as in Turkey Trot) as many 5Ks as you can (5 kilometers is the distance from the main highway to the Project). To ensure the success of this event we encourage you to invite family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to sponsor you per kilometer, or to participate directly themselves! Registration is $50 and includes a T-shirt that will be mailed to you in December.

There are three ways to register. Once you have done so, we will send you further instructions:

1. Online at https://forms.gle/p8WyFbGp9GkMHMLdA
2. Send a $50 check made out to Project Chacocente with “Iguana Trot” in the memo line. Include a separate piece of paper with your T-shirt size (Adult S, M, L, XL, XXL). Mail to Project Chacocente, c/o Robyn Gage, 9 Glenmore Circle, Pittsford, NY, 14534
3. Pay the $50 registration fee using the DONATE button at www.outofthedump.org. Then email us at projectchacocente@gmail.com with your T-shirt size and address so we can mail your shirt.

Where did the Asbury Community Garden go? 

Published November 5, 2021

With production winding down and a killing frost around the corner, the garden team recently put the garden to bed for the winter. All that’s remaining to do is add a nice, thick blanket of chopped up leaves to protect the soil over the winter. The little bit of green still growing is the carrots we’re leaving a bit longer. 

If you missed out on all the fun this year, consider joining us in 2022 as we plan and execute another garden season. We’ll probably start planning — choosing what to grow and ordering seeds — right after the holidays. If you’re game to help just once, or nearly every week, let us know. There’s plenty of gardening to go around. 

In the meantime, we want to say “Thank you!" to the many, many people who helped out this year, from children at the day care and in our children’s ministry and youth ministry, to various garden team members and volunteers, to guests and staff at the dining center, to Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation Service, and to the Monroe County Cornell Cooperative Extension. The food we raised was shared with the dining center and its guests, with recent refugees from Afghanistan, with two feeding programs in the city, and with VBS families. We had an amazing year and hope to do it all over again next year.