Summer 2021
“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it
away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best
interest.”
Ben Franklin
Telchac Education
We recently met with other education programs from Chelem, Chuburna, and Progreso to discuss
our major concern at this time - the coming school year starting in fall. We have all met with local
school administrators and the state government and everyone expects to start in-person classes
this fall. It’s still unclear if these are going to be a hybrid of in-person and virtual, or staggered
classes with the students divided in half to minimize interactions, or some other format.
Unlike last year - when students received tablets, internet hook-ups, and internet fees - we will be
buying uniforms and school supplies for the fall semester. Please be sure to pay your annual
donation soon, so that we can start to order the needed supplies and begin to work with
seamstresses and shoe stores!
The “F” Word (Fundraising!)
With no Full Moon Jazz Festival this year, we’ve had to scrabble to support the university students.
Students have been working online, and have been required to pay full fees by the colleges and
universities.
We were very fortunate to receive a donation of $28,525 pesos that was raised by a virtual art
auction. Arte 1010 is an online gallery based in Merida that regularly works with charities.
We have also received donations from kind donors that sent the money they would have spent
attending FMJ ( for tickets, transport, food, drinks, t-shirts, etc). As always, 100% of all donations
will go to support our university students.
Since 2009 we’ve had 12 years of JAZZ, dancing, eating, drinking,
and laughing under the FULL MOON while raising funds
for university students.
For 2021 we won’t be able to get together and have a wonderful time on the beach
- listening to the three jazz bands, dancing over the pool, enjoying the food court
and bar, seeing the Telchac Puerto college students, seeing the hula hoop lady,
awaiting the 50 / 50 raffle, and buying a commemorative t-shirt.
This year we ask you to help us so that the university students can continue to
study. The funds raised at the festival are 100% for the college students. Last year
we raised $252,000 pesos which supported the students from March 2020 to
February 2021. All of your generosity will help our 16 college students continue to
study.
Please consider donating the amount you would normally spend at Full Moon Jazz!
‘The Very Best of Unplugged” is an upcoming music event in Merida which will donate a portion of
their ticket sales to Telchac Education! The venue will include acoustic covers of The Beatles, Kiss,
Eric Clapton, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, and more! It will be held Thursday,
July 15th. We’ll let you know the result in the next newsletter!
Bookhouses
The book house by the bus station receives a great deal of usage, and was beginning to look a little rough. A local Telchacaño donated his time, materials, and skills to refurbish it, and it looks great!Thank you, Sr. Benjamin Sanchez ! We’ve had the book houses for almost 3 years now and were not seeing exchanges going on. We ran a campaign to inform people of how a book exchange should really work, and are happy to see books being returned and donations coming in from the locals!
A lady from Izamal - who also has a house in Telchac Puerto - has copied our project and,
with the support of their local Rotary group, Izamal has a book house, too. We hope we’ve started
a trend!
Yo Puedo Leer/I Can Read
Wendy and the instructors at Yo Puedo Leer continue to work with the students remotely. Parents
come on Mondays and Thursdays to La Casa de Aprendizaje to collect and deliver the reading
projects. The students have a craft project each month that they complete at home and send in
photos of their work.
They held a book fair as a fundraiser and were very successful! They sold over 500 books at very
affordable prices . The books were in Spanish, both for adults and children and we are all pleased
to be able to encourage reading at all levels within the community.
In the fall, we expect to begin classes in small groups to continue social distancing.
La Casa de Aprendizaje
Our mayor, CP ( private accountant) Juan Alfredo Marrufo Diaz (aka Freddie) has been re-elected
and promptly approved our use of La Casa for another 3 years! We have renovation projects
planned and hope to obtain good prices from local contractors, and assistance with labor from the
students’ parents. We will be paying for repairs ourselves.
Sponsor a Student!
100% of all donations go to our students. Any expenses such as postage,
photocopies, etc. are out of our own pockets.
How Much Does Each Student Cost per Year?
Grade School: $145 USD
Jr. High: $175 USD
Sr. High: $225 USD
University: $2000 USD
General donations will be used at our discretion for emergencies,
teachers, supplies, the reading program, field trips, etc.
We have a number of payment options available:
1) cash to Judy, Susan or Michelle in Telchac Puerto
2) ask for a PayPal request or send it via PayPal to
telchaceducation@yahoo.com
3) deposit into BBBV account ( please ask us privately for the account
number, etc)
Sincerely,
Judy Abbott de Mier y Teran - Coordinator
Susan M. Stewart - Communication
Michelle Forsyth - Yo Puedo Leer/I Can Read
e-mail: telchaceducation@yahoo.com