Castaway Kids invests in community centers because we know that education cannot be a priority for families who struggle to find good child care and have no safe places to relax and play.  

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What is a community center?

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Community centers can be any safe place for children and families to relax and play.  Our recent projects include playgrounds, and a community center with a soccer court, community kitchen, and classrooms.

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CLUB JERRY COMMUNITY CENTER

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Jerry Donavan, a retired Canadian, started the club about 25 years ago, in the barrio of Punta Arena, Guaymas. Every afternoon there are up to 40 kids coming to his secure play area to play with the skate boards, roller blades, tether ball, trampoline, foosball tables or to use the aging computers that he has for their school projects, or just to be in a comfortable and secure environment.

 

Club Jerry provides “an atmosphere of friendship, joy, security, confidence and peace”. He promotes values of self-esteem, respect and discipline. These principles are woven into everything that goes on there and over time the kids noticeably change and grow in self-confidence from the time that they spend there.

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With a very generous donation from the Charles D Trover Family Foundation, Castaway Kids has started construction of a large metal shade structure (tejaban) like what you see in all the local school play yards to give the kids some shade and allow for better use of the area through the summers. It’s really HOT down there in the summer!

 

Late 2016, On Friday, First Lady of Guaymas and President of DIF Guaymas, Angeles Salido de De Cima visited Club Jerry. The DIF office has very generously provided about 200 sheets of roofing material (lámina) for the project. They have been very supportive of this project and have offered assistance wherever possible. The First Lady was very interested in the plans for the use of Club Jerry, not only as a safe play area for the kids but also as a community center for the entire barrio.

 

Also included as part of this project is the construction of a community kitchen, some multi-purpose rooms for computers and homework, sewing, crafts, games, etc. When this is complete, Club Jerry’s existing space will be transformed into an area that allows for the teaching of mechanics, welding and carpentry.

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PLAGROUNDS

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The City of Mesa, Az, through the Sister Cities Program, (which includes Guaymas, Son, Mesa and Burnaby, BC) has donated three large scale sets kids’ playground equipment to the City of Guaymas.  Castaway Kids volunteers have facilitated transportation of the equipment from Mesa to San Carlos.  With the invaluable assistance of the Guaymas Mayor’s office, the equipment was transported to San Carlos in the back of a semi-trailer without any duty charges.  Once the equipment was on the ground in San Carlos, our volunteers installed playgrounds in San Jose, Fatima, and La Manga.  These areas, which have minimal community areas for children, have benefitted immensely.