“It was just like a wedding. You look out and you see all these people who you love and who have meant so much to you over the years.” —Joe Berninger
It really was a special experience to dedicate the new education center with so many of you last month. Per the norm, Joe found the exact words to express what we are all feeling. Twice now we’ve gotten to celebrate the opening of our new Education Center with the folks who’ve made it possible for such a space to become a reality: the building’s benefactors, new friends and long-time supporters, Rotarians from the US, Canada, Guatemala, and the Cayman Islands, local business leaders and government officials, teachers, principals and students who make the work of education a reality every day, and even Jeff and Joe’s mom! Whew! Did we cover everyone? What a joy it was to celebrate the accomplishments of the last twenty years with you.
A wedding, often a celebration years in the making, is also the beginning of something new. The bride and groom are filled with excitement and anticipation for what their new life together will bring. We feel the same way about the new Education Center. With this new facility, we are better positioned than ever to make meaningful, lasting change in Guatemala. Right off the Pan-american highway, we’re easily accessible to the people we serve, who can now come to the center for training and events. Staff won’t need to spend time traveling throughout Guatemala City from one office to another. And the new center will accommodate the growth we anticipate as we continue to expand all our programs through efforts like the Thousand Girls Initiative.
We are so grateful to all of you who have used your time, talents and treasure to help build CoEd. Thanks, especially, to the sponsors who made this new education center possible.
Your investment will bear fruit for years to come. With the opportunities our new home provides and the passion you all have for the children and future of Guatemala, we’re bound for another twenty years of great things.
