Support Escuela de la Calle
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My name is Andrew Klutey and I am a volunteer for Escuela de la Calle (also known as EDELAC), a Guatemalan non-profit that has provided education, housing, and other vital social services to children in need for the last twenty-five years. Through their school and Hogar (a boarding house for children) in Quetzaltenango, hundreds of Guatemalan children born into rural communities and unstable home environments have found a better chance at life (more on this in the YouTube video below). However, COVID-19 jeopardizes the school's ability to continue providing these services over the long-term, so we are working to raise $15,000 here to help bridge this period of uncertainty and cover EDELAC's costs until our local fundraising efforts can start up again. Here's a message from EDELAC:
"For the time being, we have shut down our school and group home and sent students home until we hear from the government that it is safe to reopen. We hope that we are able to open again soon to continue supporting our students, but we worry what an extended closure would mean for our staff, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, and our students, who depend upon the services we offer. An economic downturn could also hurt our ability to raise the funds necessary to reopen the school and keep it open.
That's because our main source of fundraising, Quetzaltrekkers (a trekking organization we founded 25 years ago) have had to cancel all of their treks indefinitely, to ensure the health of volunteers, trekkers, and local partners, many of whom already have compromised immune systems and little to no access to health-care. Given that the proceeds from Quetzaltrekkers hikes and shuttles fund 100% of EDELAC’s annual operating costs, the income we have already lost, and will no doubt continue to lose because of COVID-19, jeopardizes the ability of the school to reopen and stay open over the long term.
Fortunately, we have some money saved up. But we’re working to raise more, in order to support our staff and students in this uncertain situation, and ensure we have the funds to get us back on our feet when this crisis is over. We’ve set a goal of raising $30,000, which would cover several months of operating costs, prioritizing teacher salaries and food baskets for the children from our boarding house who have been sent home. Thanks to a generous donor who has agreed to match donations we receive here, our goal in this fundraiser is $15,000.
This will give you an idea of how far your donation can go in helping EDELAC:
- with $6, you can feed a child for a day
- with $11, you can pay the salary of a teacher for a day
- with $20, you can clothe a child for a month
- with $80, you can pay a teacher's salary for a week
- with $108, you can pay for the weekly lunches of all 170 students at Edelac
- with $357, you can pay the monthly salary of an edelac teacher
- with $433, you can pay for the monthy lunches of all 170 students at Edelac
We know these are hard times for all, but we are asking for your help. Please donate whatever you can to support our community, our students, and our staff. If you cannot donate, please share with any others that may be able to help us weather COVID-19."
"For the time being, we have shut down our school and group home and sent students home until we hear from the government that it is safe to reopen. We hope that we are able to open again soon to continue supporting our students, but we worry what an extended closure would mean for our staff, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, and our students, who depend upon the services we offer. An economic downturn could also hurt our ability to raise the funds necessary to reopen the school and keep it open.
That's because our main source of fundraising, Quetzaltrekkers (a trekking organization we founded 25 years ago) have had to cancel all of their treks indefinitely, to ensure the health of volunteers, trekkers, and local partners, many of whom already have compromised immune systems and little to no access to health-care. Given that the proceeds from Quetzaltrekkers hikes and shuttles fund 100% of EDELAC’s annual operating costs, the income we have already lost, and will no doubt continue to lose because of COVID-19, jeopardizes the ability of the school to reopen and stay open over the long term.
Fortunately, we have some money saved up. But we’re working to raise more, in order to support our staff and students in this uncertain situation, and ensure we have the funds to get us back on our feet when this crisis is over. We’ve set a goal of raising $30,000, which would cover several months of operating costs, prioritizing teacher salaries and food baskets for the children from our boarding house who have been sent home. Thanks to a generous donor who has agreed to match donations we receive here, our goal in this fundraiser is $15,000.
This will give you an idea of how far your donation can go in helping EDELAC:
- with $6, you can feed a child for a day
- with $11, you can pay the salary of a teacher for a day
- with $20, you can clothe a child for a month
- with $80, you can pay a teacher's salary for a week
- with $108, you can pay for the weekly lunches of all 170 students at Edelac
- with $357, you can pay the monthly salary of an edelac teacher
- with $433, you can pay for the monthy lunches of all 170 students at Edelac
We know these are hard times for all, but we are asking for your help. Please donate whatever you can to support our community, our students, and our staff. If you cannot donate, please share with any others that may be able to help us weather COVID-19."
Organizer
Andrew Klutey
Organizer
Ridgefield, CT
