Category: Uncategorized

True – schools throughout the US are just now closing for the summer break and the children in Puerto Vallarta continue with classes until the end of June; however when you have 35+ children returning to school this fall and classes resuming in mid-August , you have to plan ahead!!  The children at RISE and Sendero will all need new school supplies, backpacks, uniforms, and school shoes (black and STURDY).  Those in middle school or high school will have registration and book fees.  Please help us to assure that all these children will be prepared for that most important first day by sending a donation, marked “Back to School” right away.  Remember that you can easily donate using PayPal by going to our website – www.cshf-us.org and clicking on the donate now button.

 

During the past few months Bety, the amazing psychologist who has been assisting Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation and our projects for several years, has become a valued asset as well to our Canadian partner, Stevenson’s Ministries Foundation, in supporting families currently living near the dump in Magistero, a suburb of Puerto Vallarta that is a world apart from what typical tourists see.  Approximately 50 families currently live in extreme poverty in tar-paper or cardboard shacks; literally constructing their homes from the cast offs of others.   These poor people sort through garage during the day and at night in order to survive.  Our foundation, thanks to a very generous donation specifically for this project, has helped this spring to significantly improve the small, humble homes of two of these families.

Bety, while counseling several members of these families, discovered that many have little or no formal education.  Knowing that this could be the key to unlocking a much better future for these people, she contacted INEA, a Mexican government agency which oversees educational opportunities, and now has an INCREDIBLE 53 adults at the dump registered to take classes starting immediately at the New Beginnings center – 18 for elementary school, 16 for middle school, and another 19 for high school certification.  What a significant step toward hope for a new and different future.  But we need your help to make this possible.  All of these deserving people are without the most basic of school supplies as such things as pencils and paper are considered extravagant purchases.  Your donation of $25 will provide supplies for 10 of these new and excited students.

We’ve reached a milestone!  February 21st marked the 10th year since Children´s Shelter of Hope Foundation was officially accepted as a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation in the US.  Our mission then and now is: “to support the needs of children and families living in the Bay of Banderas (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) area through direct cash grants and donation of needed equipment or items to approved mission partners and programs.”

During this decade we have accomplished a lot with your support.  We have been major funders to our two main projects in Puerto Vallarta – Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (RISE), a full-care shelter for children who have been temporarily removed from their families because of abuse, abandonment, neglect, or extreme poverty; and Pasitos de Luz (PDL), a day-center for many impoverished children with extreme handicapping conditions.  Children´s Shelter of Hope Foundation, with your support, provides monthly contributions to help pay for the basics – staff salaries, medical and dental needs, food, electricity, etc.  We also fund special projects – shoes, educational supplies, tuition and uniforms for special schools, appliances, surgeries, etc.  We created our 10 X 10 child sponsorship program which currently benefits many of the children living at RISE.

We have grown rapidly through these 10 years, with your support; and now have over 700 donors, 1,450 people who receive our newsletter, and over 1000 people who have “liked” us on Facebook.  And, we are currently expanding our horizons a little by donating monthly funds for staff at Sendero de Esperanza y Amor (SEA), a new family-like shelter for teenage girls (see article below).  Please help us to continue this trend by spreading the word about our work and accomplishments to others who care about children and want to donate to an organization that is small, hands-on, and “walks their talk.”
Our board is comprised of a small group of energetic, enthusiastic, passionate volunteers who are focused on one main goal – helping children and families in need in Puerto Vallarta.  We are careful guardians of your donations with direct involvement in all of the projects we support.  We look forward now, with your support, to the next 10 years.  There is much need and more work to be done; however, “poco a poco” (little by little) we are making a major difference.

 

We are very excited to announce that Sendero de Esperanza y Amor (SEA), our newest project, is officially open and is home now for several teenage girls ranging in age from 12 to 14. Some have come from other shelters in Puerto Vallarta and some have arrived directly from DIF, the Social Services organization in Mexico.  This innovative, non-profit shelter offers a smaller, family-like environment filled with hope and love for teens who have been abused, abandoned, or living in extreme poverty.  The girls living at SEA are now experiencing how strong families can function with consistent expectations and values. They are learning to cook, clean, sew, wash clothes, and work together for the benefit of the group.  They participate in shopping, selection of clothing and school needs, and are involved projects that might help to raise additional funds.  Two different house mothers guide them with daily chores, homework, special interest projects, and incentives for positive contributions to the home.  Other SEA board members offer psychological counseling and direct support with their schools.  The girls are happy and thriving with this new approach.  If you would like to be a part of the SEA experience, please send a donation to CSHF right away with a notation that it is for the girls and staff at SEA.

 

Micaela Hurtuk is 14 years old from Boise, Idaho.  She attends the Sage International Middle School, but visits Puerto Vallarta in February each year.  Over the last three years, this very special young woman has visited RISE and dedicated her efforts to helping the children.  She explains it as follows:

“At four months my parents adopted me because my birth mom couldn’t take care of me and knew that my parents would.  I’m so glad that my birth  mom picked my parents and sisters to adopt me.  Otherwise, I would have been in a foster home or shelter like the children at RISE.  This is the reason why I love to help the children.  It is my way of “paying it forward” and I hope that someday one of the children at RISE will be able to “pay it forward too.”

Micaela brings donations each year.  She saves from birthdays, Christmas and allowance money, and asks friends to help.  She has brought dental products, pajamas, underwear and socks in addition to $800 in cash.  Her school helps raise money with bake sales.

Her visit to RISE this past February enabled her to spend time with the babies in the nursery as well as with older children and the Madres who care for all the children.  Micaela was particularly drawn to the one-month old baby as she held and fed him.  She said that she felt sad that she could not give all the attention the children needed.  But Micaela has thought of something she can do.  She said,

“One thing I wish is if 100 people donated $20 each to the “shoe fairy,” next year when I go to RISE I will be able to bring $2000 to pay for 100 pairs of shoes.  This would be my dream come true.  I will be helping my dream come true for 2014 by raffling some photos I took while in Mexico these past three years.”

Micaela took these photos.  To donate, mention Micaela’s Dream for 2013-2014 when sending your donation to Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation.