OUR MISSION
THE ISSUE AT HAND
The Dominican Republic is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. A staggering number of families struggle to feed their children. Education is a distant thought.
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Because of the success of Dominican players in professional baseball (in 2019, the 30 MLB teams played 152 Dominican born players) Major League Baseball is commonly viewed as the only path out of poverty. It is common for young males (age 12-14) to drop out of school, and spend 6 days a week, training sunrise-to-sunset at their local baseball field.
80%
of Dominican children enrolled in 1st grade drop out of school before 9th grade
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5%
of those training to become professional baseball players succeed in signing a contract after they become eligible at 16
35%
of those pro players training at D.R. baseball academies earn the opportunity to play Minor League Baseball in the United States.
2%
of those Minor League players successfully earn a roster spot with a Major League Baseball team.
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The vast majority of Dominican youth who leave school to chase the MLB dream face a difficult future. Even those who earn a plane ticket off the island often have short Minor League careers, quickly spend all of their hard earned signing-bonus money, and return to the Dominican Republic in their late teens or early twenties with few employment prospects. This all-or-nothing system continually leaves hardworking young men back where they started - undereducated, with little money, and without guidance, facing a limited future despite their hard work and success.
OUR SOLUTION
Education
Working from the ground up we provide access to quality education, athletic training, consistent nutrition, and life mentorship & management.
The Haese Academy opens the minds and hearts of our students so that they can see the many paths they have in front of them. By helping to develop, strengthen and expand our student's minds, we prepare them to choose the path that will make all the difference in their own lives.
OUR MISSION
To break the cycle of extreme poverty in the town of Las Terrenas in the Dominican Republic by fostering children’s love of and interest in learning while keeping them enrolled in a program that puts them on a path towards bilingualism, athleticism, and the dream of higher education.
OUR VISION
We will fill the achievement gap in education and help break the crippling cycle of 80 percent of Dominican youth dropping out of school before reaching the 9th grade by providing quality supplemental education with access to tutors, teachers, and mentors in the Dominican Republic free of charge to those who need it most. We will couple that education with world-class athletic training so that our students can achieve their dream of higher education by receiving a scholarship to study in the United States.
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SUCCESS STORIES
Our humble beginning has already created a powerful impact. Thanks to the generosity and support from our donors, and the dedicated hard work of our academy’s teachers, coaches and student-athletes, HAESE alumni have signed professional baseball contracts, won Minor League Rookie-of-the-Year honors, earned a US college scholarship & First Team All-Conference awards, and are proving to be influential role models and mentors for underserved Dominican Youth.
