Outgoing Brightree president and CEO Dave Cormack and his family have led donations to fund the construction of the Cormack Family Community Center and Youth Center in Cartagena, Colombia.
Brightree recently announced that Cormack would step down, and will be replaced with Matt Mellott as the company’s new leader. The company has also picked up a new chief operating officer.
The centers were inaugurated earlier this summer and will benefit nearly 12,000 children. Cormack and family became involved with Children International in 2013 when they began sponsoring two children from the Dominican Republic. Soon after, they decided to sponsor more children, this time in Colombia.
“We love sponsoring children below the poverty line, but we felt the need to do more,” Cormack said. “After having the opportunity to visit other Children International community centers, my family and I recognized the importance of these safe spaces, including medical and dental clinics, and educational support, and how much they mean to the children and the families who benefit from them. We knew we wanted to help fund a center so that more kids have the opportunity to utilize CI’s services.”
The community center includes the Brightree Youth Computer Center, funded by Brightree, that lets teens do homework, research on the Internet and learn valuable skills such as English as a Second Language. The community center also houses medical and dental clinics, a pharmacy, library and several meeting spaces. The youth center offers an outdoor multi-sports court, an art studio and other safe, multi-use spaces.
Children International has been working in Colombia for more than 25 years to help kids break the cycle of poverty. The organization provides children and youth with access to a safe place (such as the Cormack Family Community Center and Youth Center); a team of doctors, dentists, mentors, staff and volunteers; and a path out of poverty through programs focused on health, education, empowerment and employment. Today, Children International has 10 community centers in Colombia serving more than 40,000 children and youth.
“The community centers are unique facilities that enable Children International to reach its goal of eradicating poverty from children’s lives,” said Susana Eshleman, Children International’s president and chief executive officer. “We are so thankful for generous donors like the Cormack family who recognize the importance of these safe and edifying spaces and all of the benefits that they can provide for the impoverished children and youth we serve.”