WE DID IT!!!!

WE. DID. IT.

I don’t really have words. This formation journey has felt long and endless….BUT WE HAVE ARRIVED! Maybe I will write more later when I catch my breath from the relief and excitement. For now, we are celebrating that all of your generous donations are now tax deductible!

RG Formation Journey

Raising Guatemala has been such a journey spanning over 120 years. My great grandma started this legacy that I have been determined to pick up, grow, and hopefully pass on to my children someday so that the people of Jicaro Guatemala will always have someone caring for them.

I want to keep you posted on what we have been working on and where we are going, because I believe when you chose to get involved with us, you have the right to know how hard we are working with what is given to us. It's not just one trip once a year.

We have been talking for so long about giving our charity federal status so that our donors and supporters can get tax breaks when they support us. That process is one that requires a lot of time and dedication. I own my own business as well as have another job so all of the paperwork to get RG's official status off the ground has been something that I've devoted time to in between everything else in life. It has taken hours upon frustrating hours...days...weeks, to complete the application process. They don't make it easy! Ultimately, none of it would have been possible without one of the most badass women I have ever met...Brigette Polmar, the owner of Brand Spoken. She has been by my side from the start helping brand us, inspire us, and ultimately sat with me while we nail-bit our way through sending in our application. She is the most incredible business woman I have ever met who simultaneously runs her company and her home with such a passion and skill that I feel blessed to have partnered with her. Although she has helped many other charities start up, filing to create an INTERNATIONAL charity was something she had never done before. We had moments where we felt crushed under the amount of research and paperwork so we stalled out a couple times. But she stuck by me and was my rock and we kept at it.

After filling out 30 pages of paperwork, many meetings, way too much coffee, 3 different ink color revisions, and countless sticky notes, our application is submitted and awaiting approval. We should have our answer in 2 to 4 weeks. If we are denied we will have to edit and submit a new document, but we are praying for smooth sailing and appreciate all prayers and good vibes sent our way. We will keep you posted and as always, thank you for sticking by us on journey!

UPDATE COMING SOON

A Work of Art Called Love

I'm sure you've heard the song "So Will I" by Hillsong United. That song wrecked me and reminded me of Guatemala in so many ways. I want to start by saying that we aren't a Christian organization. But we are Christians running an organization. A lot of our drive and passion for Guatemala comes from us knowing that God wants us to love others the way He loves us. We are meant to care for the sick, the poor, the orphans, and the widows. It's put on us to love on them with everything we have. This highlights the greatness of God in His abilities. He created you, me, and all of these amazing children that are counting on us. I want to spend my life obeying him, going where he wants me to go, and striving to love others the way He gave His life to love us. 

Check out the full song if you get the chance, but I wanted to paste in my favorites parts.

"If the wind goes where You send it so will I
If the rocks cry out in silence so will I
If the sum of all our praises still falls shy
Then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times

And as You speak
A hundred billion failures disappear
Where You lost Your life so I could find it here
If You left the grave behind You so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You’ve done
Every part designed in a work of art called love
If You gladly chose surrender so will I
I can see Your heart
Eight billion different ways
Every precious one
A child You died to save
If You gave Your life to love them so will I

Like You would again a hundred billion times
But what measure could amount to Your desire
You’re the One who never leaves the one behind."

Introducing Ana: The Teacher Straight Out of Every Inspirational Movie

 We would like to introduce you to Ana! She is the teacher at one of our schools and gives her heart and soul to our kids. Her job doesn't end when she steps off the school grounds. She tutors kids to get their grades up for our scholarship program. Her home is a sanctuary for kids battling tough things at home. She goes well out of her clocked hours to make strides for the community of Jicaro. We might complain when we have to take work home or stay at the office 10 extra minutes but Ana's whole life is taking work home and staying late. She is the true definition of a selfless giver because she gives everything she has and expects nothing back. She's a pillar in Jicaro and in our charity. She's not only a pillar of stability for our kids and schools, but also for us. We love her so much!

Man Crush Monday: Sergio, Carlitos, and Chelino

We want to #mcmshout out to our 3 favorite Guatemalan men. Guatemala may not be the safest country to travel in, but we feel incredibly safe because our Guate-dads look out for us. Sergio (the Guatemalan Vin Diesel look-alike) has been with us since 2014. He let's us do our thing but will always be found in the background keeping a close eye on us. He's like our Batman...keeping us safe even when we can't see him. He seems serious and intense but we love that we can always make him laugh. Carlitos (the one who we always keep waiting as you can see from the third video:) has traveled with us for days on end dealing with every up and down you could possibly imagine. He has that determined mentality that 'it can always be done' and makes anything work. He has seen us through our worst times...trust me...and has been amazing to us the whole way through. Chelino (with the fabulous mustache) is dad to one of our first ever graduated students and we consider him our OG dad (original Guatemalan) He is always there for us. He teaches us more about the culture, takes care of us when we are sick, makes even the smallest details happen, and supports EVERYTHING we do. These men have come to mean so much to us and we love them dearly!!! We are the luckiest.

Where Do Your Donations Go?

School & Home Infrastructure

We use donations to build wells, renovate homes, and build up our school classrooms. We pay local workers to do this construction so we can stimulate the local economy and provide jobs.

School Tuition

It costs $360 to put a student through a year of schooling. Children have free schooling up until 6th grade. After that they go back to work in the fields or family trades, receiving no further education. Six years of scholarships get a student through middle school and high school. After that, they are eligible to get jobs in accounting, teaching, and other careers that pay them enough to send money home to their families and pay for their own further educations. 

Crafts, Goodie Bags, & Lunches

During our trip there, we hang out with the kids during their school day. Your donations bring them sandwiches, juice, chips, milk, and cookies to enjoy for lunch. Donations also pay for crafts and activities. One of their favorites every year are bead and pipe cleaner bracelets! We put together goodie bags with stickers, candy, and toys that we leave for them at the end of the week.

Food Buckets

The local market has a small store where we put together food buckets with enough beans, rice, pasta, salt, sugar, oil, and oatmeal to feed a family for a month. These buckets cost $25 usd.

Causes & Projects

We like to fill needs as they present themselves. If we see a school needs a new 'pila' (watering system), a classroom needs new supplies, or in the most serious of cases, a child loses a parent and needs some care, we use your donations to help.

When we set out to fill one of these needs, whether it be a school tuition, infrastructure project, craft or goodie bag for each student, or project, we use your donations to fill the need. If donations don't cover what we set out to do, we finish it with our own personal donations. I also have resolved to always be funding a student through school myself. I am currently funding my third student because how can I ask you to do something for my organization that I am not doing myself?

I want to thank everyone who has contributed, is still contributing, and will contribute in the future. I love and believe in everything that we do in Raising Guatemala and am thankful that you do too!

Women Crush Wednesday: Annie W.

You know what day it is... #wcw . And today is a well deserved shout-out to our very own @annabell233 . In 2014 I prayed and felt like I was supposed to join back up in the work my family had begun in Guatemala. I called Nani while she was at college to tell her and her immediate response? "I'm coming with you." And that's been her response ever since. She has been a constant pillar in @raisingguatemala since we started dreams of incorporation. If you know her, you know she becomes a leader in every aspect of her life. At every job, it doesn't take long for supervisors to figure out her capacity to lead and lead well. People flock to her because she's someone you can count on and come to with anything. She's got a passion that pushes her to jump into things wholeheartedly. She makes herself knowledgeable about what matters to her so that she can get everyone else on board with informed decisions and solid planning. Luckily for us, Guatemala quickly became one of her passions. She took it on as her own and it has made strides because of it. Nani has an abundance of talents to offer and she gives it all. She's generous, compassionate, warm and trustworthy. She's dedicated. She is content with doing the behind the scenes work and never receiving credit...but I need to give her credit because she's wonderful. When one of our students lost his mom during our trip this year, the first person he asked for was Nani. No one else...just Nani. When someone fainted during one of our school days, Nani traveled to their home to make sure they were ok. Although she doesn't speak Spanish, the kids communicate with her through love and hugs. She's the one they grab to go show her all their homes and favorite town spots. Even the language barrier doesn't stop them from easily picking up on her adventurous spirit. She makes an impact that is so unique to her. She's been my best friend since birth and my life has been better because of her. This organization will be better because of her. Our people there will be better because of her. I'm excited to keep moving forward and seeing where this non-profit adventure takes us both. Nani thanks for being my partner on this journey. I love you!

Music Lessons

"The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge, but to create possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things." -Jean Piaget

Thank you @vamusicadventures for creating possibilities every year with us

Woman Crush Wednesday: Karli S.

Our #wcw of course goes out to the wonderful @kstamp21 . She has been on our goal list to come to Guatemala for years...and finally it happened! Although this was her first trip with us, she has stood with us in support on @raisingguatemala for years, even back when it was just talk on becoming an organization. Her love and validation for a people she hadn't even met yet has been inspiring and we're thankful that she has encouraged us from the start. She's got that strong go-getter spirit and took it upon herself to order stickers (and I mean like 5937295747 of them) and get other donations for our kids. After seeing our schools she brainstormed with me about more projects, needs, and donations we could get for the students. She put herself out there to pick up the language...and she seriously did. I'd find her surrounded by a group of kids communicating without any help. She would find ways to get her words across and was never afraid to be silly. Karli takes that initiative to put herself where she needs to be to learn and grow in order to connect and help others. She was so active, jumping from one group or activity to the next. Anything that was asked, she was right up there ready to do it whether it was playing soccer, handing out food, or doing crafts. Any other time, she was finding her own ways to ingratiate herself into the kids lives...and boy did they accept and adore her. They lovingly called her "Karlita" and hung off of her the whole time. If she was sitting, they were in her lap. If she was standing, they were jumping in her arms. If she was walking, they were holding her hand or wrapping around her so tightly. Karli exudes an energy that's welcoming, kind, friendly, and honest. She was prepared and planned (did we mention it was her first time ever out of the country?!?) yet when we hit the ground she went with a steady and easygoing attitude. She was an awesome travel companion and even better friend. Karli we are so thankful for you and we are checking it off our goal list that you finally came...now to convince you for 2019.

Bucket Challenge 2018

We're about to throw some numbers at you....you ready??!!??
In the past 11.5 years we have officially delivered 1032 of these food buckets to hungry families in Jicaro Guatemala. That means that 1032 families have been fed for an entire month. Thanks to your generosity $25,800 has been donated for this specific cause and we are SO grateful. 💚
Our organization has multiple ways that we help these families through school scholarships, donations, and school infrastructure. Giving them these food buckets is one of the more immediate and physical needs that can be met. You can DM us if you want to feed a family for a month. It costs only $25 usd.

Woman Crush Wednesday: Jules G.

Our #wcw today goes out to the beautiful @julestyler7 . 2018 was her first time joining us for our #raisingguatemala trip and she better be there with us on every single trip from here on out! Her embodiment of confidence, joy, enthusiasm, and sincerity is everything you could ask for, not only in a team member, but in a friend. She jumped into our organization with two feet. She was playful and energetic and the kids loved her for it. If she wasn't teaching them handstands and spinning them around, she was snuggling them and making them laugh til they cried. The language barrier didn't even seem to exist. The people embraced her as if she had always belonged there with them. She was the fiery blonde haired beauty and stood out in the best way. She was an easy traveler and had a go with the flow vibe even during trip obstacles that may have made other's shy away (#roadofjules ... don't ask:). You get what you see with Jules and that's part of what makes her an ideal human being. She's true and upfront. No hidden agendas or personal motives. She's supportive of other's successes and strengths. She builds others up. She is who she is and there's a comfort level with her because of that. She's the kind of girl I hope everyone has in their life! Jules thank you for EVERYTHING you were to our kids, their families, and to us. I hope you're right next to us on every trip from here on out because it would never be the same without you!! We 💚 you!

Donations for Samuelito and His Family

This family is going through deep pain and their lives are turned upside down. We want to launch a fundraiser to help them get on their feet and take away some of the daily stress so they can focus on healing. Please DM us if you would like to donate to them.
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While we were in Guatemala, one of our 8 year old students Samuel and his little 1 year old sister lost their mom. Can you imagine losing your mom so young? As you see in the second picture, they live in one of the poorest houses we've seen.

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Since her death, our little Sam has gone everyday to our teachers house and sat on her steps crying saying "what is going to happen to me?" We've found out recently that the pain goes so much deeper then losing his mom:

One of their mom's last dying breaths was to make her husband promise to find someone good to watch the kids while he works in the melon fields from sun up to sun down. We have learned that these children's grandma and aunt had spent anytime they watched the children abusing them. As of the recent death, they only wanted to watch the kids if there was money involved. We refuse to let children go back into the hands of abusers so we've been working on finding a good family member who will care for the kids when they aren't in school.

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The one year old is covered in flea bites all over her legs. Samuel's eyes started turning yellow and he stopped eating. He was taken to the doctor by my grandma and it turns out that he's infested with parasites and is in need of treatment. Samuel has been one of our biggest class clowns for years. He's smart, sweet, and keeps everyone laughing. It's hard to watch such a vibrant soul be shattered. We plan on taking him on as a scholarship student to fund him through middle school and highschool when he's old enough, but for now we want to focus on meeting any physical and emotional needs we can. If you feel it in your heart, please be involved with us. 

Woman Crush Wednesday: Raychel G.

Today we want to shout-out a #wcw to one of our very own, @rayrayfray . As one of the granddaughters of this legacy, she's been traveling to Guatemala for almost two decades. She took a few years off from going when she had 2 babies of her own but the people of Jicaro never stopped asking about her. She is the type of person you want on every team because she always has a way of finding the little things to do that make a huge difference. When she sees a need, she determines a way to fill it. We admire her heart because it always goes out to the least noticed kid. Her compassion is immense and her dedication to what she sets her mind to is strong. She's the one you can find on the floor for hours drawing pictures by request for the children. They're fascinated by her talent (and so are we!). She's the one who is covered in chalk as she draws amazing animals all over the school's soccer grounds. She took initiative to make goody bags for all the kid's mommies, because she knows how much they need love too. She has a heart of gold and is a solid support to both the kids and to the rest of us. She works hard and is willing to do the jobs no one else wants to do. She never takes recognition for herself. She shines in her humility, kindness, openness, and giving. The people in Guatemala and her friends and family at home admire how compassionate she is. She truly hurts with those who are hurting. She's that person that you can tell anything to and know you will receive no judgement and a whole lot of understanding. She is my sister and my very best friend. In so many ways, she has formed me into who I am today and I'm so thankful for her. She has always been my biggest source of encouragement and validates who I am. She has never torn me down, just constantly builds me up and has given me a confidence to move forward on this RG journey with full speed ahead. We recognize her because she is the kind of person that you feel a loss when she isn't there and a brightness when she is. We hope she travels with us on every trip because it will NEVER be the same going without her ever again.

***I posted this on our Facebook page. One of our students found it and commented: "Thank you Raychel for all the love that you have for each one and we so appreciate every time you have come here to share with us a smile. With your friendship, one realizes the love we receive is good. Thanks for everything. I hope good for you and that God's love always reigns in your home and I want to say that I will always be the boy to carry you in my heart Thank you for everything" - Andy

Trip 2018: Day 8 - Coming Home

We traveled everywhere in our little Toaster van as Carlitos became another one of our Papás Chapines 😂 From working hard for 5 days in our villages to multiple near death experiences on our 2 days of adventure...these 4 women have become even more like sisters to me...if that's even possible. A trip like this has a way of really bringing people even closer...trust us!!!! Can't believe our 2018 Raising Guatemala trip has come to an end but I will never forget serving alongside these most INCREDIBLE women for our growing organization. Each one of them brings a trait and talent that benefits our kids & schools. Nothing like a group of powerful ladies coming together to support not only a great cause but also support each other in the best and worst of times!! It was true beauty to me. I couldn't have dreamed up a team like this if I tried. Love you guys!!!

Trip 2018: Day 4 - Tribute to Samuelito

After 3 beautiful days of joy, laughs, crafts and more, our hearts are extremely heavy to tell you all that our sweet student Samuel lost his mom last night. She passed away at 25 years old. We love these families. They are our family. It’s our joy to laugh with them but we also grieve with them. Please pray for this family and our villages as they cope with a great loss. And for us... because leaving is never easy but this year it’s the hardest it’s even been. 💙Annie and Jes

The Countdown Has Begun for 2018...

It is time for the countdown to begin! In 5 weeks we will be heading back to these sweet faces. Joining our team will be @vamusicadventures for the second year in a row! You might remember them from the 100 food buckets AND recorders they donated last year. We are so excited to have them back. During our last trip they taught our students the basics on recorders and gave them an opportunity to perform in the town square. These are experiences they will never forget and now we get to see who has been practicing this past year 😂 We can't wait to be back with family. stay tuned these next few weeks to find out how you can help!

Meet Some of Our Students!

Meet just a few of the students who attend the two village schools. In just a couple years, they could be receiving scholarships through Raising Guatemala to attend high school and go on to college! The incredible part is that we get to walk with them while they grow and learn. We can't wait to see these beautiful faces at the end of the year. 

Bucket Challenge 2017

In the past 11 years we have delivered 882 food buckets to hungry families in the surrounding villages of Jicaro, Guatemala. We've done this with the help of friends, family, fundraisers, and other organizations. YOU have made this possible and we are so thankful for every donation.

Our goal in 2018 is to hit 1k bucket donations...wouldn't that be amazing?!? That would mean that in the past 11 years, ONE THOUSAND families will have been supplied with food for an entire month. Your $25 donations make this completely possible.

We used to make $20 buckets but we are constantly growing and learning about what the people need and changing how we do things to make the best and fullest impact we can. We now raise $25 which allows us to add some beans and rice to fill up their tummies a little better. 

• 10 pounds of beans
• 5 pounds of spaghetti
• 5 pounds of sugar
• 4 pounds of rice
• 4 pounds of oatmeal
• 1 pound of salt
• 1 big bottle of oil
• 3 packs of tomato sauce

We can't wait to reach our next goal as well as make a new one! Email us if you want to be involved :)

Trip 2015

We had SO MUCH FUN with our students today face painting, making bracelets, and of course playing some soccer!! We feel like we are the luckiest to have such amazing kids in our lives that give us death grip hugs, tons of kisses, and contagious laughter. During our last trip we taught the students to play freeze tag and it was fun to find out this one was still a crowd favorite. Can't wait for more tomorrow!

Tribute to Pedrito

We lost one of our 5 year old students today from our Los Bordos School. He passed away from Dengue. Many of our other students are already showing the same symptoms. Please pray for some comfort for his family and for the others to get better. Please pray for us as we figure out how we can help their family in the most proactive and beneficial way during this awful time.