I’m very excited to announce (on the blog, at least) that Roots & Wings has made a great new “friend” in the fundraising department. See Your Impact is a fantastic non-profit that helps other non-profits put a face on their efforts…literally! Each donor at See Your Impact picks a project or non-profit that they want [...]
Presenting (with much metaphorical fan-fare) Roots & Wings International’s first commercial for our Amazon store. It only takes 60 seconds of your time to watch, but can mean a great deal for our organization if you shop with Amazon via our store. We get at least 4% back from the purchases you make, which believe [...]
Most people might recognize today as Mardi Gras, March 8th is also the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. Today, NGOs and countries all around the world will be recognizing the important role that women play in their homes and communities and their political, economic, and social achievements over the last 100 years. Many countries [...]
A big congratulations and “shout out” to Ed Wooldridge, Roots & Wings’ first ever volunteer of the year award recipient! Ed has been the resident webmaster and go-to guy for many behind-the-scenes efforts at RWI since 2009. Though his multiple degrees in computer technology come in handy for his duties at RWI, his greatest asset [...]
The Wall Street Journal published an excellent article this week all about Guatemala and the booming coffee tourism business there. Visitors from all across the globe are traveling to Guatemala to learn about coffee: how it’s planted, harvested, refined and made ready for consumption each day. The WSJ article follows the process at one particular [...]
This past year over 2,000 children under the age of five died in Guatemala due to malnutrition. Guatemala actually has some of the highest rates of malnutrition and growth-stunting in the world, yet most people never hear about this situation in the news. Poverty, obviously, is one of the biggest causes of child malnutrition, but [...]
University scholarships: 40 university students sponsored to date. We’re currently seeking sponsors to provide 50 additional scholarships in 2011 at $80 per student per month. Computer literacy program: 25 computers and 600 children in the program. We are in need of donor sponsorship at $5 per month per student. After-school tutoring program: 600 elementary students [...]
Angela Choc, widow of a man who was killed at one of HudBay’s mines in El Estor, brought a lawsuit against HudBay in Ontario, Canada on December 1. That she had to file the lawsuit in a Canadian court – as opposed to a Guatemalan court – speaks volumes about how elusive justice is for indigenous Guatemalans. The lawsuit comes just months after mining operations were suspended by the Canadian government for human rights violations.
We ask our Founder and Executive Director, Erik Swanson, a question submitted by one of our newsletter readers. Question: The recent recession has taken a toll on populations worldwide. Has the recession had any impact on the funds RWI receives? Also, do the Guatemalan communities we serve suffer in any way due to the recession? [...]
According to ReliefWeb, the United Nations ranks Guatemala as being in the Top 5 of underfunded countries in the entire world for 2010. This means that, along with Uganda, Central African Republic, Kyrgyzstan and Iraq, Guatemala has received the least money from international donors for the United Nations’ appeal to address conflict, natural disasters, and [...]
It’s been nearly four months since beginning construction on the new Technology Center in Pasac, Guatemala. Progress has been constant despite Guatemala’s rainy season (May through October). Everything is on schedule, and the building should be finished in September 2010. One exciting development is that the Technology Center will be hooked up to Pasac’s brand [...]
On April 28th, we launched our Spanish-language website. The new website caters to our growing Spanish-speaking audiences. We hope that with the launch of this new site, we will reach out to companies who communicate primarily in Spanish and who may have an interest in supporting an organization like Roots and Wings International, whose goals [...]
We published our first Annual Report in March. 2009 has been a great year for Roots and Wings International. We raised over $35,000 in cash donations. In addition, we received a Google advertising grant worth $120,000 and a Microsoft software grant worth $15,557. Last year we added 5 corporate partners and grew our volunteer base [...]
This Youtube video sums up nicely the programs we offer in rural Guatemala: Full university scholarship After-school elementary tutoring program Computer literacy program University preparatory school Development meetings
Tour the Roots and Wings International office in the village of Pasac, 3.5 hours drive from Guatemala City.
