Knoxville, April 20th, 2015: BOTL and MPI today jointly announced the launch of Operation Esteli 2015 (OE 2015), a project designed to provide education enrichment, food security, nutrition, as well as safe housing and shelter to disadvantaged children in Esteli, Nicaragua.
This will be the second year for Operation Esteli. In 2014, more than $12,000 was raised, which resulted in the provision of teacher training, school supplies and learning materials, and nutritious school lunches to support more than 700 students, as well providing the funding required to construct a new home for a family in need.
At the launch of Operation Esteli 2015, Dave West, President of MPI stated “I can think of no greater purpose for BOTL to come together as a group than to focus its energy in an effort to improve the lives of children in Nicaragua. The people of Esteli have given so much happiness to BOTL as a community through its products and its people. We now have an opportunity to give back to them, and should take advantage of it.”
The fundraising goal set for OE 2015 is simply to exceed the number of dollars donated in 2014. “Every additional dollar raised equals another child coming closer to escaping poverty” West said.
Fifteen cigar related companies, including manufacturers, retail stores, and private cigar clubs and lounges sponsored Operation Esteli 2014. “It is our intention to increase the number of sponsors affiliated with Operation Esteli this year, and I am proud to say that before we even officially launched the 2015 campaign, we already had not only sponsors from our 2014 efforts, but also had new sponsors asking to come on board. We expect this to be a
great year” stated Brad McKelvy, BOTL’s Charity Liaison.
BOTL is an online cigar community. Its website is located at www.botl.org. BOTL can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at https://www.facebook.com/BOTLORG ,
https://twitter.com/botlorg and http://instagram.com/botlorg.
MPI is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that specializes in connecting donor groups to people in need, and executing sustainable development projects in developing countries around the globe. Its website is located at www.microprojectinitiative.org. MPI can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Micro-Project-Initiative/302635493207550, https://twitter.com/mpinitiative, and https://instagram.com/microprojectinit/.
BOTL has also set up social media sites specific to Operation Esteli. These can be located at http://instagram.com/operationesteli, http://twitter.com/operationesteli, and http://facebook.com/operationesteli