It’s Guatemala Week! Read Stories, Enter Our Raffle & Win A Prize Pack!.

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It’s Guatemala Week at Beers & Beans!

As some of you may know, this past July we volunteered in Guatemala with Cooperative For Education. CoEd is an amazing non-profit devoted to the children of Guatemala. They supply books & supplies to schools that have none, train teachers that are self taught and provide scholarships to Guatemalan children that normally would have to drop out of school to work for their families. In their words, CoEd exists in order to “address the root causes of poverty in Guatemala rather than treating it’s symptoms.”

Facts: Only 40% of Guatemalan students who enroll in primary school will ever make it on to secondary school. Only 1 in 2 adults in Guatemala is literate.

This is a very bad cycle for the beautiful children of Guatemala.

CoEd was started in 1996 by brother’s Joe & Jeff Berninger who traveled to Guatemala and saw first hand the education problems in the country. On their trip they visited a couple schools and discovered that the teaching environments were not only dismal but most schools did not have even have books for the students. Can you imagine going to school without books? Because they fell in love with Guatemala and it’s people they decided to do something to help – with the passion of two brother’s trying to make a difference in the lives of others, Cooperative for Education was founded.

As one source of funding, CoEd organizes a couple trips a year to bring volunteers to Guatemala to see first hand, the schools, the kids and the work that they do. That’s where we came in. We were invited to go with them and about 20 other volunteers on a week long trip, visiting some of the schools in the CoEd program. It was not only a fantastic way to see Guatemala but being able to visit the schools and hang out with the kids was unique and incredibly moving experience.

In fact, we were so in awe of the endless amount of work and passion the people at CoEd have that we decided to only highlight its programs and show our readers how they can take a trip that has true meaning, but we also wanted to take it a step further–we’ve decided to host a fundraiser for Cooperative for Education and help the children of Guatemala get a better education!

Children everywhere deserve the opportunity of an education – don’t you agree?

Please join us all this week as we highlight our volunteer adventure with Cooperative for Education and show you what it ia like to travel through Guatemala with a purpose!

We’ll be highlighting all sorts of different Guatemalan stories:

Studying and playing with the beautiful, witty kids, visiting the rural schools & the charming mountain countryside, meeting new friends as we visit with a local family at their house, experiencing the beauty of the villages along Lake Atitlan, shopping at Guatemalan markets, learning about local superstitions & taking tours through Antigua, coffee plantations and more!

Because when you volunteer with CoEd, you not only get to visit the schools and hang out with the kids, you also get to experience the beauty of the entire country.

Now Onto The Fun Part – The Fundraising!

So what exactly are we doing to help the kids of Guatemala?

We’ve committed to raising $2,000 for two computer stations at the Panajxit school in Guatemala!

Why did we choose to sponsor two computer stations?

We know that as the world becomes more technologically advanced then these kids are going to need to know how to use computers if they want to get good jobs. The other reason is because computers are the true equalizers of the world. If you know how to use the computer and can make the most of the internet, then it doesn’t matter where you live, you can create opportunities for yourself anywhere in the world! The knowledge, power and opportunity that a computer can provide is limitless and a true necessity for the future.

Computers have truly changed our lives and we want the kids at the school in Panajxit to have that same opportunity. Who knows – maybe one of them will grow up to be a travel blogger!

This is where you come in.

We’ve decided we not only want to raise $2,000 but we want it to be fun. We want to give you the opportunity to join us on our mission, while earning a chance to win some great prizes for yourself as well! That’s why we have put together this amazing travel fun pack as a prize!

How it works:

It’s very easy. Make a $15 donation and get an entry into the raffle for the prize pack! Do you want more than 1 entry into the raffle? All you need to do is make a larger donation. Easy as pie!

• $15 Donation       = 1 entry
• $25 Donation       = 2 entries
• $50 Donation       = 4 Entries
• $100 Donation     = 10 entries
• $250 Donation     =  18 entries
• $500 Donation     = 36 entries
• $1,000 Donation = 75 entries
• $2,000 Donation = If you donate $2,000 we’ll give you a prize pack of your very own!

Each entry earned gives you a chance to win the the Travel Fun Pack!

The Gift Pack Includes:

• 1 $25 Amex Gift Card
• 1 $25 Amazon Gift Card
• 1 $25 Itunes Gift Card
• 1 Adventurer’s Travel Journal Pack By Earmark
• 1 Free Download of Getting Out Of Auto
• 1 Safety Whistle from Tom Bihn
• 1 Tom Bihn Packing Cube Backpack

Total Prize Pack is worth $165 and the winner takes all! 

How Do You Enter?

It’s easy! Just click the DONATE NOW button below or you can click on the green widget on our sidebar to make your donation. Either way will bring you to Razoo which is where we have decided to host our fundraising efforts. Why did we pick Razoo? Well if we can get enough donations quickly then we will be showcased on their homepage, which will let even more people know about CoEd and our mission to fund two computer labs!

Is There A deadline?

Yes there is! We are trying to raise $2,000 by midnight on Dec. 31, 2012. We know it’s a short amount of time but we really want to make these computer stations a reality for the start of the new year. Plus, it will be a great way for all of us to bring in 2013 knowing that we just made a huge difference in the lives of these beautiful children!

How Will We Choose The Winner?

We will write your name on a slip of paper for each entry into the raffle. As soon as we raise the $2,000, Randy will complete an exuberant one man Polar Plunge into the great and incredibly cold Atlantic Ocean! After he runs back to the beach and draw a name out of a hat (we’ll bring it with us to the beach). We’ll be filming the Polar Plunge and name draw on video and then post it on our site to announce the winner! Good Luck!

Please consider making a donation to this very worthy cause today and earn a chance to win a fabulous prize pack at the same time! If a donation simply isn’t in the cards this year, please share this page with your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors so they can learn about CoEd and perhaps join in the raffle themselves! If you are interested in learning more about Cooperative for Education and the work they do please feel free to visit the CoEd website!

Thanks for supporting our cause and learning all about Guatemala with us. It’s going to be a great week!

Love, Beth & Randy

p.s. Your donation is also a Tax Deduction! (US residents only)

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*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first. Thanks!