Entreamigos San Pancho Community Center
Non Profit Entreamigos in San Pancho community had amazing Summer Success!
Entreamigos, 
located in the San Pancho community (San Francisco, Nayarit) is an amazing non profit organization that offers recycling, gardens, art, a store, a restaurant and classes. Stop by to browse or for breakfast.
Its a great way to give!
Entreamigos Summer Workshops
It was entreamigos biggest summer ever with 215 kids participating in events and 98 volunteers! Woo HOO! Now that’s rockin! Four weeks of summer fun for the San Pancho kids all of ages in a variety of classes with the ages of children ranging from 4 to 14. They had crazy adventures like Xtreme sports, paddle boarding, art, swim lessons and just about everything in-between. There were more than 45 classes all taught by volunteers who joined them from Canada, United States and all over Mexico. These programs woul
d never have made it if not for all of these amazing volunteers! Kudos to all of you who made this possible for the kids of San Pancho!
This summer 18 University students from the prestigious private Mexican Universities, Iberoamericano, located in Mexico City and ITESSO located in Guadalajara came to volunteer. They joined entreamigos to do their 480 hours of practical social service required for graduation. This amazing and diverse group of kids brought their skills in product design, marketing, architecture, engineering and education to work on ongoing and new entreamigos projects. These kids made a fun video about their experience. This video really shows off all of the aspects of entreamigos, and volunteers at work. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8HgSIDpKN8
50 SAN PANCHO KIDS VISIT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!!!!
A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Gilles Ste. Croix and Monique Voyer for inviting 50 San Pancho kids to see the preview showing of the Cirque du Soleil show, Varekai, that just opened in Guadalajara. What an amazing treat for these kids. The kids took a deluxe bus to Guadalajara, many visiting Guadalajara for their very first time. They enjoyed front row seats and pizza afterwards. It was an amazing opportunity!
Back to School
In Mexico, school started in August and the kids are back in school. This year, thanks to the many, many donated
backpacks and school supplies donated to entreamigos. These donations were able to help nearly 200 kids get a fun, fresh start to the year! So many brought in school supplies, and special thanks go out to Dream Trips volunteers from World Ventures, who have donated nearly 100 backpacks in their recent visits! Way to go Dream Trips!
The Scholarship Program…The Best Part for the Entreamigos Team
There has been given 71 Scholarships for students, and now 9 are attending Universities!
These programs would have never made it if not for all of the donations, and the time and energy of the amazing volunteers!
A special thanks to the director of entreamigos, Nicole Swedlow, who had a vision back in January of 2006, and continues to put in endless time and energy for entreamigos children and adults alike.
A Fun Journey Started With a Vision
Nicole Swedlow began teaching arts and crafts on her old kitchen table in the street in front of a little storefront that she had rented. Her idea was to invite local artists to sell their crafts in the store and in turn for a reduced commission rate on sales, and in return they would be asked to teach an art class to children or adults in the San Pancho community.
The store sat empty and was not getting off the ground a cash gift of a friend, John Arner helped
buy inventory to make the store look more like a store. This and “the project” began to attract visitors, artists and began to gain more interest.
In the summer of 2006, entreamigos had two breakthrough events with the start of the Summer Workshops and their first Planta San Pancho reforestation day. In 2007 Indira Santos and Plantate Baronio joined entreamigos and together they expanded the upstairs of their storefront to create a small library. The Recycling program and the Recicla Parque initiatives took off, the Scholarship program was launched and by the end of 2008, it was clear that the activities of entreamigos could no longer be contained in the small space or the street. In April of 2009 the State Government granted entreamigos the use of a giant abandoned warehouse. With the amazing respon
se from the community, along with funding of the Three Swallows Foundation, the building was remolded and has expanded into the San Pancho Community Center it is today.
April of 2009, when the State Government of Nayarit granted entreamigos the use of a giant abandoned warehouse (bodega). A resounding and generous response from the community coupled with the funding impulse of the Three Swallows Foundation, provided the resources necessary to remodel the building.
Entreamigos continues the work that began with Nicole back in 2006, seven years ago! They enjoy teaching what they know to others, and all are invited to join in. Although there are many ways to donate, like sponsoring a child in summer, or a scholarship student or a special project, the truth is that all of those things wouldn’t exist without the everyday, normal hard work of the entire entreamigos staff.
What a wonderful success for the San Pancho Community!
Their hours are: Monday to Friday 9am – 6pm and Saturday 10am – 2pm
Special events and classes may have different schedules.
If you would like to help with a donation, please click here or paste into your browser:
http://entreamigos.org.mx/get-involved/donate/
Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde, A.C. received official recognition by the Mexican
Government to become the first environmental non-profit civil association of the region with the special interest in the protection of the marine turtle. Through the Mexican Government, SEMARNAT (Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources) the Group was granted permission to continue its work along the neighboring beaches. The board of directors was created to carry out the objectives and goals via voting, with the officers now in standing; Frank D. Smith as Director, Maria Elvia Garcia Palmera, Secretary, and Rocio artinex Ocegueda as Treasurer.
, 5 were left in place on the beach and, unfortunately, 7 nests were taken by poachers. I suppose that is pretty good odds considering! All seven species of sea turtles are endangered worldwide and all are protected by law. Turtle meat, eggs, leather or shells are illegal to own or to sell and the penalties are very severe.
did not see the mother turtle on the first nesting, but got to release those little darlings, helping to ensure the species survival. Most of the turtles laying eggs on the Riviera Nayarit are of the Ridley species and the Pacific Green Turtle. 
up the trash on the beaches. Did you know that turtles eat jellyfish? Now, there is a happy thought, if you have ever been stung by one!
Other forms of lighting can point them in the wrong direction, and wandering about on the beach can lead to almost certain death. Even hatchlings that eventually find their way to the water can be too exhausted to swim – becoming easy pickings for fish. The lights from houses and restaurants play a large role in the disruption of nesting sea turtles and they can get lost or confused, and also confusing to the hatchlings.
Nayarit, Friday February 24th at 5:00pm on the beautiful 
Regional talent has also been retained to include the traditional Mexican and Latin music of local musicians. (Werther Ellerbrock, on left and below Dave Fisher, both played in the 2011 event)
