What this month’s newsletter covers:

• Update: What is the status of volunteers’ return to Mexico? 
• Take a look at a sanitization station and our current COVID-19 protocols for volunteers.
• Community Member Highlight: Local volunteers
• Behind rising lumber costs: Learn about what is contributing to an increase in lumber costs in 2021.
• Our Spring 2021 Plea is at 70% - Almost there! Find out how you can help us reach our goal! 
• We’re learning about Baile Folklorico de Mexico, Mexican folk dance, in this month’s, ¡Corazón Classroom! 
• We’re Hiring! Apply for our Operations Specialist position by June 30th.

Overview

Last year, Corazón shared a series of letters from our board, staff, and volunteers, detailing how the COVID-19 pandemic had come to immediately affect our organization and communities. This year, we want to continue updating our supporters by sharing how our community members have been impacted overall since March 2020 to now. To achieve this, Corazón created an anonymous community survey that was sent out to all 6 of our communities: 1) Cerro Azul, 2) Canon Carretas, 3) Cumbres, 4) Flores Magon, 5) Valle de Las Palmas, and 6) Nuevo Milenio.

What this month’s newsletter covers: 

• Our local Corazón members volunteered for Corazón’s first local project since the start of the pandemic. Read about their experience in the May Program Highlight.
• Meet Luis, a Corazón scholarship student, in May’s Community Member Highlight. 
• Read our note on a Possible Return to Construction in July
• We’re learning about the history of papel picado or Mexican paper art in this month’s ¡Corazón Classroom!

What this month’s newsletter covers:

• April is National Volunteer Month - we want to thank all of our volunteers for their hard work. 
• We’re recognizing participants from our virtual workshop this past year.
• Summer Camp 2021: Find out how you can volunteer and lead a Summer Camp class for the children in our communities! 
• We’re learning about Día del Niño (Children’s Day) in this month’s ¡Corazón Classroom!

What this month’s newsletter covers:

• Honoring Dat, a good friend of Corazón's.
• Find out how much we raised to support our scholarships program in our Program Highlights! 
• We’re recognizing the Huerta Lopez family for their dedication towards Nuevo Milenio. 
• Read our latest news section for an important Corazón update
• Try out our crossword puzzle and learn about the diversity of Mexican cuisine for this month’s  ¡Corazón Classroom! 

What this month’s newsletter covers:

• February 12th is National No One Eats Alone Day. Find out how you can purchase tickets for our trivia games at Corazón’s No One Eats Alone Fundraiser! 
• Our upcoming fundraiser is supporting our Scholarships Program. Read our Programs highlight to learn more.
• We’re recognizing Samantha for graduating from middle school this month! 
• You may have noticed our social media updates recently - share our linktree with friends and family to help Corazón raise more awareness about our mission. 
• We’re learning about the importance of Mexican cinema and 1970s history with Roma (2018) in this month’s ¡Corazón Classroom!

What this month’s newsletter covers:

• Program highlight notice - becoming a sustaining donor and recent news 
• We recognize Isela in this month’s Community Member Spotlight! 
• Read about our organization's scheduled Board and staff retreat this month
• We now have 2021 Corazón Gift Certificates! Read about our certificates to find out more. 
• We’re learning about Dia de Los Reyes, or Three Kings Day, in this month’s ¡Corazón Classroom!

We want to take a moment to say thank you to our volunteers in the US and our participants in Mexico for showcasing the worth and quality of Corazón. Our volunteers and sponsors have stepped up in a way that we never dreamed possible when we first started planning for a year without house builds. 

Photo: Cumbres and Flores Magon 

Andreina Espinoza, a senior at the University of California, Irvine, held a remote internship with Corazón. She conducted a series of interviews with our community members to understand how their daily lives were impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

What this month’s newsletter covers:

• How are we combating food insecurity this month? Read about our communities’ committees, and their efforts toward distributing food vouchers for the holidays. 
• Read our Community Member Spotlight to find out how a community member is supporting friends/family around them.  
• Our Giving Tuesday statistics are ready. Read how Corazón supporters are helping our communities in the coming months.
• Are you still looking for that perfect gift? Consider donating in someone’s name and we’ll send your loved one a gift certificate of your choice! 
• We’re discussing the importance of Mexican storytelling and dichos (sayings) in this month’s, ¡Corazón Classroom! 

What this month's newsletter covers: 

• After a month-long challenge, Corazón’s first virtual event successfully comes to an end. Read about how much you all contributed to MYH. 
• How are your donations from earlier this year being used to help families in our communities? Read our program and community member highlight for this month. 
• Giving Tuesday is on December 1, 2020. See what our organization has in store for this day. 
• Learn about Dia de Los Muertos in this month’s ¡Corazón Classroom!

Our staff in Mexico continues to monitor how our communities and families are holding up during the lock-down, and we will continue to identify more families for assistance as needs warrant. We thank all of you who have donated to make this assistance possible.

I would like to thank all of you for helping to keep our mission at Corazón moving forward in the face of this worldwide challenge. 

We hope and pray that all of you and your families are safe and healthy, and we would like to share with you some information concerning our Corazón families and communities in Tijuana & Tecate, México.

Through this letter, I would like to tell you that our Nuevo Milenio community, as everywhere, is experiencing an economic crisis. Many of the participants of Corazón are unemployed, due to the government's order to close most non-essential sources of work.