Boaters for Books founder Kathy Oberle's enthusiasm and kind heart have made a huge difference to thousands of Caribbean school children

Boaters for Books
Hands Across the Sea is very proud to welcome Boaters for Books aboard as a non-profit partner committed to improving literacy in the Caribbean. The mission of Boaters for Books, whose all-volunteer crew has compiled a fabulous track record of assisting numerous schools and libraries in over a dozen islands in the West Indies since 1999, is a perfect fit for Hands. Boaters for Books has made a major impact throughout the Caribbean (for more on the story, see the Hands webpage on Boaters for Books), and has blazed a trail for Hands and other aid groups in the islands.

Tropical Shipping
Shipping thousands of books safely and quickly from the States to multiple island destinations in the Eastern Caribbean is vital to the Hands Across the Sea mission. Tropical Shipping, for over 40 years the leader in ocean shipping to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, has generously partnered with Hands to make sure our donated books and teaching resources not only reach the right ports on time but have the proper documentation to sail smoothly past potential port and customs delays. With 15 ships and over 12,000 containers in their arsenal, Tropical Shipping makes it happen!

Matt Pollock (left) of Harte-Hanks makes the dreams of everyone who donates books to Hands come true!

Harte-Hanks
Through the generous assistance of Mr. Matt Pollock of Harte-Hanks (that's Matt in the photo, on the left, with TL), Hands has a "temporary home" for donated books prior to their pick up by AIT Worldwide (see below) and delivery to Tropical Shipping. At the Harte-Hanks warehouse in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Matt and his team receive and palletize hundreds of boxes containing thousands of donated books from all over the United States . Matt and Harte-Hanks serve as a crucial central staging area and an important gateway in getting the books to their final destination: Caribbean schools.

An AIT Worldwide driver picking up books donated to Hands

AIT Worldwide
Hands Across the Sea owes a huge thanks to Ray Vargo and AIT Worldwide. Throughout the summer and fall, trucks from AIT Worldwide pick up and deliver thousands of pounds of books from the Harte-Hanks facility in Massachusetts to the New Jersey and Florida loading docks of Tropical Shipping. The AIT drivers are invariably enthusiastic, hardworking, and efficient — they're fun to work with! A special thanks goes to Matt Pollock of Harte-Hanks who introduced us to Ray!

some other great organizations...

Dr. Alan Barber, founder of True North Missions

Hands Across the Sea is fortunate to have Dr. Alan Barber, the founder of True North Missions, on our board of directors. True North Missions provides healthcare to the children of Mayan Indian tribes in Central America; visit True North's website to see their outstanding work.

On the island of Dominica, one of the Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean, we've been fortunate to work with Chris Lawrence, a learning consultant who does

Canvasback Missions' 71-foot catamaran, Canvasback

wonderful things for local schools and teachers. Be sure to check out her high-energy website full of great ideas, Show-me-WOW!

In looking for partner organizations we've discovered that using a boat to bring help to communities in need is unusual but not unprecedented. For example, Captain Mark Drewelow, founder of YachtAid Global, utilizes world-cruising yachts to bring books and other resources to out-of-the-way places. And the folks at Canvasback Missions, Inc. have been combining medical and ministry outreach in Micronesia for 26 years. And other groups are using boats in the service of medical and social assistance: OceansWatch, Project MARC, Endangered Islands Expedition, and Maritime Missions, to list only a few. We hope someday to have the opportunity to work with additional groups as we continue the Hands mission.