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In this Issue:
- From the President
- Little by Little Campaign
- Update Your Membership
- Activities and Events
- Program Updates
- Alliance Updates
- From Our Members
- General Info
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Activities and Events
- Upcoming Mixers
- READER SURVEY
- Let's Have a Picnic!
- A Day in Paradise!
- Join Us for Coffee
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It’s the middle of March and we are still in the dry season of course…except that we are getting some very strong rains in San Ramón and other areas of the country. We told our visitors from Minnesota that they are lucky to experience both the dry season and a typical rainy season all in the same trip!
Welcome to our continuing and new times even here in Costa Rica. We are still returning to living post-Covid and also entering into new and changing patterns and opportunities, just like the weather. Our CAA programs and members’ engagements continue to grow in the organization and individually.
Your Board of Directors continues our focus on, and support for, education, addressing hungry families and our children’s programs, as well as finding ways to support and engage each other:
- Education is investing more in the scholarship students with additional academic support to finish Colegio and to be positioned to continue in universities or other training institutions.
- Sustainability is leveraging our growing donation resources in hunger/families and children’s programs alliances and our CAA volunteers engagement in programs like Blankets for Babies, children’s birthdays at the orphanage this year. At the end of the year we will conduct special programs like toys for children and holiday tamales-making.
- We are setting up additional ways to meet together socially, including a picnic at the end of this month and a day away in April.
New people continue to arrive and they are finding new friends and groups among members and other expats in the community and identifying “their people.” What a joy it is to see so much good happening in these continuing yet new times and experiences. Maybe we are all getting a “two-fer” or more out of our lives here than we expected.
We look forward to seeing you as we live here and share our lives and experiences with each other and with our Costa Rican communities. Maybe we need to set up a Moncheño Club with levels in recognition of the many ways we bring ourselves and our experiences together and to the community. Hmm what could the levels be?
We have another exciting way to make a bigger impact with our fundraising dollars through a Global Giving program, Little by Little. Details are below.
Don’t forget to renew your membership this year and join us if you are not a member.
Be sure to complete our 2-minute survey about your favorite locations for our mixers. You can find the survey at https://bit.ly/3TsvUFz
~Terry Handler
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Photo by Geno Summers
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Helping Our Community, Little by Little
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Over the past several months, CAA members and friends have taken advantage of Global Giving’s easy and safe online giving platform to increase our ability to feed hungry families, educate motivated students, and brighten the lives of children in need. Your generosity and commitment have been both amazing and exciting!
Now we have the opportunity to create an even bigger impact with our fundraising dollars by participating in Global Giving’s annual Little by Little Campaign, April 3-7.
Global Giving’s Little by Little campaign is designed to celebrate the power of many small acts of generosity given by a large number of people. To provide an incentive for giving, for every donation of up to $50 made during the campaign, Global Giving will match the donation at 50%. Consequently, $10 will become $15, $30 will become $45 and $50 will become $75! How exciting is that?! And what a great way to amplify our ability to help our neighbors in need!
The Little by Little campaign will run from Monday, April 3 to Friday, April 7, so mark your calendar. We will be sure to send you some reminders.
We hope you will participate even if you have already donated to a CAA project on the Global Giving platform, and especially if you have never donated. Just as the fact that many hands make light work, in this context, many hands make great work and increase in our ability to help others.
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If you have questions or would like further information, please contact Mary Lou sustainability@caacr.org
Information about our campaigns is available at the following links:
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Renew Your Membership Today!
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CAA members are connected to a rich network of friendship, support, and opportunities to participate in the life of our community AND they help improve the quality of life for others in the greater San Ramón area. It costs only 5,000 colones and it’s easy to join! Just follow this link for payment options: https://www.actionalliancecr.com/join-caa.html
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You can also give your 2023 dues to any Board member at coffee or the mixers.
We welcome first-time member Aida Vasquez and say THANKS to those who have renewed their memberships.
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Consult our online calendar to stay updated on current and upcoming events.
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Upcoming Mixers!
We are currently surveying our readers to see which of our locations so far have been your favorite spot for CAA mixers. You can complete the survey at https://bit.ly/3TsvUFz
This month’s mixer was at Cheper's.
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APRIL’S mixer will be on April 20 at El Establo from 3-6pm.
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/CPymG9Vgrr2SSHkC6
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElestabloSanRamon
The MAY mixer will be on May 18 at Felipón from 3-6pm.
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/LqVQYCcCJaxYByPY8
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacantinadefelipon
The JUNE mixer will be on June 15 at Octubre 29 from 3-6pm.
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/JpK4jrSjbaKD4haX7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/octubre29gastrobar
We hope to see you soon!
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Let’s Have a Picnic!
CAA members and their friends are invited to an all-day gathering on March 29 from 9am – 4pm at the wonderful and scenic Las Musas Park just west of San Ramón. Enjoy the park’s waterfall, pool, restaurant, and trails and catch up with other CAA members. Bring games, puzzles, cards, et cetera to share. There’s plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The park restaurant offers a wide variety of comida tipico and also cocktails, wine, and beer. You can also bring your own food for consumption outside the restaurant.
We would love to see you there. Cost to enter the park is 2,500 for adultos mayores; 3,000 for others.
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/AQKN2QWXyZTxNpLb9
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A Day in Paradise!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR FRIDAY, MAY 12! We are making plans for a trip to Vila Paraiso for a day of relaxing, trail walking, conversation, and of course delicious food. We will rent a bus to save us from driving to and from Piedades Norte.
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Join Us for Coffee!
Thursday morning coffee at Café Delicias is a tradition for gringos living in or visiting San Ramón. Please stop by between 9-11 to visit with friends or make new ones. Ask questions, share information, and maybe enjoy one of the restaurant’s famous cinnamon rolls with your fresh hot cup of Costa Rican coffee. Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/Heutyt5iRi3iMvdLA
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Keven Murphy brings a variety of non-fiction books, novels, and short story collections to sell at Thursday morning coffee and the proceeds benefit CAA. Each book is only 1000 colones! A list of available books is now online at https://www.libib.com/u/kevenamurphy
Peruse the list and then email her at booklover@caacr.org so she can bring the book(s) you want to coffee. She will also accept a limited number of donated books to add to the collection but let her know in advance how many you are bringing to Café Delicias.
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Sophia*
This year, the Education Committee asked our scholarship students to fill out a questionnaire detailing their future goals, likes, and possible obstacles. This furthers our initiative to focus more on planning forward, earlier in the Colegio experience, to help students begin to identify goals and careers; and to help students begin to think of the academic achievements and vocational courses necessary to achieve those goals. This information also informs and drives the new tutoring initiative we are piloting for our students in 2023.
Below is an installment in a series that showcases the hopes, dreams, and interests of individual students in our CAA Scholarship (beca) program. *The names have been changed to protect the identities of the students.
I joined Sofia and her brother Jaime* while we were helping prepare materials for our February beca award meeting. I came specifically to get to know some of the students that CAA Education Committee members have been following for years through attending their award ceremonies. Sofia’s brother introduced himself and reminded me that he had been a beca student and had graduated three years ago. What a thrill to see this evidence of the ripple effect of the Education Committee’s work in one family! His English was excellent and he is currently a student at Technologico de Costa Rica in Cartago. Both he and Sofia, chatting in rapid English, spoke of the motivation of their siblings, all of whom are pursuing advanced education. This is in a family where the father is unable to work due to cancer and other family members pick coffee.
This school term, Sofia was one of only 35 colegio students taking the exam to be admitted to Colegio Cientifico, located within the campus of UCR San Ramón. As the name says, Colegio Cientifico emphasizes the sciences and shares labs and resources with the university. Sofia’s favorite subjects are chemistry and biology and she hopes to study microbiology and possibly cardiology after graduation from colegio. When asked how she knew about the opportunity to test for Colegio Cientifico, her brother said he encouraged her to apply and provided the contact information for Sofia to follow up.
On her questionnaire, Sofia told us that distance and finances are the barriers that could impact her education. She credits CAA for helping with finances. Later, I caught up with her at a meeting about tutoring opportunities and Sofia told me that her acceptance by the colegio includes an apartment in San Ramón for her, solving the distance issue. I wondered how I would have felt as a high school junior, living away from my family and enrolled in a competitive high school. However, Sofia’s recent letter answers my concerns since she uses words such as “esfuerza” (effort) and “superacion” (overcoming), which demonstrates her outlook. Sofia lists her activities as swimming, basketball, drawing and poetry. I found her to have an engaging and infectious personality, not just for her outstanding academic record, but for her obvious enjoyment of her favorite movies and music. Getting to know her a bit has been its own reward.
~Andrea Carter, CAA Education Committee
If you would like to contribute financially to our San Ramón students who need your help to be successful in school, go to www.globalgiving.org/18714
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English Conversation Club
ECC is a program that gives ticos who already speak intermediate English an opportunity to practice their English and gringos the chance to ask and get answers to things they've always wondered about, such as, “What street do you live on?” “What does ahorita mean?” “How much coffee is too much?” and “Can I call a female a mae?”
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Spanish Conversation Groups
Hola!
We still have space for more people in upcoming Spanish conversation groups! The next 6-week session will be Tuesdays from April 25 - May 30. Classes meet in person at the library.
Registration for new participants is open until April 20.
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We have partnered with a highly recommended instructor who currently gives private lessons to some CAA members. Chelsea Rodríguez brings a ton of experience helping English speakers learn Spanish and we encourage anyone to join the
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conversation groups to practice valuable communication skills, improve pronunciation and learn common phrases in Costa Rica.
E-mail spanishconversation@caacr.org to sign up for beginner or intermediate level and get bank deposit information, or pay cash to any board member before April 20.
Cost is 18,000 colones. This is only 3 mil per class, per person (approx $5) so don't hesitate to take advantage of this special rate for CAA!!
Nos vemos pronto!
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On Friday, March 10, CAA and Arbol de Esperanza had the opportunity to meet to discuss collaboration activities for the coming year. Al Sargent, Janice Brown, and Mary Lou Hofmann, CAA board members, were excited to share the results of our Feeding Hungry Families fundraising project with Arbol’s
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management team: Amanda Ready, president and founder; Karen Jara, executive director; and Mariam Rodriguez, development & communication coordinator.
As a result of the generosity of CAA members and friends, CAA is now able to pledge 55,000 colones a month for the remainder of 2023 to Arbol for food support for their program participants. The women who attend Arbol’s structured empowerment program are on a challenging journey from poverty to self-sufficiency and when they and/or their families struggle with food insecurity, the journey becomes more challenging. Arbol will be able to use CAA’s funding in a variety of ways, for example, to provide crisis food support for women who have suddenly become single heads of household or have had to escape domestic violence situations, to support the nutritional needs of women or their children who have health issues or need to be on a restrictive diet, or for those families who just do not have enough to eat on a regular basis.
CAA’s funding can help make a positive difference in the empowerment journey of these committed women.
CAA and Arbol will continue to explore ways CAA members and friends can support Arbol’s program and its participants, so stay tuned for further ideas. In the meantime, to learn more about Arbol de Esperanza, please visit their website at https://www.arboldeesperanza.org
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Hogarcito Birthday Buddies
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Expat Dementia Zoom Support Group
The Expat Dementia Support group meetings every Saturday at 10 am on Zoom. It is open to all members of the expat community in Costa Rica dealing with issues of dementia and related conditions. For more information contact Debra Hammen at debra.hammen@gmail.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/4380700485322109
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Have a Good Story?
If you have a funny or Informative story about moving to/living in San Ramón we’d like to hear it! Please email it to editor@caacr.org and we will consider it for an upcoming issue of the newsletter. Photos will make it even better!
Did you Know?
Any CAA member can attend Board meetings, which are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 2pm at Coopenae. If you plan to attend and observe your Board in action, please email Terry Handler at president@caacr.org so we set up enough chairs. Please discuss any items you would like added to the agenda with Terry at least a week before the meeting.
Have a Question?
Many of our friends, members, and neighbors are reading this from afar or perhaps from a forwarded copy. Please reach out to Board or Team members (email addresses at the end of this newsletter) if you have questions about specific programs or CAA in general or have suggestions for improving our organization. We love to hear from you!
The CAA newsletter is published on the Monday following the second Tuesday of each month. The deadline for article submission is noon on the second Tuesday of the month. All articles submitted to the newsletter are subject to editing and prior approval by the Board.
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Helpful Links for
San Ramón
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Expat-Focused
Organizations
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Bloom’s - Social club for expat women
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CAA’s MISSION STATEMENT
The Community Action Alliance of Costa Rica (CAA) is an organization of expats and costarricenses in the greater San Ramon area volunteering together for community and individual enrichment. CAA aligns with organizations in the community, creating relationships and providing resources for community betterment and development initiatives. CAA provides its members opportunities for community integration, networking and socialization.
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CAA is an organization composed of individuals with diverse religious, political, and personal beliefs and, as such, does not support or promote any particular ideology either in its publications or at its events.
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Board Members (boardofdirectors@caacr.org)
- Terry Handler, President
- Janice Brown, Vice-President
- Martin Rojas, Secretary
- Al Sargent, Treasurer
- Wagner Galo, Fiscal
- Scott McAnally, Vocal and Chair of Education Committee (education@caacr.org)
- Mary Lou Hofmann Vocal
- Vocal 3
CAA Email:caacrorg@gmail.com
Communications Team: info@caacr.org
Volunteer Coordinator: linda@caacr.org
Sustainability Team: sustainability@caacr.org
CAA Web Page and inquiries: https://www.actionalliancecr.com
CAA Facebook Page: Community Action Alliance of Costa Rica
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