Empowerment & Betterment of Our Society
The Belize Educational Fund and Day in the Park Committee is a nonprofit (501C-3) organization that consists of ten members and originated from the Belize Social Club. The Belize Social Club started the Day in the Park as a small picnic in 1980. The Picnic has grown over the years and has evolved into the present-day festival, which generates attendance of over three thousand people.
In 1999, the Belize Social Club was decreasing in membership, and the remaining members were no longer able to manage the event's growth. Mrs. Sylvia Manderson and Mrs. Louise Mills, who were original members of the Belize Social Club, decided to form a separate committee to continue the tradition of organizing the annual festival. Thus, the Belize Day in the Park Committee was incorporated as a recognized Illinois Organization. Its primary objectives are to organize the annual festival and promote education in the Belizean Community through its educational fund.
The Belize Day committee meets once per month. In the month before the festival, meetings are held weekly. In addition to the annual festival, the committee primarily focuses on its educational fund. The committee gave an individual scholarship in the year 2000 for higher education here in the United States through its educational fund. Due to the decreasing number of qualified applicants, the educational fund is now directed to the educational needs of schools in Belize. Some of these efforts have provided school supplies to impoverished children in the rural areas of Belize. Recipients of the educational award include Guinea Grass Pentecostal School, Guinea Grass Roman Catholic School, St Martin De Porres School, Salvation Army School in Belize City, Stella Maris School, and Cornerstone Foundation in Cayo District. In 2015, the Belize Educational Fund was awarded to Holy Ghost School in Dangriga.
The organization received grants through the Mayor's Office of Special Events in the past, providing the committee with only a small portion of the funds needed to continue organizing the festival. Currently, the committee has no significant sponsors and receives its funding from revenue generated from vendor fees and the cost of admission from the festival. Because the funding source is limited, the committee does not generate a profit to support the rising cost of funding the festival and support the educational fund.
Because the committee focuses on introducing the Belizean culture through food and music with the festival, it serves as a forum to bridge the gap between Belizeans and other African ethnic communities. Since Belize is a small country and is not as well-known as some other Caribbean countries, it is essential to promote our culture. Like other immigrants, we work hard to preserve our culture, but we must also embrace the culture of this country, and Belizeans have done an excellent job of blending the two.
