Volume No. 2 Issue No. 51 - Monday August 25, 2008
New York man Kayaks to support school in Dominica
Brockway plans to kayak 500 miles to raise funds.
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This September, an Elmira man plans to kayak more than 500 miles to raise money for a school on the small Caribbean island of Dominica.
Tom Brockway is turning his dream of 20 years into reality. Brockway says when he first read about Dominica in a National Geographic magazine, he never imagined he'd actually visit, let alone become a benefactor of a local school.
But now the former flight attendant and Lowe�s delivery driver is living out what he says is his life�s calling. Brockway says the minute he read the article about �The Commonwealth of Dominica�, a small island in the Caribbean.
Tom says from the minute he read it, he knew it was where he wanted to be.
�When I read it, I was like wow, I really want to see this place. Not knowing that ten years later I would get a job with the airlines which afforded me to easily go there,� he said.
Brockway later became a flight attendant, and asked to be stationed in the Caribbean. He visited the island on his days off.
�I rented a vehicle and I drove around and explored. It was everything i thought it would be and more.�
He became friends with the locals, including the Principal of an elementary school.
�When I saw how little the school had I made a decision in my mind to give something back.�
So he formed a plan. He is using his love of kayaking to raise money for the school.
�I thought wow, I can do something that I�ve always loved and is a dream of mine, and use that to make this other dream come true,� he said.
Tom's journey will begin on the Chemung River and he will kayak over 500 miles to Chesapeake Bay. Brockway says he's not worried about the distance; he just wants to give back to the place that he says has given him so much.
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