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UPCOMING EVENTS
Come to our Annual Meeting
December 12, 2007 7- 9PM
Rosa Parks Elementary School Library
22845 NE Cedar Park Crescent
Redmond, Washington 98053
- Learn more about the organization
- Hear updates on the school and students in Guatemala
- Volunteer to help; every little bit counts!
Save the Date: Friendship Week
May 12-16th
Rosa Parks Elementary
Dance and Silent Auction
May 16th, 7-9
Rosa Parks Elementary gym/commonsPM
Mailings to go out in 2008
Look for our annual report and a new fundraiser in the mail starting January.
If you would like to get on our mailing list, please send your address to info@gfsf.org.
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From the President. . .
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Hello Friends of the Guatemala Friendship School,
This has been a year of incredible success for the Guatemala Friendship
School Foundation. Just take a look at what we've accomplished together:
- 67 students attend the Friendship School today- and
that's 67 students that would never have the chance to learn if it
weren't for us!
- Not only do our students have the chance to go to
school, they have the highest test scores of all 33 junior highs in their
state (all the rest are private schools- there is no other like ours)!
- In December, we will celebrate our 5th Jr. High
graduation! Even more impressive, 96% of our graduates have gone on to
further education.
- We now offer both elementary and junior high levels
as well as basic literacy classes for adults on the weekends.
- 2008 will mark 10 years since my first trip to
Guatemala when I met Abraham- the man who is now the director of our
school. This year also marks the 7th year that Instituto K'amawanik' (The
Friendship School) has been in operation.
I have to step back at times like this and ask, "how did
this happen?" How have we been able to make this Mayan teacher's dream
of free education for the children of his village a reality?
When I first travelled to Guatemala nearly 10 years ago, I had no goal of
building a school and even after meeting Abraham and learning of his dream, I
had no idea what to do next. After sharing his dream, it was the community
here in Redmond that made the dream a reality. It was the students, parents,
and teachers of an elementary that decided they would be the ones to build a
school and to make these Mayan students dreams come true. This school is
built on the kindness of children and the generosity of our community.
Now our project has grown. Our annual Friendship Week takes
place at the new Rosa Parks Elementary and they are joined by friends from
Explorer Community School and Emily Dickinson Elementary, the founding
schools of the project. These schools, along with the support of all of the
other friends of our foundation raised over $38,000 to support this project
in 2007- our best year EVER! Due to your generosity, we now are finalizing
our new Investment Policy- a plan that will lay the groundwork for us to
support education in Guatemala for years to come!
Thank you so much for your continued help in our success; together we are
making dreams come true. And if you've been involved in the past but would
like to learn more about what's happening today or to become more involved,
please come to our Annual Meeting on December 12 from 7-9 at Rosa Parks
Elementary for a fun evening and a heartwarming slideshow. We'd love to
see you again!
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July visit to the school
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 Kellie,
Gretchen and Doug visited the "Friendship School" (Instituto
K'amawanik') in July. All board members and foundation members were anxious
to hear about the progress of our staff and students since last summer.
They were pleased to learn and report some of the most exciting
accomplishments of the students including:
- Highest academic test scores of all 33 schools in
their state (and those are all private schools- our students wouldn't
even BE in school if it weren't for our support!)
- First place in Boys and Girls soccer, 5 years in a
row!
- First place in choir and art competitions as well
It is important to note that some of these students travel up to
1 ½ hours to the school to attend class. Even though some of our students
come from extremely low-income families, they take education very seriously
and study hard. We were extremely pleased to hear of the high test scores. It
reaffirmed that fact that our students are bright and well-taught by quality
teachers; even the Minister of Education visited and made a special
presentation to the students and staff!
Gretchen was particularly impressed with meeting a father of two of our
students. He was so proud of his children and incredibly thankful for the
opportunity we have given them to achieve an education level far beyond his.
The continuation of this school means so much to this community.
The trip was also a bit of a "tour", particularly for
Gretchen, considering it was her first time in Guatemala. Stops included
Antigua, San Pedro (on Lago de Atitlan), the market in Chichicastenango, to
gather those terrific auction items. Vendors come from all over the country
to sell their goods and wares in Chichi and we always make time to stop and
stock up.
Are YOU interested in visiting the school in Guatemala? We would
love to have you visit with us and volunteer. Send us an email at info@gfsf.org and let us know how you would
like to be involved.
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Golf Tournament Fundraiser
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 As a
senior at Eastlake High School last year, I had the opportunity to organize a
fundraiser for the Guatemala Friendship School Foundation as part of my
senior project. I decided to combine two passions of mine which happened to
be golf and the Friendship school, to create a miniature golf tournament as a
fundraiser.
On May 6th of last year, 53 people came to support the Friendship school by
playing in the tournament and buying raffle tickets for a chance to win great
prizes. The fundraiser rose close to $1,700 and got such great feedback from
the participants that I hoped I could make this an annual event when I
returned from college each summer. Now I am a sophomore at Washington State
University and had the opportunity to organize the same fundraiser this last
summer. This year, 63 people showed their support for the Guatemala School by
attending the event, and had a chance to win bigger and better prizes in the
raffle such as watches, a wide variety of gift certificates and a coffee
maker.
Although the total profit for this year was less by $100, the fundraiser is
gaining momentum each year and is looking to be a great way to raise money
for an excellent cause and have fun doing it. Thanks to everyone who came out
to play and support the project.
Alex Lawton
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Friendship Week 2007: A HUGE SUCCESS!!
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 Rosa
Parks Elementary hosted Friendship Week, our main fundraiser for the
foundation where we raise over 85% of our funds for the school in Guatemala.
Thanks to help from the Rosa Parks PTSA, staff, students, and board members
we raised over $17,500, enough to cover all our operating costs for
the next school year. Way to go team!
Highlights of the week included:
- Classroom "sponsor a student" where each
classroom wrote letters to a Guatemalan Student
- Friendship Gram give-aways: students writing special,
meaningful notes to friends throughout the week
- Friendship Bracelet sales: hand made Guatemalan
bracelets purchased by students and worn throughout the week
- Crazy Hair day on Friday
- Dance and Silent auction on Friday night including a
Kids' Market, craft table, and concession sales
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