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Dear friends,
We have 501(c)3 non-profit status!! Ninos con Bendicion is working with a sponsoring agency, Her Star Scholars, who will help us with fund-raising, project development, and documentation for our tax-deductible status. All donations and sponsorships will now be tax deductible in accordance with 501(c)3 regulations!
We hope you have had an enjoyable summer. School for you is just starting and for us it is winding down. The school year ends by the end of October.
As our program has grown - thanks to our sponsors and donors - we now need to formalize the program to be assured that we can meet the financial needs of our children for their schooling, as well as their needs for adequate nutrition, medical care, clothing and support. This is a longer newsletter with lots of information. As always, please let me know if you have additional questions or comments, or if you want to participate more directly as a doing marketing, outreach, or fundraising.
We are also on Facebook! |
| About Ninos con Bendicion | 
"Children with Blessing" was created in 2006 by Lesbi Chavez and her husband Juventino (Tino) so children from impoverished families in San Antionio Aguas Calientes could receive a quality education, after-school support and strengthen their cultural and family ties.
Our central premise is to help empower children through education to be able to make decisions to improve the current quality of their lives. We are finishing a more formal Mission Statement for the program and will send it out to you when it is complete.
Children in the program learn Mayan and Guatemalan folk dance for public performances, take music lessons, study together, share meals and experiences. This unique cultural and educational program empowers children to appreciate and transform their lives.
Support for the group comes from yearly school sponsorships, calendar sales, entrance fees from dance performances, and other fund raising endeavors. 100% of all donations and profits from the sale of goods go directly into the children's general fund.
Lesbi and Tino created this group out of their deep spiritual belief, coming, as they say, as a dream from God. Their dedication to the children is infectious, and many people from a diverse set of backgrounds now volunteer their time. Nancy Hoffman, in Guatemala, supports the group with English translations and as an organizer for their scholarship program in conjunction with "Support Los Ninos," based in the US.
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| Program Report | 
The Ninos con Bendicion program has grown and changed a great deal this year. We have made progress towards becoming more formalized. We feel that we have a responsibility to you, our sponsors, donors and friends, to show that the children and their families take the program seriously and appreciate your efforts.
This school year started with two children leaving the program and new children joining us. We currently have 17 children ranging in age from 6-13 years old. Three of our children are in "Basico", comparable to middle or junior high school in the U.S. Two more children have now graduated "Primaria" and will start "Basico" in the upcoming 2012 school year.
As Basico is more costly than Primaria, our original idea was to offer the children the opportunity to have their primaria or first 6 years of school paid for with sponsorship. We did not anticipate the motivation of the children to continue their education. The older children are already talking about going to university (which is subsidized in Guatemala).
This year we involved the children's families in the program to a greater extent, as we have come to learn that the children's success depends on support from the families. We have extended the types of support the children and families receive. We now meet quarterly with the parents to discuss the children's progress in school and whether there is anything going on at home that may affect their studies. For a child to continue in our program for the 2012 school year, the parents are required to participate in three out of the four quarterly meetings, as well as to touch base periodically with their child's teacher(s). In addition, the children need to have an average of 70 points or more in each class at the end of the school year.
The family also receives support. We have assumed the provision of ancillary services for the children (taking them for medical appointments and purchasing medicines, buying clothing and the many school supplies constantly requested), as well as purchasing thread for the mothers' weavings (which are for purchase upon request). We also donate extra items to the families and their other children when we have extra donations. As in the past, Lesbi continues to cook and serve a hot meal for the children every day after school so at a minimum, they receive a hot meal and some nutrition.
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| Sponsorship | 
Please email Nancy Hoffman
as soon as possible to let her know if you plan to return as a sponsor, if you would like to be a new sponsor, or know of someone or a group who would like to sponsor. I will send specific payment options in a later email.
We hope all of the children from our 2011 program will return this year, pending their final grades. If we have enough sponsors, there are several children on the waiting list who would start in kindergarten or 1st grade with the desire to complete their education as a part of our program.
We know the economy is not great and appreciate your sponsorship! As such, we are keeping the costs for this school year the same as 2011:
Primaria $300/year ($25/month)
Basico $450/year ($38/month)
For 2012 we hope to match each child with two sponsors. We have found that $300 is not enough to cover both school costs and the yearly ancillary expenses, and does not cover the cost of living cost increases. This double sponsorship will not only cover each child's basic school fees, but will also help defray the costs of their daily hot meal, medical services when needed, extra clothing, school supplies, haircuts, internet access, dance expenses and the many miscellaneous daily living expenses that occur with 17+ children!
The school year in Guatemala runs from January to October. As the children should be pre-registered in November, we are asking for your sponsorship to be received by November 1st. I need to confirm which children still have sponsorship and which ones need sponsorship to be able to continue their education. We can accept sponsors until mid January (after that, it would be a generous and appreciated donation!), but I need to know ASAP to get an idea if we can keep all the existing children in the group, need to cut, or can add more.
I will send payment options with your confirmation and in another email.
Below is a list of the current children in the program, their birth dates, and the grade they will enter in the 2012 school year: |
First Names (nickname)
Date of birth
Grade for 2012 school year
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Linda Zuzely (Linda)
23 Aug 2004
2nd grade
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Elder Daniel (Daniel)
29 Oct 2004
1st grade
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Yasmin Raquel (Yasmin)
14 Sept 2002
3rd grade
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Jose Jeronimo (Jeronimo)
12 Apr 1997
7th grade (1st "Basico")
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Julio Cesar (Julio)
13 Oct 1999
5th grade
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Edson Alexis (Alex)
24 Jan 2005
1st grade
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Joe Juventino (Joe)
25 Dec 2004
2nd grade
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Nirma Banessa (Banessa)
26 Oct 2000
5th grade
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Kehily Judith (Keily)
28 Dec 2001
4th grade
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Ana Rosilda (Rosilda)
19 Dec 1999
6th grade
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Sergio Armando (Sergio)
31 Oct 1998
5th grade
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Brenda Melissa (Melissa)
01 Oct 1997
9th grade (3rd "Basico")
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Carlos Leonardo (Carlos)
5 April 1999
7th grade (1st "Basico")
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Jaqueline Yasenia (Jaqueline)
16 Sept 2002
3rd grade
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Wendi Liseth (Wendi)
17 April 1998
8th grade (2nd "Basico")
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Marvin Augusto (Marvin)
22 Dec 1999
5th grade
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Beyda Fabiola (Fabiola)
27 Oct 1997
8th grade (2nd "Basico")
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Her Star Scholars is a 501(c)3 operated entirely by volunteers so all of your donation will go directly to help the child.
Sincerely,
Nancy Hoffman Julie Humphrey
Ninos con Bendicion Her Star Scholars |
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| How You Can Help |  | |
Sponsor - for $300 a year you are making an enormous change for the better in the
life of a child.
If you have 10 friends
willing to give $30 each or
30 friends willing to give
$10 each, you can sponsor!
Donate - all of the money donated goes directly to a general fund to help meet
the daily needs of the
children. No amount is too
large or too small.
Buy a calendar -
Calendars make great
gifts for family, friends, teachers, co-workers, or anyone on your list.
Calendar orders can be
made at:
Attend a performance in Guatemala - If you plan to
be in the Antigua area,
their public performance schedule or to arrange a
visit to their after school program in San Antonio
Aguas Caliente.
Go shopping - find more details here.
Remember that all
donations and
sponsorships are now
tax deductible.
Payment Options
We have 2 main options
for payment:
Personal check (no extra charges) or PayPal (which
has a small processing fee) Tax deductible donations can also be made for any amount on our web siteor on the
I wil send specific payment
info details in a later email.
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