Tulum Living School Project

Winner of the Raffle is.....

2011-11-18T08:58:00.000-06:00

Well guys I have been trying to edit the video of the actual drawing but it is taking forever so ..... without further pause... the winners of the Tulum Living School Project Raffle are...

Maya Package: Frances Olson

Luna: Shawnee Erskine

Sol Package: Teresa English

Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket- supported the project and sent good juju to us through this project.

We are set to build the palapa for Hurricanes Kinder this December and we could not have done it with out you.

THANK YOU!!!!!!

KEEP LIVING AND LOVING TULUM

Our raffel is open and ready!!!!!

2011-10-03T16:42:00.001-05:00

We have been given some wonerful prizes for our raffel this year. This is our final fundraiser to build the palapa at Hurricanes Kinder here in Tulum. In addition to getting a new palapa, tables and chairs all for a new lunch area for the kids, the school will also receive new recycling containers and they will sign a pledge to commit to recycling and recycling education.

This year we have 3 wonderful prizes. The drawing will be Nov. 18 2011 and will be broadcast on YouTube. You can purchase your tickets at ticket bud. Good luck and thank you for your support.

http://tulumliving.ticketbud.com/hurricaneskinder

SOL PACKAGE
~~ $1,000 credit to La Zebra Hotel on Tulum Beach (http://www.lazebratulum.com/)
~~ Round trip airport transfer for 2 from Tucan Kin (http://www.tucankin.com/)
~~ 2 - 1 hour massages from Margo in Mexico (http://www.margoinmexicomassage.info)
~~ Dinner for 2 at Las Estrellas at Cabanas La Luna (http://cabanaslaluna.com/restaurant.html)
~~ 2 tour passes from Mexico Kan Kin (http://www.mexicokantours.com/)
~~ Welcome gift with some of Tulum's best treasures

Apx. Value: $2,250 usd RAFFEL TICKET $150 uds

LUNA PACKAGE
~~ $1,000 credit to Mezzanine Hotel on Tulum Beach (http://www.mezzaninetulum.com/)
~~ Bottle of Tequila w/ 2 Tulum Shot glasses
~~ Welcome gift with some of Tulum's best treasures

Apx. Value: $1,250 RAFFEL TICKET: $30 usd

MAYA PACKAGE
~~ Jar of Mayan Clay
~~ Bottle of organic Coconut Oil
~~ Bottle of xtabentun
~~ 2 hand painted shot glasses
~~ Copal incense
~~ Jar of famous Mayan honey
~~ Hand embroidered Mexican cloths
~~ Hand woven Mexican basket

Apx Value: $200 RAFFEL TICKET: $15

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL DONORS!!!

2011-06-04T09:35:00.008-05:00

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL DONERS!!! You are what makes this event so special!!!

Restaurants being represented at THE TULUM FOOD FESTVAL:

Altamar
Amansala
Bar 307
Don Cafetos
El Capitan
El Tabano
Hartwood
Le Bistro

Restaurant Las Estrellas @ Cabanas La Luna
Mateos

Mezzanine Hotel
Mot Mot Bakery
Paleteria Flor de Michocan
Panna e Cioccolato
Posada Margarita

Sand Bar @ El Pez
La Nave

La Zebra Hotel & Linas Restaurant
Trattoria Del Mar
Waye Bar
Zulum

AUCTION & RAFFLE ITEMS:

Altamar- Gift certificate for 2 for dinner

Altamar -Membership for 1 Vegan / Vegitarian Cooking workshop- set of 4 classes
Deseire Kvaska - Hand Painted Dia de los Muertos skull

El Pez Hotel @ Turtle Cove - $1,000 hotel credit
Gaston- Feather Earings
Gina - Full Body exfoliation

Ginger - 500 peso gift certificate to dinner
Gourmet Tulum- Gift Certificate
Holocline Dive Shop- Snorkle Equipment & tour tickets

La Zebra Hotel - $1,000 hotel credit
La Llorona - Hand woven bag and scarf

Margo in Mexico - Certificate for 2 massages & Coconut oil
Mayan Clay - Mayan Clay Treatment and Massage
Maya Michelle- Terquoise Necklace

Mexico Kan Tours - 2 tours passes for the tour of your choice

Mezzanine Hotel - $1,000 hotel credit
Om Tulum Hotel - 3 nights hotel stay

Restaurant Las Estrellas @ Cabanas La Luna- Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine

Shantala Spa & Boutique - Certificate for a massage

Tattooluum - Certificate toward Piercing or tattoo
Yoga Adventures Tulum - 1 private yoga class for up to 10 people

We thank everyone who is supporting this event and our cause! Stay tuned as more wonderful donations are added to this amazing event. See you at Charlie's for the Tulum Food Festival!

If you would like to participate in this event with us. Please contact us at TulumLiving@yahoo.com

Online Raffle Packages- benefiting the Tulum Living School Project.

2011-06-01T17:22:00.001-05:00

Okay so after a lot of great ideas- we are going to do an online raffle. Thanks to the amazing generosity of so many wonderful people here in Tulum, we have put together 3 packages for the online raffle all to raise money for the Tulum Living School Project and this years chosen school Hurricanes Kinder.

With so many loyal and wonderful lovers of Tulum not able to attend our Tulum Food Festival and Charity auction- we have put together 3 special packages just for you. To buy a ticket - or several tickets email us TulumLiving@yahoo.com and we will send you instructions on how to submit your payment.

We have recently found out that we cannot sel lthe raffle tickets via paypal. So if you would like to enter into the raffle then a simple email will take care of that. If you would like to show your support through a monitary donation then you can still use the DONATE button.

.

SOL PACKAGE
~~ $1,000 credit to La Zebra Hotel on Tulum Beach
~~ Round trip airport transfer for 2
~~ 2 - 1 hour massages
~~ Dinner for 2 at one of Tulum's best restaurants
~~ 2 tour passes for one of Tulum's best tour companies
~~ Welcome gift with some of Tulum's best treasures

Apx. Value: $2,250 usd RAFFEL TICKET $150 uds

LUNA PACKAGE
~~ $1,000 credit to Mezzanine Hotel on Tulum Beach
~~ Bottle of Tequila w/ 2 Tulum Shot glasses
~~ Welcome gift with some of Tulum's best treasures

Apx. Value: $1,250 RAFFEL TICKET: $30 usd

MAYA PACKAGE
~~ Jar of Mayan Clay
~~ Bottle of organic Coconut Oil
~~ Bottle of xtabentun
~~ 2 hand painted shot glasses
~~ Copal incense
~~ Jar of famous Mayan honey
~~ Hand embroidered Mexican cloths
~~ Hand woven Mexican basket

Apx Value: $200 RAFFEL TICKET: $15

If you would like to participate in our raffle to raise money for this amazing cause simply click the donate button- enter your TOTAL amount (if you are purchasing more then 1 ticket) and tell us how many of which ticket you would like to purchase. The drawing for the raffle will be on July 15, 2011!!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

Tulum Food Fest- Misdummer Nigh's Eve Charity Event.

2011-05-31T17:31:00.000-05:00

Okay- It is officilal. The Midsummer's Nights Eve Charity Event is On and we are holding the first ever TULUM FOOD FESTIVAL and Auction.

This evening is going to be filled with AMAZING food donated from Tulum's best chefs and restaurants and we will have entertainment from some of Tulum's best musicians.

The Midsummer Night's Eve Charity Event will take place on June 21, 2011. At Charlie's restaurant and bar right on the main avenue of Tulum. We will sell tickets that will allow guests a pass through the buffet line as well as 2 drinks.

ALL the products that go into making this evening special are by donation only and EVERY PESO goes towards building the palapa and fence.

As if the evening could not get better- we will also be hosting a silent auction filled with wonderful items from all over Tulum featuring our very best artisans and healers, wonderful dinners around town and hotel stays in some of Tulum's best hotels.

We will also be holding a special ONLINE auction for those loyal lovers of Tulum so you can enjoy the best that Tulum has to offer as well as donating to this wonderful cause.

If you would like more information about this event or would be interested in helping us, please follow our blog at www.tulumschools.blogspot.com

We are so excited about this event and already have wonderful food and auction items donated. If you are interested and would like more information, please do not hesitate to call, email, text, IM, ESP or any other form of communication you can think of... we want to hear from you.

If you have an idea of anything that might help this project we would love to hear from you. We are also accepting monetary donations for this project as well.

I hope that you like the idea and that if you are in Tulum you will join us.

Mid Summer's Eve Charity event.

2011-04-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

We are looking forward to holding the first ever Tulum Living Midsummer's Eve Party. This is going to be an event benefiting the Tulum Living School Project to promote recycling in the schools of Tulum.

The event will be held in June during the Summer Solstice. The outdoor event will have all of the very best of Tulum. There will be a full buffet stocked with signature dishes from some of Tulum's best restaurants. Wonderful live music and DJs so we can dance the night away. A silent auction filled with beautiful items from Tulum's best artisans and therapists.

This is going to be a beautiful event and I am so excited about it. Party and event planning is a passion of mine and I know that this is going to be simply amazing. Plus we get to raise money for a great charity

Stay tuned as details are leaked!

Rotary Club Cloverdale makes and amazing donation

2010-10-26T13:01:00.005-05:00

Tulum schools are all in need of various items and repairs. Our first project at hurricanes kinder had many chairs that were falling apart and they told us that they needed about 100 new chairs for the kids.

A wonderful woman named Elvia heard about my project and wanted to help. She is the president of her Rotary Club in Cloverdale California. The Rotary Club is a wonderful international organization made up of professionals from every field you could think of. These people use their experience and their knowledge to help other people become as successful as they can be and use their collective power and drive to benefit charities all over the world. You can read more about the Rotary Club HERE

Elvia and I met up during the summer with the Director of the school and presidents from the Tulum and Playa del Carmen Rotary Clubs. Things were set in motion for a great collabrative effort and I was very excited.

On October 4, 2010 I was greeted at the school by Elvia, the presidents of the Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun Rotary Clubs, as well as several members of the Rotary Club Tulum and the city of Tulum. Not to mention the 100 colorful new chairs. It was a beautiful site.

Directly in front of me were the 100 beautiful chairs! I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it felt to see the children, the teachers and the community SEE AND KNOW that we all can make a difference.

In addition to the chairs, Elvia also brought school supplies for the children as well. It was such an amazing image.

I would like to The Rotary Club of Cloverdale California and Elvia for your kindness and your hard work. I would also like to thank the Rotary Club of Tulum for all of your efforts and help to get the chairs delivered to the school. As well as the Rotary Clubs of Cancun and Playa del Carmen for your support and for all of the good you do in our communities. You are an inspiration to us all.

We all can make a difference. This was 1 woman who had a desire to help and found a way. With the help of these amazing groups and many amazing people- we can change to the world.

If you would like to know how you can help please contact us at TulumLiving@yahoo.com.

7 amazing ladies donate their time and energy to the project

2010-10-01T15:07:00.002-05:00

A few months back on a forum that I am a part of I had mentioned about my project and I had a lot of wonderful responses. 1 of my favorite things is the way that people think outside the box and offer ways to give back based on their talents and gifts.

1 such response told me that a group would be coming down to visit- 2 nurses, 1 dental assistant and 4 helpful and kind more ladies. They came up with the idea of coming to the school and doing a presentation for the kids about dental care and taking care of your teeth.

They came with goodie bags with cool pencils a new tooth brush and toothpaste. The kids were so excited. They really loved running around all of the ladies and the ladies in turn clearly really enjoyed being there as well.

After the presentation we got some great pictures with the kids. It was really amazing. And so simple. It was simply an idea of how someone thought they could give back. In only an hour of their vacation they made the day of over 50 young kids and also provided even more inspiration to my project.

There are so many ways that anyone can help. Thank you so much Lori and all the ladies for taking time out of your busy vacation and spending some time with me and some of the wonderful kids in Tulum. Your presence and positive energy was felt by us all.

Thank you.

I am having trouble loading photos but will get them up soon

Our First Project- Huricanes Kinder

2010-09-17T15:42:00.001-05:00

Our first project is Jardin de Ninos Sac Be. Also commonly known as Hurricanes Kinder. This school has a few things that it is in desperate need for.

The 1st item needed for the school is a palapa. A covered area where the kids can eat their lunches out of hot Caribbean sun and stay dry from the occasional rainy downpour. The kids right now eat either in the hot sun or in the classrooms which leads to a lot of sticky fingers requiring that the rooms be cleaned much more frequently and also leads to problems with ants.

**This is the area of the school where we will build the 9.5x8.5 meter palapa*** (apx. 30 X27 feet)

The kids are also in need of a smaller palapa to cover their playground equipment. The playground is made of metal which gets dangerously hot in the sun. This 2nd palapa will be 5x5 meters (apx. 16x16 feet) and will provide some much needed shade for the kids while they play.

The 3rd item that is needed for the school is a secure fence that surrounds the school. With such precious things to keep safe and protected, a much stronger and secure fence is needed to keep the children and the school safe. We will be getting the fence from Reja Deacero. The new fence with be strong but will also allow air to go through keeping the school cool.

There are some misc. items that are needed as well. The school needs 100 small orange chairs for the kids to use in the classrooms, 3 dry-erase boards for some of the classrooms and some wooden shelves to hold supplies in the rooms.

As part of every donation we are also buying some new recycling containers that will assist the kids with their efforts and learning about recycling and composting. This will help the kids to learn about the different items that can be recycled and how composting can help their garden and their planet.

We are hoping to set up a compost are for the kids as well.

Here is the breakdown for the project.

Part 1- The large palapa 9.5 x 8.5 meters constructed of local materials. $75,000 pesos (apx. $7,000 usd)

You can also sponsor a section of this project and be gratefully commemorated on a sponsorship plaque to be displayed in the palapa. Sponsorship sections are in donations of $1000 usd or more.

Part 2- The medium Palapa- 5x5 meters constructed of local materials. $25,000 pesos (apx. $2,400 uds)

You can sponsor a section of this project and be gratefully thanked on a commemorative plaque to be displayed in the palapa. Sponsorship sections are in donations of $500 usd or more.

***Although ours would not float on any water. :) This is a good indication of what we are talking about. ***

Part 3- meters of fence that surrounds the school on all public access sides provided by Reja Deacero . Plus a strong foundation to secure the fence into the ground. The total cost for this project is $90,000 pesos (apx. $8,250 usd)

You can sponsor a section of this project and be gratefully appreciated on a commemorative plaque on each of the sections sponsored. Sponsorship sections are in increments of $100 and cover 1 post, 1 panel and all needed hardware as well as the needed concrete foundation and supports.

The back side of the school will be made with cement blocks and re bar to protect from recent development on the lot line and will also provide an area for games as well as an area for the kids to decorate their school.

There is no limit to how many sections you may sponsor.

Donation Counter

2010-09-17T13:13:00.005-05:00

Here is where I will keep track of our recent donations. I am ommitting the names for security reasons- I wil however use initials so you can see your donation reflected. . The amounts given are reflecting the amount that we will recieve. As we said before, paypal takes a small percentage. But it is well worth it for the security.

April 13, 2010 -SB- $48.25
April 13, 2010 -FO- $48.25
April 25, 2010 -TB- $23.97
June 3, 2010 -LT- $45.00(500 pesos)
July 13, 2010 -PW- $96.80
Sept. 15, 2010 -PT- $200.00
Sept. 23, 2010- GC- $25
Sept. 24, 2010- LW- $100
April, 5, 2011 - HT- $50

I have added the paypal widget to the site as well. This will halp us keep track as well.

The Project in General

2010-09-17T12:41:00.000-05:00

This is a 3 part project involving Community- The School- and The Kids!!!!

We go to each school and find out what their big "quiero" is. The want that is too big for the parents to ever et paid for and too small for the gov't to fix. As a community we work to raise money for the project. As part of the donation we will also be buying recycling containers.

For their part, the school must commit to regular recycling pickups and recycling education. (we are also helping arrange a private recycling pickup for the schools)

The kids must also participate in a street cleaning day - seperating the trash into recyclables and garbage. The kids will then be rewarded with a cake and ice cream party.

All of the money donated (minus the fee that paypal charges) will go towards the project. Tulum Living will cover all other expenses that are not otherwise donated.

Most of the individual project are between 4,000 and 6,000 dollars. Yes that is a lot of money but it is not an impossible amount to raise. We will pick a few of the needed items and raise the money to see them through.

All of these projects are for repairs and renovations for the schools.

All sorts of ways to Help

2010-09-17T11:45:00.001-05:00

There are many ways to help the schools in Tulum.

1) You can make a donation directly towards to school project.
2) You can sponsor a section. We will break many of the projects into sections for which- when sponsored will receive a commemorative plaque.
3) You can make a private donation of needed items.
****This can include all sorts of materials, cleaning supplies, paper, dry erase boards, etc. The schools are always in need to items to keep the school running and this is an easy and direct way to improve the schools.****
4) Bring books and learning aids to the schools. Donating books is wonderful for the kids and can be done at a school or at the local library.

Recently some members of the Tulum.info forum helped out by sending down some books for some of the schools. They brought fun younger kids books for the kinder and some dictionaries and English/Spanish books. I know the schools were really happy to receive the books.

Thank you Beachreader for sending the books and thank you Letele for carrying them all the way down here. It was so fun walking with you to the schools. Thank you so much for your donation.

Rotary Club comes to Tulum

2010-09-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

A wonderful woman from the Rotary Club in Cloverdale, California recently contacted me and was very excited to hear about our project. She has done projects in Mexico before, most recently building an ER in Guadalajara I think. She came to visit me in Tulum while on her vacation and we met with the Directora of the school and the presidents from the local Tulum Rotarians as well as the President from the Playa del Carmen club.

The meeting went very well as we discussed the needed items for the school and the areas that various clubs might be able to help.

The first thing that jumped out as something that they could help on right away was the needed chairs for the school. Many of the class rooms are very light on chairs and a percentage of the chairs are not sturdy enough to last much longer.

After securing a grant for the purchase of the chairs, the Tulum chapter President will be delivering the chairs soon. I am so excited to see the new chairs and the looks on the faces of the children and teachers when they receive the wonderful donation.

I will post pictures as soon as I have them.

For more information on the Rotary Club, check out their website.

Donations are set up

2010-09-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

We are all set up to take donations!!! We have set up a pay-pal account so we can now accept donations. Pay-pal does charge a small fee but offers a great deal of security so probably worth it. All funds received, minus the fee to pay-pal, will be used towards the current project.

For more information about how pay-pal works you can see their website HERE.

Please reference the school project when making your donation.

We are so excited about this project and know that every donation helps.

Thank you.

Our first Project

2010-09-17T11:20:00.001-05:00

**This is the area of the school where we will build the 9.5x8.5 meter palapa*** (apx. 30 X27 feet)