Safe Passage

We recently celebrated Book Week at Safe Passage!

We had days full of activities that brought reading, imagination, and storytelling to life across every grade level.

One of the key objectives of our strategic plan is to close the learning gaps left by the pandemic, and Book Week was a major step toward that goal.

Our students jumped right into writing their own fantasy stories, designing original characters, and practicing public speaking.

📖 One of the week's highlights was the Literary Picnic.

We invited parents and families onto campus to read aloud and share stories together. Having parents actively participate shows our students that learning is supported by the people who love them most, taking the impact far beyond the classroom walls.

To extend the literary theme, share your favorite book with us! We'd love to create a special list from your favorites in the comments.

Earlier this year, 17 high school seniors from our Oportunidades program took a major step toward their futures by visiting Universidad Rafael Landívar and Universidad de San Carlos.

For these young people, navigating a college campus was a tangible look into their next chapter as they explored academic curriculums and met with career counselors.

For the first time in our history, we were able to completely cover the cost of university admission exams for this entire graduating group.

They also attended a specialized seminar hosted by SEGEPLAN to learn about available university scholarships.

Swipe through to read what this milestone meant to our students in their own words!

The Oportunidades and Próximo Paso programs provide the academic foundation, career guidance, and financial bridge needed to walk students into early adulthood with real pathways to higher education and professional opportunities.

We are so proud of this graduating group for taking charge of their futures!

Thank you!

Today we wanted to take the time to express gratitude to this inspiring community that chose to show up.

Thanks to you, we not only reached our initial goal, we went beyond it.

Every gift made this spring is already taking root in the lives of Safe Passage students, and that is because of your part!

We invite you to keep following along and see the fruits of these efforts.

Sign up for our newsletter to stay close to the stories that grow from here. - https://www.safepassage.org/newsletter/

A few days ago, our preschool students harvested radishes they planted and tended themselves.

Watching them proudly hold up what they grew in the company of their family members and classmates, was a sweet reflection of all possible with time, patience, love, and consistent care.

Just as these young students are seeing their dedication come to life, our support community has achieved a major milestone. Thanks to an incredible network of supporters, we officially met our $500,000 ""Signs of Growth"" Spring Campaign goal.

Meeting this milestone ensures we can continue providing the resources our students rely on, but our work does not stop at the finish line. Every contribution from this point forward extends our reach and deepens our commitment to these families.

You can still be a vital part of this harvest as our campaign runs through June 1st. Please consider making a gift today at safepassage.org/grow26 to help sustain this essential work.

🌱 Your support continues to nourish our students' futures.

"Transformation does not happen once a year when fundraising calendars align. It happens every single morning our students walk through our doors."

These are Erin Mooney's words from her letter to the Safe Passage community this spring, and they reflect something that shapes everything we do.

Right now, Safe Passage students are at the height of their academic year:

🌱 Preparing for Math Olympiads
🌱 Presenting months of research to their communities through their Expeditions
🌱 Preparing for university entry requirements and navigating everything that comes with it
🌱 Beginning each school day with mindfulness and meditation

Safe Passage no longer defines its students by the challenges surrounding them. Students define themselves, and what they are building every single day is proof of what consistent support makes possible. The work on the ground does not pause for a fundraising calendar, and neither do we.

Our Signs of Growth campaign is active through June 1st, be a part of the transformative change! Give at safepassage.org/grow26.

🌱 We did it — and we're not done yet.

Thanks to an incredible community of supporters, we have reached our $500,000 goal for the Signs of Growth Campaign.

Every dollar raised was matched 1:1, and the impact you made is already taking root. But our campaign runs through June 1st — and every gift from here forward continues to nourish our students like those beautiful Spring showers that bring all the flowers!

There is no finish line for a child still in school.

Economists who study human capital investment in Central America have documented what sustained education, nutrition, and wellness support cultivate over a lifetime: higher earnings, healthier families, and children who are two to three times more likely to finish school themselves.

University graduates in Guatemala earn between $15,000 and $25,000 annually, compared to around $2,000 without educational intervention. When you apply that across a single year's cohort of Safe Passage students, the estimated lifetime economic value generated by $500,000 reaches $8 million and beyond.

Every dollar given now adds to that story. Give before June 1st at safepassage.org/grow26.