EDUCACIONPRIMERO started back in 2003 when some neighborhood children asked Dennis and Sheila at XS Sports Bar and Restaurant in Santa Clara if they had some spare plumbing parts or anything to help them create a bathroom at their school. At the time there was none. Yes, a school without a bathroom, without running water and no electricity as well.
Neighbors chipped in with work and put together funds to install running water for a
toilet and sink. We continued into the building with electric outlets, lights, and
ceiling fans.
And then it happened in 2005 when Professor Tom Steffen, Prof. Lori Crane, and Prof. Jeff Day from Florida were in Panama for live coverage of the solar eclipse. Staying at XS they invited the children from the local schools to give them a seminar on the eclipse (video), followed by a tour of the schools. They were hooked. The creation of “Shoe boxes for Panama” initiated an incredible heart warming response not expected.
They put shoe boxes around the Florida campus and filled over 800 of them! Thanks to individual donations from students and staff of everything from pencils and paper to items for the police and fire departments, their unbelievable efforts made for a hugely successful drive and the children here were bestowed with many needed items. Our special thanks go to:
· Palm Beach Community College
· Palm Beach C.C. Library
· Palm Beach Fire Academy
· Florida Association of Community Colleges
· Johnson & Johnson (Panama)
· Rotary Club of Canada & Panama
· Gaetano Montante
· and many other wonderful people with great big hearts
But we couldn’t stop there. There were more schools and more children that needed our help. We expanded our efforts to include three more schools and when items become available through donations we include the local police, fire department and are hospital. These children need your help.
We are not some big corporate organization. No salaries and no fees. Everything and anything goes directly to the children and the schools. We do this because IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO! We could sure use your help in so many ways.
Video from the 2007 Benefit Party at XS
