On April 3 in the village of Voditsa, Targovishte district, after three decades of silence, the Clock Tower- a symbol of the village - was officially re-opened. The repair of the mechanism and of the entire clock tower house took more than 6 months and over 130,000 leva donated by the Helen Rinker Ashley Fund. The opening was attended by Mr. Ted Hart - Executive Director of CaF America (CAF America) and Mrs. Elitsa Barakova - Executive Director of the BCause Foundation (Bulgarian CAF).
From 2011 to 2016, over 800,000 leva have been invested in the village and the region by the Helen L. Rinker Ashley Fund, and more than 15 projects have been implemented - improving public buildings, security and the environment, and people's development. Most of the ideas are of the inhabitants of the village of Voditsa. Among them are repairs in the village of Voditsa to the kindergarten, the school, the community center, the health club, the retirement club, the placement of a bus stop, CCTV cameras, the replacement of a part of the water supply network, the financing of cultural events, the trainings of teachers and students, and other.
In 2014, the Rinker Training and Entrepreneurship Center was created with resources from the Fund. Its aim is to promote education and lifelong learning and to support entrepreneurship and business development in Bulgaria.
The folk ensemble of the Community centre congratulated the guests and the residents of the village with a concert. All the gifts were received - the guest from America left with traditional gifts of wood, textiles and glass, and the inhabitants of the village - with a special glass with the watch. CAF America's CEO, Mr. Ted Hart, learned to spread water from copper for luck and liked many home-made banitsa and sweets, prepared for a general treat.
The new projects funded by the Fund will focus on children and young people. There are activities in the school and kindergarten, new children's and youth academies.
"The people in the village are great and the projects here show how donation can help change the life in a community. That's exactly the purpose of Helen Rinker Ashley's donation, "said Ted Hart, thanked Elitsa Barakova for her dedication, and finished in Bulgarian with" Be Healthy“
The visit of Mr. Ted Hart and Mrs. Elitsa Barakova to the region continued with a discussion-meeting on "Donating and Social Investment in North America". Host was the "Mapache" Cafe-Bakery in Varna, winner Rinker's Challenge 2015 - the first challenge for entrepreneurs of Rinker Centre. Especially for the case "Mapaca" invited youth organisations and social entrepreneurs from Varna.
The Helen L. Rinker Ashley Fund was created with funds from the property of Mrs. Helen L. Rinker Ashley donated by her for charity purposes.
The fund is owned by CAF America and CAF America makes decisions about its spending by approving specific projects for this purpose. The purpose of the fund is to finance a wide range of activities in Bulgaria - from the renovation and construction of public infrastructure to support education.
The BCause Foundation (Bulgarian CAF) was chosen by CAF America to lead the implementation of the projects in Bulgaria.