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Do Donations Make a Difference?

For most of us, the tricky thing about making charitable donations — both locally and when cruising — is feeling confident that your well-intended gift will be spent wisely, and will truly make a difference.

Having risen from humble roots, this Zihuatanejo kid is on his way to receiving a first class education.

© 2011 Lorenzo Marbut

One shining example of money well spent is the educational support program that results from the extensive fundraising done during the annual Zihuatanejo Sailfest, which typically nets a higher tally of donations than any other cruiser activity in Mexico.

As we’ve seen with our own eyes, every peso garnered from Sailfest goes directly toward the construction and support of classrooms for impoverished kids from Zihua’s hillside communities. A ‘catch 22’ of the Mexican educational system is that kids must speak Spanish before they can attend regular Mexican school, a rule which disqualifies many of the indigenous kids from the hillside neighborhoods. Sailfest money (administered by the nonprofit Por Los Niños) builds and supports classrooms for those needy kids, thus putting them on a path to a mainstream education they couldn’t get otherwise.

Recently, a ‘sailfest kid’ named Oliver Garcia Levya received a remarkable honor which illustrates the importance of Por Los Niños’ support: He’s been offered a full-tuition scholarship to the prestigious Wasatch Academy, a highly-rated institution focused on college-prep for grades 9-12. The normal tuition is $48,000 USD a year!

One of these rascals could be the next Oliver.

© Lynn Bradbrook

"Oliver attended the Octavio Paz Primary school, built with Sailfest funds," explains the nonprofit’s American expat administrator Lorenzo Marbut. "Oliver was awarded a Niños Adelante scholarship — funded by Sailfest — to attend secondary school. Sailfest also awarded Oliver a two-year English language scholarship to the Zihautanejo Language Academy where he excelled. If there is such a thing as a "Sailfest kid," it would have be Oliver Garcia. We have done all we can to prepare this special young man, now it is up to Oliver. When you wonder if your heartfelt volunteerism and your financial contributions have meaning, think of Oliver." Check the website for ways you can help.

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Latitude 38’s Associate Publisher, John Arndt, performing the fireman’s carry on Crissy Fields while scampering away with a keg of suds at the close of Strictly Sail yesterday.
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