As you probably know, our school has been in financial crisis due a loss of monthly sponsors over the course of this past year; the economic recession has really hit our school hard! But thanks to a few of our supporters, who inspired some of their friends to become new sponsors, we are able to assure our students that Ixaya will be open next year! We'd like to take this opportunity to give a special thank you to all of you who helped us get the word out about our funding needs!
Unfortunately, as things stand, we will have to close grades 5th through 7th and reduce the number of students per classroom to 10 in order to remain open next year. Two weeks ago we had to explain all of this to the parents, and we were deeply moved by how adamantly they fought for a last chance to raise the necessary funds themselves before the end of the year! Inspired by the parents faith and efforts, we ask you also to join us in one last great effort to continue to serve all of our students again next year. We only need $2,000. USD more a month in combined consistent sponsorships. Hopefully by the end of June we will have raised enough sponsorships to avoid turning away any of our students.
Please help us spread the word! If the efforts of only a small group of our friends and supporters managed to keep the school open this year, we can only imagine what could happen if every person who receives this newsletter today simply spread the word among their friends and family!
Ways you can help us turn things around:
Spread the word through any social networking sites you are a member of, through personal emails or word of mouth.
Be a monthly sponsor for ANY amount OR sponsor one of our students entire education for $60 dollars a month. Everything helps! Simply click on DONATE OR SPONSOR.
Send people you know the link for our latest Ixaya school video at :
http://www.youtube.com/tashiratkids#p/a/u/1/GodS-7e8xlQ
Simply forward this email!
If you would like to help us raise funds please respond to this email so we can brainstorm and share ideas! Even just inviting close friends and family over to have a little get-together fundraiser is a great way to help us. Please remember, donations are greatly appreciated but sponsorships are what keep the school alive.
What's new this spring!
Due to some of our students' unstable childhoods and learning disabilities, we have recently implemented a "high school preparation class" for our older students with learning challenges and/or a history of absences during the course of their education, who are about to enter high school next fall.
They are catching up on all that they never learned from first grade onwards. Many have struggled through secondary school, very handicapped by the fact they never learned what they needed to in younger years.
We have taken many very young and/or learning disabled children into our orphanage especially this past year, and found it necessary to open a preschool, kindergarten and special needs first grade classroom, which our Tashirat staff members teach.
We have received help from two great volunteer tutors, Saya Knox from Australia, who was with us for three months this year and Antares Hernandez, a Mexican volunteer who has just returned to help for another two months!
These dedicated young women have been great tutors and motivators to several of our young special needs children who need a lot of personal attention.
Our students have also been enjoying the service of one great parent volunteer who has been setting up her own small mobile library in the parking lot every Friday during recess.
As the children browse for books and play checkers and other games she made at home, she reads to the little ones and invites them to dress up in her collection of funny hats!
As we don't have much of a library for the school yet, her book mobile has been a great way to get the kids enthusiastic about reading.
Fortunately, we did just receive a surprise donation of brand new books from our friends from New Jersey, Debra Trofe and Nancy Mazgajewski.
Thank you all so much for helping us to keep our little school alive!
Wishing you a wonderful spring,
Ixaya School students, teachers and staff
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