Newsletter #14: The Auction Returns!
Mark your calendars! THIS SATURDAY (April 23rd), the 3rd Annual EDUPAVI Silent Auction returns from 9am-9pm only!
From restaurants to jewelry to family activities, you don't want to miss out on the chance to walk away with some of our amazing auction items in the name of charity! All profit from this event will go directly towards our goal to support 100 children in Guatemala as they pursue an education. Click HERE to see the catalogue and link to the auction website, which will go live on April 23rd. Every bid helps, so please feel free to forward it to everyone you know!
Now more than ever, there is a desperate need for education support in Guatemala. In response to COVID-19 concerns, public schools across the country have been completely closed since March 2020, with a few classes STARTING to reopen mid March 2022. As of right now children are supposed to go to class once a week for a couple of hours to receive schoolwork, but for the few who have decided to return to school after two years of little to no educational support, the journey to catch up is a steep uphill climb. As you can imagine, this has been absolutely devastating on the education statistics in Guatemala - where pre-pandemic primary school dropout rates were already over 60%.
To have 100 children in our program from around 75 families actively pursuing their education despite their circumstances is both a responsibility and an immense privilege. It is not lost on us that throughout the pandemic for the past two years, almost all the children in our program were able to stay on track and finish their school year, thanks to the generosity and passion of all of you, our supporters.
Since the 2022 school year started in mid-February, our team has hit the ground running. The theme of our Welcome Week was "I AM A SUPERHERO!", where costumes, songs, dancing and learning reminded our students that their perseverance in pursing their education in the face of so many obstacles made them the real superheroes.
Our students now access our hybrid program that includes full-day, in-person class once a week, a "School Cafeteria" that provides nutritious snacks and lunches, virtual resources for online learning throughout the week, and printed homeschool curriculum. They also receive a medical examination every two months for height, weight and other health indicators, and have access to dental evaluations as needed.
The mothers of the students also continue to have access to family and vocational training/resources through our "Seeds of Hope" home food garden program, our in-house bakery program, and our micro-business program.
A REMINDER that if you have an extra smartphone, tablet or laptop in good working condition that you are willing to part with, we are looking for devices to bring down to our students who cannot afford the resources required to access virtual learning. We have a team visiting in mid-May, so please reach out to info@edupavi.ca before May 18th if you can help out!
Thank you to all who have continued to support us over the past few months - whether it was through a monthly sponsorship, the purchase of a piece of our "Learn to Do Good" apparel, a donation to our silent auction, or even a message of encouragement. Your generosity has not only empowered children to learn, but it has inspired us to keep going and is more appreciated than you know.
If you are not yet a monthly donor and would like to learn more about it, click the button below! We would be thrilled to partner with you in this mission to fight poverty through education.
Tax receipts are available for all donations.
Until next time,
Team EDUPAVI Canada