The March 29, 2010 meeting of Los Amigos de la Peñita – the last meeting of our fiscal year - proved to be a great opportunity for the group to celebrate the successes it had achieved over the last year and to approve a budget and action plan for the year ahead.
Our Education Committee, which was just in its infancy a year ago, was particularly active this past year. They were able to complete a number of projects: leveling the schoolyard and building a bathroom at J. Cruz Bautista Primaria, building a shelter for the play area at Miguel Hildago Kinder, repairing the washrooms at Juan Escutia Primaria and building the new Patria Kinder. The completion of the Patria Kinder, which was inaugurated just last week, was greatly assisted by contributions from the Rotary Club and the Fashion Show Committee through the Jaltemba Bay Foundation. Los Amigos was also able to make a contribution to the Las Cabras Kinder project in La Colonia, which was spearheaded by the Rotary Club. Our Education Committee also operated a successful art contest for students.
But perhaps more importantly, the Committee has empowered parents by having them set the priorities in terms of funding as well as assisting them to initiate their own local fundraising activities. They held two major fundraisers last year: the first El Gran Bazar, which drew almost a thousand people, a Kermes - an afternoon of entertainment and food in the park - and they also sold coupon books for local restaurants to help support their work. A second Gran Bazar is scheduled for April 24.
A budget of 415,000 pesos has been approved for the Education Committee for next year, with the bulk of it going to three new construction and maintenance projects: replacing the dangerous entry cupola at Kinder Manautou, building a new kindergarten in Las Rosas and repairing the perimeter wall at Justo Sierra. They are also planning on supporting another art contest and an essay contest to provide an opportunity for local students to showcase their talents. The Committee has projected raising 265,000 of the budget amount through their own fundraising activities.
February 25, 2010 was a great day for both the community of La Peñita and Los Amigos. It was on that date that Señor Gobernador Ney González Sánchez, Governor of the State of Nayarit officially opened "Unidad Deportiva Corazon de La Riviera", formerly (and still unofficially) known as the EcoPark. It has now become a focal point for the community and a centre for community events. Less than two years earlier, the 'park' was a rock strewn field with a beat-up basketball court and some rusted playground equipment, but Los Amigos - working in cooperation with the merchants who contributed supplies, the Delegación, the newly founded Rotary Club and many dedicated neighbours - provided financial support, as well as manpower, to help the community get this project off the ground. 
Our plastics recycling community has also been a great success. Over the past year, we took over the collection and compacting of the recyclables and established a compacting facility in La Peñita . We also expanded our coverage area to include Guayabitos and Los Ayala. A network of drop off points was established across the community and we provided businesses and individuals with an opportunity to purchase their own recycling baskets for their business, residence or neighbourhood. We have been able to establish good working relationships with the Guayabitos Hotel Owners Association and the Municipality and would also like to especially acknowledge Colegio Siquieros and Abarrotes Hernandez of La Peñita for their exceptional participation in our recycling program. Los Amigos has set aside 108,450 pesos to operate the program for next year. Our plan is to find a contractor to run the program for us, with the organization providing a subsidy to ensure it keeps going.
Last year saw the first round of scholarships being awarded under our Scholarship Fund. Six full-year scholarships were provided to high-school aged students who, in return, committed to become involved in community projects. A budget of 48,000 pesos has been set aside next year to continue to provide support to the five students who remain in the program, to support ten additional students and to provide support for participants in terms of their expenses for books.
Now that the two abandoned buildings in the middle of La Peñita beach have been demolished and removed, our Clean-up Committee is anxious to continue work on our "Clean La Peñita Beach Campaign" and Los Amigos has set aside 10,000 pesos for the campaign next winter.
Los Amigos has also set aside 100,000 pesos for the 2010/11 fiscal year for community projects. Our objective is to work with the Ejido on the development of a community center where the basketball court currently is located near the plaza. Our vision is that the centre would be used for a variety of purposes such as public meeting space, cultural activities/events for the community and adult and youth education and activities.
None of this would, of course be possible without our fundraising activities. Fiesta 2010 was our most successful yet, attracting a crowd of more than 200 people and resulting in net proceeds of almost 390,000 pesos. A new initiative was the establishment of a regular Los Amigos booth at the Tianguis every Thursday. Besides providing a venue for selling Los Amigos T-Shirts and bags, it had another important benefit: raising awareness of the organization and providing an opportunity for members of the community to drop by and find out more about what we are up to. Our major fundraiser for next year will be held on January 30, with the format still to be determined, but rest assured it will be a memorable event so mark the date on your calendar.
We would like to take this opportunity to thanks all those who help us achieve our goals this year: our volunteers, our contributors, the other organizations we worked with and the media who helped promote our activities. We look forward to working with all of you next year.
For more information on Los Amigos, please go to: http://www.losamigosdelapenita.com/en/index.html
