Rancho Chilamate’s 3rd Annual Christmas Bucket Drive

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Sarah

Each year, our friends, Blue and Jamie, hold a Christmas Bucket Drive to raise money to fill buckets with supplies needed most by the local communities near their ranch in San Juan del Sur. The cost to purchase is just $25 and provides a family with 5 gallon buckets with household items that the families would buy with what little money they have. This includes items such as:

cooking oil
salt
sugar
candles
matches
toilet paper
laundry soap
towels
blankets
cookies
spices
soup mixes
coffee
toothbrushes
toothpaste
soap
sacks for harvesting
and last year we had enough donations to add new machetes to the buckets
and about 80 new files
PLUS they get the bucket with a lid as well… a very useful tool around the house.

For more information or to donate, please visit their website, Rancho Chilamate. To see previous year bucket drives click here and here.

Let the spirit of giving begin and happy holidays!

Clean-up of the Chocolata

Posted on April 20, 2008 by Sarah

One of the things we’ve learned since our arrival in San Juan is that EVERYONE is involved in community outreach in one way or another. Be it a one day event or ongoing projects, most people step up and offer their time. On this particular day, hundreds of local school kids, and members of the local community chipped in to pick up trash along the Chocolata – a road that runs from San Juan del Sur to Rivas. Justin and I joined friends and drove the the route delivering water and t-shirts to the volunteers.

My First Job in Nicaragua!

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Sarah

Actually, I am volunteering…nonetheless, I feel very positive about this work. I have teamed up with the organization, Community REfund.

Community REfund solicits contributions from real estate buyers, developers, agents, and other parties involved in the real estate transaction, and channels these funds towards the needs of the local communities in a way that is mutually beneficial to both donors and recipients. My primary responsibility is to make contact with each of the real estate agencies here in town and educate them about this initiative and give them the tools they need to talk about the project with their clients.

Backpacks for School Children

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Sarah

Justin and I went to a local San Juan elementary school and helped to distribute backpacks full of school supplies (360 – which we packed the previous weekend) and enjoyed interacting with the kids who ranged in age from 3-14. All of the supplies were donations from Morgan’s Rock, as well as guests who stay at the hotel – a program initiated by Gladis, our friend who manages the hotel.