Author: CSHF Board

 

On January 29th, the Jalisco office of the Mexican Government’s Department of Social Welfare (IJAS – Instituto Jalisciense de Asistencia Social) honored Chris Amo as a representative of the Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation.

As a tireless advocate for the children of Puerto Vallarta, IJAS nominated Chris for “best foreign donor of 2012.” This honor was based on her work as President of CSHF with Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza, Pasitos de Luz, Sendero de Esperanza y Amor A.C., as well as sponsorship of local events.

With so many wonderful charities in the Puerto Vallarta area, the award is an amazing honor and the CSHF board is truly grateful that Chris is recognized for the energy and passion that she’s given to the children of Puerto Vallarta.

 

 

As most of you know, Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation is a hands-on, grassroots foundation supporting the needs of children and their families in Puerto Vallarta and in the small communities that surround it.  Like you, we are concerned about the health, welfare and education of children.  Our primary focus for the last 10 years has been to help and assist with the needs of the Refugio Infantil Santa Espenaza (RISE) and Pasitos De Luz.  These fine facilities care for the unique needs of many children.

We are now excited to tell you about a recent project that has caught our attention – Sendero de Esperanza y Amor.  This innovative shelter, slated to open in January or February, will offer a new and different option for some of the older children and their siblings currently living at RISE.  It will be a much smaller, family-like home where the children will not be distracted by issues around communal living, will not be reliant on staff members to constantly provide for their needs, and will experience how families function with consistent expectations and values.
The Vision for Sendero is:

A Family Home where each child can reach his or her fullest potential through guidance counseling and academic support.

A Family Home where all the children learn personal responsibility for themselves and for others.

A Family Home where each child learns the life skills necessary to succeed in the real world.

In this home every child will be involved in the daily household tasks of cooking, cleaning and even purchasing the food to prepare their meals.

In this home every child will learn the concept of money and how to live on a budget, have the opportunity to play sports, or attend dance classes, or even hold down a part-time job if desired.

In this home every child will have to opportunity to learn, through example, how families care for each other – now and in the future.

Living at this family home will be an honor, not a right.
We see it as the future of Mexico, a country that many of us have come to love.

Can we count on your support as we go forward to make this vision a reality?

You have always been, and always will be, the heart of our Foundation – without the financial support and interest from donors and volunteers like you, it would be impossible for us to carry out our mission.

If you haven’t already done so, please take a few moments to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. In our online community page, we post the latest pictures, stories, and latest events, like the recently announced Trunk Show, the Lost Treasures Sale, and several stories on the latest happenings at RISE and Pasitos.

But most importantly, we rely on the kind words of others like you and hope you will tell your friends, family members and co-workers about us and our worthy cause. Please share with others about our organization, ask them to read our website, join our newsletter, or follow us on-line.

We’ve found that once people learn about the wonderful work of our foundation, they’re happy to join our family.

RISE, one of our main “ships” is floundering now and asking for immediate help to cover the costs of their basic needs.  Due to the poor results from their major fundraising event last February and lower than normal donations during the long summer months, the RISE administrators now find themselves in CRITICAL need of assistance for funds to buy food, medicine, and pay the electric bill, which is always high during the summer.

There is always the unexpected at RISE – in August a family of three arrived at RISE.  They were in dire need of medical treatment and, of course, also needed clothes, shoes, and a “real” bed.  We, at the Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation, have faithfully continued to make our monthly contributions to RISE, but we do not have sufficient funds to fill this MAJOR GAP.

Please, if you care about the continued success of RISE in providing for the needs of these very special children, send a donation RIGHT AWAY, marked “SOS for RISE” through our U.S. Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation or through our Canadian partner foundation – Stevenson Ministries Foundation – New Beginnings Mexico .  All proceeds raised will be given directly to RISE to meet their current needs.