This seems to be a time of year, along with the holiday festivities and the New Year, for endings and new beginnings for us at Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation and for our projects here in Puerto Vallarta. Sendero de Esperanza y Amor (Pathway for Hope and Love), a small home for teenage girls that we have assisted for a year now, decided recently to change the path and direction they are going. They are moving their efforts and focus to the Bosques de Progreso neighborhood (site of the old dump) in order to partner with the New Beginnings Mexico (www.newbeginningsmexico.org) facility to support many children and their families living there in extreme poverty. Andy and Janet Stevenson, from New Beginnings, have established strong relationships with that community and are offering educational, vocational, nutritional, and medical assistance mainly to the adults in that area. Sendero de Esperanza y Amor has agreed to begin and maintain a support program for the children by:
- Connecting with the schools to provide supplies, uniforms and shoes, transportation costs, etc. for children in danger of dropping out for financial reasons;
- Offering daily tutoring for homework and enrichment opportunities for children at the New Beginnings facility;
- Arranging for doctor, nurse, and dentist interns to provide services to the children on a regular basis; and
- Developing activities specifically for babies and toddlers to stimulate their growth and development.
The Board of Directors and staff from Sendero are very excited about this new direction and Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation is pleased to continue supporting the wonderful work they are doing. If you are interested in supporting this effort or would like more information, please contact Chris at chris@cshf-us.org or send a donation marked “For Sendero.”
NOTE: The teenage girls who were living a Sendero have returned to live with their families or are now at Corozón de Niña, a larger shelter for girls in Puerto Vallarta.
One of my favorite “duties” for Children´s Shelter of Hope Foundation while at home in PV is that of being the Shoe Fairy for RISE and also now for Sendero. Once every two weeks I take two to four deserving children to the shoe store to select new school shoes or tennis shoes. We usually stop off at the 
ice cream stand as well. The outing, special time together, smiles and hugs from the selected children is an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. For a donation of $25 US the Shoe Fairy can make one child VERY HAPPY and you will receive a photo. Please send a donation right away so that the magic can continue.
had an amazing experience volunteering at RISE. Everyone welcomed us with open arms and huge smiles. I will never forget the minute I walked into RISE: a little boy, who later was introduced to me as David, took me by the hand and starting leading me around his home. This kind of affection was displayed by everyone I met at RISE, children and guardians alike. As for the kids, I think they really enjoyed having someone watch them in awe, as they kept doing the same trick with the bouncy ball, and to have someone who would play ten games in a row of connect four. The expression on their faces when I gave in to one more piggy-back ride was priceless. We also enjoyed playing soccer with them, and teaching them new soccer skills. While at RISE, I was also able to make a special dinner of hamburgers and fruit salad for everyone, 
staff included. I realized how much of a treat it actually was when all I heard the whole day were questions about when dinner would be ready. I also learned how fast news travels on the playground at RISE because the moment I walked out of the kitchen I had two kids wrapped around my legs saying that they heard they would be having hamburgers for dinner and wondering if the rumors were true. My trip to RISE has made me further appreciate how lucky I am to be able to travel the world putting smiles on the faces of people less fortunate than I. Saying our final goodbye was extremely hard, but it was made easier when we promised to return in the future, “Si Dios quiere”.
Since its opening in April of this year, Sendero de Esperanza y Amor (Pathway to Hope and Love) has been growing and changing rapidly. There are now 7 teenage girls living and thriving at this wonderful and innovative, small home-like home in Puerto Vallarta. Some have come from other shelters in Puerto Vallarta (including 4 who were previously at RISE) and some have been placed at Sendero directly through DIF. The girls, ranging in age from 12 to 17, work with the two house mothers, Francis and Elvira, on daily chores (including cooking, shopping, and cleaning), homework, and special interest projects, and earn points for positive attitude and behavior redeemable toward extra privileges and outings on weekends.
Each Saturday some of the girls go with Bety, our wonderful psychologist assisting at Sendero, to do activities with children living at the local dump, and Sundays all are actively involved in the church choir across the street from their home.
enhancing our correspondences and improving our bookkeeping system. This took hours of work and dedication but the outcome was worth all our effort. After accomplishing so much, I am sad to write that a couple of our members have found that they are spending very little time now in Puerto Vallarta and are therefore less connected to our projects and the work that we do. Some have chosen to become honorary board member and others have gone on to new efforts or pursuing personal interests they put aside during their time on our board.
We are happy to share that Susan Solomon has stepped up from her work as 10 X 10 Coordinator to Board Treasurer, as well. She has previously served on a non-profit board so come to us with knowledge of organization finances as well as a creative flare that promises to give our foundation an important boost. Thanks so much, Susan!!