Warm December greetings to all our friends and supporters of F.I.N.O., A.C.!

Do we ever have great news! We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF) for funding three educational scholarships for students in the rural village of Jalpa. This grant will allow three kids who had started in FINO’s LTL program in Primaria (elementary school) and who are now finishing Secundaria (middle school) to go on to Preparatoria (high school). These scholarships play a vital role in continuing the education of these students as there is no prepatoria in Jalpa, forcing approximately 85-90% of children to drop out of school after Secundaria. The SMCF bestows grants twice annually to eligible Mexican non-profit organizations that demonstrate the greatest need. In each of the past two years, the SMCF has donated over $100,000 to the community of San Miguel de Allende.

Our next exciting step is to form a selection committee out of our volunteers who will help us develop selection criteria, conduct interviews, and choose the three recipients. PLEASE LET US KNOW if you’re interested in being a part of this selection committee via email at finoac@gmail.com.

Now on to donkey talk ….

Mark your calendars for F.I.N.O.’s fourth annual Burro Festival on March 20, 2010! Tickets will go on sale soon for this hilarious festival, which raises money to support the Leadership through Language Program. Each year this ‘only in Mexico’ event gets more exciting. The action-packed day features a "Best of Burro" contest between roughly (!!) twenty burros, brightly adorned and decorated by their young owners, as well as the burro races and an artisan fair featuring the talents of local artisans. A major highlight of the day is climaxed by a delicious Mexican comida prepared by the women of Jalpa. In addition, the Leadership Through Language students make and prepare items to be sold on this special day at the local, artisans fair and are already excited to demonstrate (show off) their English skills.

Interested in donating to our most important fundraising event of the year? Just pick up one of the bright yellow Burro Calendars that are visible in businesses all over town. They are filled with delightful pictures of the Jalpa children at last year’s Burro Festival. You can also have your friends and family back home order this perfect holiday gift online at www.finomex.org. Scroll down the page to the Burro Festival 2010 Calendars and you’ll see the Pay Pal option of purchasing.

Upcoming Event!

Also, keep your eyes pealed for a romantic musical event (our pre-Burro Festival fundraiser) to be held in February at the scenic, charming, and historical hacienda on Jalpa Lake. This event will be showcasing two extraordinary musicians from San Miguel de Allende. Ticket sales and further information will be announced soon

Tea at the Tylosky’s

We invite all LTL volunteers back for our second Tea at the Tylosky’s at 5pm on Thursday, December 10th. This is a great way for us to continue to receive your essential feedback and suggestions, and to strengthen our friendships. Please RSVP to finoac@gmail.com!

Many thank you’s, as always, to our fabulous volunteers for your time, energy and dedication, and to our incredible web designer Patty for making this newsletter and our beautiful website possible.

Wishing you fuzzy socks for night time, and the chance to soak up all the sun we’re still getting during the day!

From the grateful team at F.I.N.O., A.C.

[ This section will be reserved for notes from our volunteers and friends (so you get to know a bit about them.) If you have something to share please send us a note at finoac@gmail.com. ]

A Note from: a volunteer.

I've been volunteering for FINO since late last school year, but have actually been at the Jalpa school only a few times. My favorite part was at the end of a class when some of the little ones just had to give me a hug. It was endearing.
 
My involvement has mainly been designing the website and some graphic design projects (business cards, calendar). Website design is my second career, as my professional training is actually in engineering. After graduating from UConn with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, I was very fortunate to work on some great design projects with two small firms in CT before returning to Mexico in 2007. I lived in Zacatecas (a beautiful city, where my mom lives) for a year before coming to SMA, which is home now.
 
I'm glad to be a volunteer for FINO and to do my best to part to keep the kids in Jalpa smiling.
 
Saludos,
 
Patty G.