More Photos

Here are more photos of the elementary school.

As you can see, the textbooks (their only supply of books for the classroom) are in poor condition.

Perhaps we will be able to purchase local texts for the children in addition to the English textbooks we have already procured.

No doubt these kids will be thrilled when they have access to a supply of library books!

Types of Books Needed

Currently I have acquired enough textbooks to supply the school for the time being. There are about 20 children in each grade level and, at my request, the Global Book Exchange assembled boxes of textbooks, workbooks and teacher editions for Grades 1-6.

Mainly I am now interested in developing a library of reading books (both fiction and non-fiction) including picture books, picture dictionaries, and age-appropriate books for ages 4-12. Reference books could be useful too.

I have not yet begun collecting classroom supplies, but would certainly welcome any contributions. I hope to purchase several boxes of library books from the Global Book Exchange within the next few weeks to get the library started. Your additions will be treasured by the children. What better gift can they receive than books that "keep on giving?"

Donations of Books and Supplies

Thank you for all of the letters of support that are pouring in!

So many of you have expressed a desire to help, so I've offered a few suggestions at right, many of which do not involve financial contributions. For those of you who do wish to make donations, Phase 1 is all about gathering and shipping age-appropriate books and classroom supplies, and your contributions can make a big difference.

Global Book Exchange has been a wonderful resource for gathering textbooks. They also have a great selection of children's library books. They typically request $25/box of books procured from them. Recently, they generously allowed me to collect 27 boxes of textbooks--including expensive teacher editions--for a donation of $500. I would like to repeat that previous process, flying into San Jose, renting a cargo van and driving to GBE to collect another $500 worth of library books. I will then transport all the books that have been collected to my shipping source in San Jose.

There are many ways you can lend support with Phase 1:

- Provide cash donations that will go directly to actual costs of obtaining and transporting books and supplies. (Fortunately our shipments to the Philippines at this time are provided by a generous donor. Mrs. Odette Mabalatan has offered to ship all donations to the Philippines for free on an as-space-is-available basis. Bless you, Odette! )
- Donate school supplies
- Donate new or gently used books for K-6 reading levels. Sources may include:

• Your own children's collection of gently used books
• Yard sales and thrift shops
• Friends with children who may be moving
• School or public libraries that may be discontinuing books or weeding out their collections

For anyone living in Utah or who may be coming to Utah to visit, I will be happy to receive and store any donated books or supplies at my home in Park City. I could then load up a U-Haul trailer and drive it out to San Jose for shipping.

If anyone prefers to ship their donations, please contact me at SanIsidroChildren@gmail.com for shipping instructions.

I promise to keep an accurate accounting of all donations and assure you that 100% of all funds received will be applied to benefit the San Isidro Primary School.

Any size or type of donation is greatly appreciated. No gift is too small!