Tamale Baskets

Every year I get overwhelmed by the consumersism of the season and I search out meaningful ways to spend my money. I figured I can't be the only one so  I wanted to share a great organization called Mayan Families.  Mayan families is a grassroots organization that works on very little operating budget to change the life of the Guatemalan people in and around the area of a Panajachel.  This group provides student sponsorships, feeding programs, preschool programs, medical aid, and just about anything else that you can think of.  They often post pictures and send you updates of how your donations were spent.  They provide tamale baskets at Christmas and donations are down by about 50% right now.  It is $35 for a basket and it feeds 10 people.  These baskets not only impact the people who receive baskets, but the local economy at large (as people will need transportation, baskets and food items are bought locally, and often street vendors can get some extra business while people wait in long lines in hopes of a basket.  How sad it would be to not receive a basket.  You can donate to this worthy cause (even $1 would help) or student sponsorship or various other programs (like microloans for instance).  Mayan Families is a 501c3 charity and your dollars are tax deductible.  Please consider giving to this program.  There is nothing that gets me more excited about the holidays than Mayan Families.   Please remember that donations make great holiday gifts.

Tis the Season!

We are still looking for people who would like to help sponsor children in Guatemala. You can email me at givingtoguatemala@gmail.com.

You can donate directly here (not tax deductible)

Or

Contact me and I will walk you through the process.
Givingbacktoguatemala@gmail.com

The students we are sponsoring are listed on the right hand side. If you would like to contribute to the sponsorship of one of these students, I can coordinate the efforts to make it a little easier on the Mayan Families staff.

Sorry for my absence.

It has been a long January and February with lots of snow and recovering from surgery. I am so excited that were able to get all of the children sponsored to return to school this year. I was really sweating it with the economy, but you guys really showed me what we could do when we band together.

In the next few weeks, I will be talking about Easter Baskets, water filters, and the next shipment to Guatemala. Please remember that help comes in lots of places and lots of ways. Sometimes it is sharing information with someone else that makes the biggest impact.

Please continue to check your email as I send you updates from Mayan Families concerning our students. I will also start sending some information out about birthdays and other things.

Hope all of you are doing great and I thank you so much for all of you have done to help these children and their families.

Lo hicimos! We did it!

We did it everyone. All 7 of our students have sponsorships paid for the upcoming school year. All 7 student families also received a tamale basket this year. I was very worried about whether we would be able to keep all of our sponsorships, but the generosity of people is amazing. My goal this year is to make sure all of our families have water filters, food, and supplies that they need to keep the kids in school.

I am also planning on collecting various supplies throughout the year to send down in shipments. I have found that many people are willing to donate toothbrushes and backpacks even when money is tight (people can usually find great deals).

Muchos Gracias!

Tamales and more...

As we finish Thanksgiving here in the States, I feel overwhelmed by all we have. I know many of us have been touched by the economic downturn. This year I am hoping to be able to re-sponsor our students for the next school year. I am also hoping that all 7 students' families can receive a tamale basket this year. We have two sponsored so far. Please send me an email if you would like to contribute in any way. I would hate to not be able to keep these children in school.



You may also donate directly using the button below. If you need the donation to be tax deductible, please email me so that I can coordinate the contributions and make sure that the students are credited with the donation.



You can email me at givingtoguatemala@gmail.com



Thanks so much for a great year.

Shipment Update

Sorry to be out of the loop, but I know you guys understand. I got 8 large boxes sent down to go into the next Mayan Families shipment. Each of our sponsored students has a small package. I included things like: soap, dental hygeine items for the entire family, a toy, markers/crayons, and a new shirt (for everyone that wears Western type clothes). I also threw in a few other things that I can't remember off hand.

As you get ready for the holidays, please remember our sponsored students. One of the best gifts you can give someone is an education. I hope we can continue to sponsor all of our students in the coming year.

Kim

For Septemer Shipment

One of our wonderful members has taken care of backpacks and school supplies for our students. She is also done a wonderful job of fundraising for Mayan Families. Thank you so much for your hard work.

Since school supplies are covered, I am looking for things to go into Christmas packages for our students. The first thing that is really easy is Happy Meal toys. If your child gets Happy Meals, please consider collecting the toys and shipping them to Guatemala.

I am also wondering if you guys have anything that you would like to include in these packages. I thought a soccer ball for each family, sheets/blankets, what other ideas???

Thanks,
Kim

Please remember that you can email me at givingtoguatemala@gmail.com