Bates College Memorial

The Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation, established after Peter's death on board the second plane to hit the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001, until recently worked primarily in the Pashtun provinces of Afghanistan supporting education and addressing the fundamental needs of fragile populations. In the Unites State the Foundation continues to work with private and public secondary schools and colleges to identify educational opportunities for student exchange.

As Chair of the Board of Families of September 11th, Peter's father, Don, will continue to work to prevent terrorism while preserving civil liberties in the United States. Don is a trial attorney.

Peter's mother, Sally, directs the work of the Foundation. Sally is a public school administrator.

We are joined by many who believe we can take affirmative steps to fashion a safer, more equitable world. We all share a sense of urgency and purpose.

The brothers, Fos and Pete at the Grand Canyon

The Dragonfly Celebration

On May 1st 2010 friends and supporters of the Foundation, together with some of the Afghan exchange students who are the recipients of that support, gathered at the Bennington Center for the Arts to celebrate five years of work educating Afghan children in Afghanistan and the US. Access the link below for an account of the event by the Rutland Herald.

One Trike One Life Project

The Goodrich Foundation will serve as a conduit for donations to a project directed by its Bates College student this summer and described more fully below. The project is also funded by a Davis Foundation Grant.

The Tricycles for the Disabled project is designed to help disabled landmine victims become self-sufficient and to provide them with working opportunities so that they gradually become socially and economically reintegrated into Afghan society. The project will target provinces with high ratios of disabled people and train them to repair and/or use mobile carts or tricycles. The tricycles not only serve as a source of transportation for the disabled people but will also serve as a small mobile business station. The mobile cart is made of old spare parts of bicycles; hand pedals are used to rotate the wheels, and in the front a flat board is attached where materials can be placed for sale — mainly vegetables, clothing or fruit. With a small amount of money -- as little as $200 -- and a tricycle, which costs roughly $200, a disabled person can start an independent and prosperous life.


A Visit to Stoneleigh Burnham School

Sally and Donald Goodrich, founders of The Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation and the subject of the documentary Axis of Good: A Story from 9/11, spoke at Stoneleigh-Burnham School on Thursday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m. in Geissler Gallery. They were accompanied by two of the Foundation's Afghan exchange students. The public lecture was sponsored by the School’s Miriam Emerson Peters Speaker Series in Global Awareness.

This was the second lecture in this inaugural year of The Miriam Emerson Peters Speaker Series in Global Awareness, established in honor of Miriam Emerson Peters, former head of Mary A. Burnham and Stoneleigh-Burnham Schools.

To link to a blog post by Stoneleigh-Burnham middle school Dean Ivey on the event see the post "Loving and Serving Humanity" : Bill Ivey's Blog Post

Earthquake relief delayed in a politically charged environment
Report Courtesy of Rubia

On April 17, 2009 an earthquake registering a magnitude of 5.5 struck Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. The quake that caused this disaster left 9,523 people homeless. Schools, homes and mosques not destroyed by the initial quake were damaged by the aftershocks. In response to this disaster Rubia, WADAN and the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation raised funds to help the villagers rebuild their lives. The evaluation of need and disbursement of funds was conducted by the Afghan NGO WADAN.

Replacement for Wardak Orphanage Well Underway

The Foundation has sent the necessary funds to replace a deep water well and lay new underground pipes to an open reservoir for an orphanage in Wardak. The well is the water supply for the orphans' orchard, garden, greenhouse, mosque where they reside and for villagers who do not have wells.

Aid to Victims of Logar Bombing

The Foundation provided financial support for those Logar families who lost children or were made destitute as a result of the bombing in January. WADAN distributed the funds in January.

FOUNDATION'S BELOIT COLLEGE STUDENT NAMED WEISSBERG SCHOLAR
Beloit's Weissberg Scholar at Vesalius University in Brussels
Photo courtesy of Orange European Youth Press
www.orangelog.eu/en/welcome/

This year the Foundation is providing varying levels of support to sixteen students at Bard at Simons Rock, Bates, Beloit, Bennington, Green Mountain, Williams, St. Lawrence and Mt. Holyoke College. At Williams, the Foundation's student was elected to the Honor System Committee for the second year in a row and is Co-Chair of the Muslim Student Union. At Bates, the Foundation's student is President of the International Club and Vice President of the Muslim Student Association. Both are graduates of Berkshire School, from which Peter Goodrich graduated.

Two Foundation students are Davis scholars at Taft, one attends Miss Hall's School, and another attends Berkshire School. All are on full scholarships and two are engaged in Community Service projects. Four attend Mt. Greylock Regional High School.

We are deeply indebted to the colleges, private schools and camp that have offered full or very generous scholarships to our students and to the donors who make this possible.

These students will return to Afghanistan once their academic programs are completed with skills needed by their country as it continues to grapple with increasingly serious challenges.

DOCUMENTARY "axis of Good": A STORY FROM 9/11 by Shiprock Productions

Axis of Good captures the emotions, intimate moments and struggle of the Goodrich family as they grapple with the loss of their son and their overwhelming efforts to keep his memory alive.

FILM CLIPS FROM axis of Good: BUILDING THE LOGAR SCHOOL

Shiprock Productions crafted a five minute sample to compliment “A Mother’s Mission,” on The Boston Globe Web site. The article first appeared in the Boston Globe magazine on May 13, 2007. The company provided footage for the 2005 ABC World News Tonight "Person of the Week" segment about Sally Goodrich and a seventeen minute piece, which was presented at the Northern Berkshire Woman of the Year awards ceremony. To access this work which details a portion of the history of building the school in Logar use the above link.

Praying Beads
Copyright held by Kathleen Rafiq

2009
November (1)
February (1)

2007
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November (1)
April (1)
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