Amigos De Palapa Newsletter

March, 2016

The Palapa Society has had the most fantastic year, and the energy continues to build as we grow.
Not only are all classes in place for the bridge to English program (Puente headed by Serena, Jayna and Odetta) but also going strong are the adult English classes (Ivonne’s group with over 30 enrolled), the art program thanks to Doug West and Jill Mollenhauer, and the ever loved focal point of our community, the Palapa Library staffed by loyal volunteers and headed by Donna Schultz.

On top of that we have completed some major events that are not only fundraisers, but are also hugely important community goodwill builders. In just two months we have launched our Beca scholarship program, helped with the most successful and fun music festival ever, Todos Santos Art Studio Tour, and enjoyed an incredible Historic Home Tour. All of this is possible with the help of committed volunteers who care about making this community a better place to live and learn.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of our programs, donating materials that will help our classes, becoming a Beca Angel, or just learning more about our programs please go on our web site at www.palapasociety.org or contact us at info@palapasociety.org

Palapa Learning Center

Phase One of the development of the new Palapa Learning Center is underway and we are celebrating the excitement.

The property has been purchased on Calle del Huerto, next to Aliser Market and we are busy in the planning stages. Committees are meeting weekly to develop both the educational plans and the buildings needs. This will give us the information to present to an architect to draw up the plans and be able to submit them to bids for construction. The intention is to create a new home for The Palapa Society which will house all of our existing programs, as well as establishing a new school for sixth through twelfth grades that will be an example of quality education for the youth of our community.

Todos Santos Music Festival

Thank you Peter Buck and Chloe Johnson!

The Palapa Society of Todos Santos strongly appreciates the vision, the time and the superior musical quality provided by Peter Buck, Chloe Johnson, and all of their highly talented musician friends to make this year's Todos Santos Music Festival the best yet. The opportunity to have a world class festival in our pueblo is a unique gift based on Peter and Chloe's desire to enrich the quality of life for all people living or visiting here.

Dedicated to providing special opportunities for youth in the community, the festival gives all net proceeds to The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C. This year far exceeded prior year’s with a total contribution of over $63,000.00 USD. These funds will benefit all The Palapa Society programs. The donations received from the 2016 Todos Santos Music Festival are especially important this year as we are initiating a high school building program to further opportunities for youth locally.

A special thank you to Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones who sat in with many groups and also has painted a saint statue which will soon be available for online auction.

Puente Program

Puente program, also known as Bridge to English, currently has over 90 students, 4 lead teachers and several volunteers. Puente teaches English to students from 5 to 18 years old. It's been a beautiful Spring, with lots of activities and lots of fun. We welcome volunteers! Please inquire with us to learn more about volunteering or teaching opportunities.

Studio Tour

The Todos Santos annual Artists Studio Tour was held February 6^th and 7^th and highlighted the work of a large number of our local artists. This year 289 tickets were sold, bringing many out of town guests to enjoy our hotels and restaurants as they enjoyed a weekend of visiting the artists and their studios. After expenses approximately 58,000 pesos went to the Palapa Society’s Art program which funds the existing program, sponsors students for special workshops, and will be a major contribution toward the materials and equipment necessary to create the art center in the new Palapa Learning Center.

Our huge thanks to Karin Lawler, Diane Knight, Steve Thurston and Carin Jette, and to all the volunteers and artists who made this tour possible and we look forward to the 2017 tour planned for the weekend of Feb 11^th – 12^th.

Historic Home Tour

The Historic Home Tour was held on Sunday Feb. 28^th. A wonderful crowd of over 200 people, many of them from out of town, took this opportunity to view a selection of our fabulous buildings representing the history and architecture of the 1800’s. Over 20 of the Beca scholarship students supported the program, acting as hosts for the day, and the painting by Tori Sepulveda was auctioned off to Glenn and Arlene Eige.

Proceeds from this community fundraiser will go to the new Palapa Learning Center and a percentage will also be shared with our Bomberos.

Generous Donation
Coldwell Banker Donation

The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C., would like to thank Coldwell Banker Riveras for their recent donation to our organization. This donation will help fund our new building project. This is another example of the strong community partnerships we have fostered within our town.

Beca Angels

We are very pleased to announce that our newly launched Beca Angel campaign was a huge success! We started the soft launch in mid-November 2015, and kept it running through the end of the 2016 Todos Santos Music Festival. We had such an amazing response that we have been able to provide every child (81 students) in our Beca program with tuition money for this year.

If you signed up to sponsor a student and you haven’t heard from us, you will before the end of March. The response was so strong that we need a bit of extra time to put all of your materials together. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of the youth of Todos Santos and Pescadero.

A Testimonial from Beca Angel Sponsor

"I have had the good fortune of traveling to Baja California Sur several times. On one of my trips, I was introduced to The Palapa Society. I was very impressed with their emphasis on educating the youth of Todos Santos through Beca Angels, and my family decided, as a Christmas gift, to support a young scholar attending college. Oscar is pursuing his dream of earning a law degree at the university in La Paz. I admire his courage and strength in taking such a big step. We have exchanged a few letters, and Oscar writes beautifully in English. I am grateful for that since my Spanish is very limited!"

"It is very exciting for my family to be a part of helping Oscar achieve his goals."

The Jacquart Family ( Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA)
March 2016