#401GIVES
Rhode Island does a beautiful thing each year. It celebrates all the nonprofits in the state by hosting an online fundraising campaign to benefit all the good work organizations are doing in Rhode Island and around the world. We are proud to be included and grateful for the funds #401Gives has generated for those we serve in South Africa. Well done, Rhode Island!

ALL SALES ARE VINYL
Since 2014, this company has spent hours and hours and hours using vinyl records to create and sell unique flowers to fund clean water systems for South African schools we serve. Their sales have transformed the clean water supply at three schools serving 2,000 students. Buy a flower. Bring clean water to kids who deserve a fair chance. Basic. Human. Rights.

BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
BMC donated its gently used basketball uniforms to help launch a netball development program in Nomathamsanqa Location, South Africa. BMC understands the value of quality education for all and has been at the forefront of providing superlative academic opportunities to those who had historically been denied. No longer.

CHOICE DECISIONS
This company is our go-to organization for security measures at our partner-schools. Starting back in 2013 with Vusumzi Primary School and the installation of high-quality perimeter fencing (which remains in perfect condition to this day), Choice Decisions distinguished itself with its personal touch and respect for Universal Promise and the schools we support. We have now collaborated with Choice Decisions to upgrade security at six schools, and that will be the wave of the future, too. If it isn’t broken…

GAUDET LEARNING ACADEMY
Remember penpals? Thanks to St. Ignatius Primary School and Gaudet Learning Academy in Middletown, Rhode Island, we brought them back, and the response has been heartwarming and enlightening. Click here to learn what the children on the USA side of the globe are saying about their experiences.

GERALD’S GIFT
We partner with Gerald’s Gift for our housing during our volunteerism for myriad reasons, including the second-to-none staff who are among the most warm, talented, gracious, professional, and hilarious people on the planet. Gerald’s Gift is our volunteer home and lends its hand in numerous ways, including coming to the rescue when we wanted to add luscious green plantings to the Universal Promise Academic Centre at Vusumzi Primary School. Great people. Great vibe. Great setting. Great food. Great dogs. What’s not to love?

GETTYSBURG COLLEGE + WOMEN’S SOCCER
For years now, GC has donated its gently worn athletic gear to help us outfit netball and soccer teams in South Africa. Recently, the Women’s Soccer Team has ratcheted UP the support to a whole new level by building a playground for 450 kindergarteners in South Africa and committing to renovating the school soccer pitch and addressing the water conditions at that same school.

GREATER NEWPORT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
This wonderful organization helps us get the word out about our mission and fundraisers and offers opportunities to connect us with other local businesses to learn from local experts. The Chamber of Commerce unites us all under a common purpose of enhancing lifestyles across the region and the world.

KO
Kempie Van Rooyen of KO Architecture, an architectural firm in Gqeberha, South Africa, brings to the table all the qualities we seek in an architect: creativity, clarity, precision, form, and function. He also brings something that is central to any of our partnerships: compassion. Kempie is genuinely appreciative of and motivated by our mission and focus on his country’s young people, and his attitude, patience, passion, and pricing have reflected that from the start. We are sincerely grateful for our joint effort to uplift schools in rural Sundays River Valley.

KPMG
The fourth largest accounting firm in the USA has donated 75 laptops from 2022 - 2024 to outfit two new computer labs in South African schools! Big companies can also mean big hearts, and the KPMG Community Impact Team stepped UP to provide HP technology to those-in-need. See something. Do something. That’s KPMG and its goal to introduce state-of-the-art technology where needed.

MDF INSTRUMENTS + CRAFTING WELLNESS
More than once, the Crafting Wellness arm of MDF Instruments has packed us up with numerous blood pressure monitors, stethoscopes, and other medical tools to deliver to rural clinics. One nurse said, “Prior to this, we had one stethoscope to treat more than 10,000 patients. Not anymore, thanks to those who share the health!

MISSION
This self-described “Burger Joint” in Middletown, Rhode Island, sells the best burgers and French fries on the planet. If you make a trip to Aquidneck Island and don’t stop here, your tastebuds will have been tragically denied and never forgive! Beyond that, they have been steadfast supporters since the start, have a real passion for giving back, and, yes, they catered our 2022 fundraiser and did not charge us one cent. Top that.

NEWPORT POLO ALL-DAY CHARITY
We are grateful to be included in the 2023 All-Day Charity Polo Match at the polo fields in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. 100% of the proceeds from our ticket sales will come back to Universal Promise! How beautiful is that! We celebrate Newport Polo for showing its appreciation for recognizing the good work that takes place within our borders and beyond our borders, too!

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
We have had the distinct privilege of partnering with NU graduate students in the fall of 2022 and in 2023, as well, to learn from them about how to enhance our donor acquisition, impact measurement, marketing, growth & development, communications, and grant-writing. Our affiliation with NU has made 100% us certain that the wave of the future is intelligent and just.

PURNELL ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION LEGACY
Purnell School was a girls’ school that rewrote the guidelines for educating the whole person. Grounded in truthful relations, consideration of others, and common sense, Purnell transformed lives by nurturing each student’s uniqueness. Purnell closed its doors in 2021, but its philosophy lives on in its alumnae, who are doing for other worthy students what Purnell did for them.

SARA CAMPBELL
This women’s boutique combines a commitment to paramount quality with timeless and classic designs. It gets better than that, though. As noted on the Sara Campbell website, “Philanthropy has always been synonymous with the Sara Campbell brand. We believe in people helping one another. It's that simple.” That’s all true; Sara Campbell is hosting a Sip & Shop event in 2023 with 20% of proceeds coming back to Universal Promise, and the company and has also donated to our Gala & Auction several years running.

THAMES STREET KITCHEN
We have forever been grateful to TSK for its generosity and loyalty since our and their earliest days. They were among the first sponsors in our $1/day program - and are still giving monthly donations 12 years later. We held our first several fundraisers in their inaugural Newport restaurant, and we were honored to have them back for our 2022 fundraiser, as well. What makes them so special? A lot, including the fact that at the end of that gala, we handed them a check to pay for their unmatched food and energy, and they refused payment - saving us thousands of dollars. What will we do with those savings? One idea is to install a leaching field at a school that educates 450 children, so waste does not continue to leak throughout the campus. That’s TSK and something we never take for granted.

VALORIE SHEEHAN, ARTIST
Valorie Sheehan is a Newport, Rhode Island, artist who specializes in clay and sculpture. Val wrote, I dream in clay. I am drawn to its forgiving, tactile qualities, the technical aspects of glazing, and the alchemy of the fire. In 2023, Val finished an epic canon-of-saints, entitled An Alphabet of Saints and Other Tough Chicks. The venture took seven years to unfold, and, incredibly, Val donated 100% of the proceeds to Universal Promise. Val is also one of our long-term Education Sponsors and a yearly auction donor and bidder. Her generosity epitomizes her respect for our mission and approach, as she fully understands and embraces the sustainable power of education.

VAST TECHNOLOGIES
Under the direction of Victor Boshoff, Vast Technologies has partnered with Universal Promise to install a computer laboratory, renovate 20 secondary school classrooms, install heaters at a primary school, deliver new computers we funded to qualifying university students, and even find us good deals on repurposed laptops for a growing primary school. The expertise is quite impressive and the heart is equally so.