Newsletter #21: Celebrations, Challenges and Holiday Events Galore!
Newsletter #21 - Nov 8th, 2023
Can you believe it's November already? What a wonderful few months it's been, and what an exciting end to the year we have planned!
Here's a rapid-fire overview of everything you might like to know:
Firstly and most significantly, we finished our FIRST YEAR as an official full-time school! The Guatemalan school year starts in January, so our teachers and students celebrated their last day of classes on October 13th.
It has truly been such an accomplishment and testament to the dedication of our Guatemalan team to see the year completed. Not only was it the first year of fronting all the logistical work of transitioning a 20-child/day tutoring program into an 80-child/day full time elementary & middle school (doubling our teaching staff and resources needed), but the historic Guatemalan presidential election this past summer led to nation-wide protests and shutdowns that once again immobilized the country.
Despite these challenges, all of our students were able to finish their school year and our class of nine 6th graders joined the less than 43% of children in Guatemala that graduate elementary school. To wrap up the year, our team is preparing for their annual community event - this year being a week-long Health Festival!
In our final stretch of trying to reach our 2023 fundraising goal to get them the resources they need, we have two exciting winter events left:
This year, EDUPAVI is joining the global movement to give back and is inviting you to do the same! Giving Tuesday is an international day of generosity, a great way to re-orient oneself after the consumption-based frenzy of Black Friday.
From November 25-28th only, a very generous individual donor has agreed to match all donations up to $2000 - DOUBLING your impact if you donate! Another email will be sent out then with the link to the donation page.
The second event is one you might be familiar with...
The 6th annual EDUPAVI Craft Fair, presented by TD Canada Trust, makes its return on Dec 3rd, 2023!
Save the date and spread the word!
This year we've added a thrift area, fun prizes and yummy treats - not to mention a slew of fantastic new vendors! You definitely won't want to miss out on this opportunity to make an impact with your holiday shopping.
Speaking of making an impact, we have some amazing EDUPAVI Ambassadors that have committed to physical challenges in the name of our students in Guatemala!
Huge congratulations are in order to Solomon Hsu, who rode 72km (one for each of our students) everyday for 30 days straight to celebrate his 30th birthday! His incredible efforts inspired many and raised over $3,100 - surpassing his fundraising goal. Happy birthday, and go Sol go!
Another awe-inspiring young friend of EDUPAVI, Connor Chai, has decided to raise money in support of his goal to run the BMO Marathon!
If you'd like to encourage him and sponsor his run, click the image below!
and lastly,
EDUPAVI celebrated its 4th birthday on Nov 6th!
We are humbled by the people we have had the opportunity to inspire and be inspired by over the last 4 years. From our small team, thank you to all those who have buoyed us with your support, encouragement and enthusiasm to create positive, tangible change!
We are ever grateful to be in the process of learning to do good with you, our students, and the communities we work in.
Until next time,
Team EDUPAVI Canada