Donate now to support CAMP PURA VIDA’s Equity Initiatives
Family Go Global’s equity initiatives in Costa Rica are coordinated in partnership with Enseña Por Costa Rica (ExCR), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Costa Rican children fulfill their potential by disrupting the inequities that exist in education and in society. ExCR is a fiscal project of Amigos de Costa Rica and all donations are eligible for tax deductions in the United States. Donations may be made to Amigos of Costa Rica via check, wire transfer, Zelle, donation of stock, credit card, or PayPal*.
*For large donations, please consider giving by check or wire transfer to ensure that most of your generous gift goes to our organization and not the credit card processing companies.
CURRENT FUNDING INITIATIVES:
Summer Fun Scholarship
Cross-Cultural Summer Teacher Practicum
READ ON TO LEARN MORE
Summer Fun Scholarship!
The Summer Fun Scholarship provides local children in Costa Rica and visiting US urban scholars the financial support that they need to participate in CAMP PURA VIDA. Summer Fun campers receive full scholarships to participate in a 1 or 2 week summer hands-on learning experience that explores an array of topics: Spanish, English, STEM, eco-sustainability, oceanography, flora and fauna, art, cooking, sports and more. Funds raised help to offset the cost of tuition and travel for families of students who would not otherwise be able to afford to attend.
Due to the generous support from our visiting international families, CAMP PURA VIDA has been providing camp scholarships to local Costa Rican children for over 5 years. This year, we are pleased to announce that we are also fundraising to welcome students from our first public school partner, Learning By Design Charter School in South Los Angeles. Some students have never left state lines, and this will be their first time traveling out of the country. We could not be more honored and excited to help open the world up for more children in our South Los Angeles community. Families will receive support to acquire passports, coordinate travel logistics, and embark on this family-friendly adventure. All Summer Fun Urban Scholars will receive subsidized tuition to participate in camp at no cost to the family.
This scholarship was inspired by a very special young lady, Summer Medford, who was an honorary camper in the summer of 2018 and sadly transitioned in 2020 at the young age of 14 due to health complications. Summer was a brilliant young lady that even in her short time with us left an indelible mark on our community. Help us to honor her memory and spirit of adventure by gifting another child the CAMP PURA VIDA experience.
About Summer
Smart, fun-loving and talented, Summer was a well-rounded and completely grounded, bohemian girly-girl with a keen sense of who she was and a fierce spirit. We had the pleasure of having Summer with us as a camper in the summer of 2018. Her family just happened to be visiting Costa Rica at the same time as a group of friends that were with us for camp, so Summer and her mother changed their itinerary to make the trek to Guanacaste and experience a “drop in” day at camp. She joined us for our weekly beach day and enjoyed romping in the sand and hanging with friends and family. She loved Costa Rica and considered it one of her “happy places”.
Always sweet, Summer was an easy-going soul who made a significant imprint on all of us throughout her 14 years. She had a huge heart that cared about others as well as a growing passion for social justice. She was constantly smiling and had a light within her that would brighten up an entire room. Her parents exposed her to many educational, cultural and social environments that allowed Summer to feel comfortable in any environment. She was an accomplished student that loved school. From playing the violin and excelling at learning Mandarin, to competing in swimming and serving as a UCLA Kid Captain, Summer accomplished in her short time what most don’t try in a lifetime. She accomplished most of this while battling a painful and often debilitating autoimmune disease called Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA). On June 11, 2020, Summer suffered cardiac arrest due to Pulmonary Hypertension, a complication of Interstitial Lung Disease caused by SJIA and she received her wings on June 17, 2020. She is survived by her mother Tene, father John, younger brother Wynter, and a host of extended family and friends.
Help us keep Summer’s legacy alive by giving the gift of adventure and learning to another young bright soul.
About Learning By Design Charter School
Learning by Design (LbD) is a new TK/K-5 charter school in South Los Angeles designed to foster educational equity and cultivate diverse students becoming thoughtful and courageous change makers and problem solvers of tomorrow.
They accomplish this through a dynamic 21st Century learning experience with an emphasis on personalized and experiential/hands-on learning. LbD envisions establishing a "school of the future" where innovative and authentic learning opportunities are the norm, not the exception. They envision a school that dramatically shifts the old paradigm of schools created more than 100 years ago during the industrial revolution and instead embraces Re-imagining, Re- thinking, and Re- designing school to meet the needs of today’s children and the world’s rapidly changing global and tech-based economy.
Learning by Design believes that all children can achieve. But we know that all children do not achieve in the same way or at the same. So it is our mission to set each child up for success by meeting them where they are and providing them with the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed in the ways that work best for them. We also believe that children learn best by doing and through experiential learning and work to provide a democratic learning environment that inspires curiosity. LbD is excited to offer their students and families the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica with Family Go Global for CAMP PURA VIDA to deepen their understanding of local culture, language and STEM themes in a hands-on and immersive way.
Help one of our LbD Urban Scholars attend CAMP PURA VIDA this summer!
Cross-Cultural Summer Teacher Practicum
Sponsor a Costa Rican teacher for the
Cross-Cultural Teacher Practicum Program!
The CAMP PURA VIDA Cross-Cultural Teacher Practicum brings together educators from Costa Rica and across the US for a shared learning and teaching experience. Educators set up residency for two weeks at a private school location near the beach in Tamarindo, Costa Rica and work together co-create and execute a project and place based learning experience for a multinational group of children. The practicum is designed to expand their cultural competency, skills and confidence implementing progressive pedagogical techniques in the Pre-K-8 classroom. This 2 week experience uses a hands-on approach to honing skills in the following areas:
Cross-cultural team-building with educators from the US and Costa Rica
Training in Project & Place Based Learning
Hands-on experience designing and delivering engaging lessons to a group of diverse international students
Workshops on progressive education frameworks like liberatory education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, bilingual education, classroom management, collaborative curriculum building, etc.
School tours of neighboring progressive international schools
Evening and weekend adventure activities like sunset dinners, zip-lining, bird-watching, river rafting and more!
Teachers are invited to sign up individually, or bring a team from your school! For US teams, if your school offers Professional Development or Teacher Morale Improvement funds or reimbursements we will gladly accept these to cover your tuition as a Professional Development expense (costs for personal expenditures like lodging, food, etc. can be broken out for clear accounting purposes). Once enrolled, our Travel Concierge can support with finding local home stays, booking hotel accommodations and providing airport transfers. This unique cross-cultural experience is sure to inspire new ideas and provide both new skills to be successful in the classroom and the confidence to implement them in your own classroom.
For more information on tuition and travel costs please email us at info@familygo.global or fill out the interest form and our team will get in touch.
“One of my dreams was to always teach in another country. I wanted to experience what it was like to teach and collaborate with other educators. As a bilingual educator from California, I think the celebration of culture, language, and diversity is what enriches the student’s experience. ”
“Every moment and activity of the camp was in some part a fun and interesting surprise. My favorite part was being able to share with students of different ages and cultures... seeing their points of view and a different vision of the world. Being able to share with co-workers from other places was quite an awesome experience too. ”
