Who are we?
We are a group of individuals who went to the Dominican Republic on vacation. Upon seeing the needs of the people there, we started taking items of clothing, shoes, hygiene supplies and school supplies to assist those who suffer in poverty there. Our reach has greatly expanded to include 5 areas of focus.
We operate with registered charities in Canada as Dominican Starfish Foundation, United States as Pal Humanitarian Services Inc and in the Dominican Republic as Fundación Amor, Estrella de Mar, es Amor.
We have boards of directors in each country and work very closely together.
Louise ZoBell is the Executive Director and Founder of Dominican Starfish Foundation. She lives in Stirling, Alberta, Canada. She is the mother of 8 and grandmother to 35. She has many years of experience in networking with people and has a huge vision for the foundation.
Louise first traveled to the Dominican Republic in 2006 for a vacation. On that first trip she and some friends bought a vacation package and began returning for holidays. As she got off the resort and discovered how the “real people” live she and friends started bringing clothing, toys, household items and more to help families who were suffering impoverished conditions.
In 2012 the group agreed to raise funds to rebuild a school and so the fundraising began. During that year she helped to create Dominican Starfish Foundation.
Louise works as a full-time volunteer, fundraising and managing the projects in the Dominican Republic. She is supported by a board of 8 additional directors.
Doug Palmer is the President of the Board of Directors for Dominican Starfish Foundation. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Doug’s first trip to the Dominican Republic took place with his wife Charlotte (and 11 month old daughter Gemma) in 2006. To prepare for their first ever tropical vacation, Charlotte got online to see what people typically do when they travel there, and she noted that many suggested bringing some kind of humanitarian supplies to share. That wise advice resulted in Doug and Charlotte bringing a very heavy suitcase full of school supplies (who knew paper weighed so much), even though they weren’t exactly sure how they would distribute them when they got there.
After spending a few days at the resort, Doug applied a bit of “Spanglish” and hired a taxi who took him and Charlotte to a rural school. They were greeted there by a humble classroom of enthusiastic and smiling children who completely filled the room – with up to 3 of them at each desk!! Hearts were deeply touched that day and the impact of that experience created a desire to continue to help those living in poverty in the Dominican Republic.
Doug is currently grateful for the opportunity to be working with the Dominican Starfish Foundation’s Board of Directors and its amazing group of volunteers and supporters who together help create miracle after miracle, blessing the lives of so many individuals and families.
Pearl Giles is the President and Founder of PAL Humanitarian Services, Inc. After several years of doing Humanitarian work, Pearl wanted to offer tax benefits to those who helped with her Humanitarian efforts so in 2014 PAL Humanitarian officially became a non-profit giving 100% of funds raised to those in need.
Pearl lives in Layton Utah. She and her husband, Lynn, are the proud parents of 3 beautiful daughters, 3 handsome son-in-laws, and 13 amazing grandchildren.
Pearl and Lynn first went to the Dominican Republic in April 2000 on a vacation with their daughter Stacey. They loved the beauty on the land but were touched the humble spirits of the people. The next year, they returned bringing more family and a suitcase filled with items to help their new Dominican friends. This continued for many years bringing more people on each trip and helping more individuals as well as many children attending the Alfa Education Center in Veron with much needed school supplies and playground improvements.
In 2015, she and Louise combined their Humanitarian efforts and PAL Humanitarian dba Dominican Starfish Foundation started doing all their Humanitarian projects together. The combined efforts have brought about amazing blessings to the many families and individuals that have been
Amarilis Urena is the director of Fundación Amor, Estrella de Mar, es Amor in the Dominican Republic. She is the mother of 3 and grandmother of 8. She is a teacher by professional and has a multitude of certificates and courses behind her name.
Amarilis and Louise met in 2011 when she volunteered to help with the distribution of food and clothing. Since then, they have worked together very closely to manage the significant donations and work of their joint foundations.
Having an honest, reliable person on the ground makes all the difference in being able to have a successful venture in another country.
Amarilis continues to spend hundreds of hours volunteering in the management the projects in the Dominican Republic. She also has a board of directors working with her.