"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." - Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King.

If you are looking for a community that cares for its families and for planet Earth, take a ride to San Pancho, an hour's drive north of Puerto Vallarta.

Four friends and I, all from the International Friendship Club (IFC), were invited to visit the Entreamigos Community Center in San Pancho by Nicole Swedlow, the person who had been the founder and driving force behind the center from 2006 to 2017, and is now the Co-ordinator of Sustainability and Community Outreach for the American School in Puerto Vallarta. Entreamigos is a brilliant example of people caring for their community and is certainly worth visiting and supporting.

Entreamigos (Between Friends) is built on three pillars: education for everyone, stewardship of the environment and the importance of working in the community. They believe that access to quality education should be defined not by the circumstances of your birth or your bank account, but rather by your interests and dedication to learning.

The center has a library with over 8,000 books and ten computers for kids to do homework, they conduct reading circles, art classes, English classes and provide opportunities to play mini-soccer, basketball and dance.

Although these activities are offered by a dedicated staff and volunteers, formal education is not cheap in a town like San Pancho where children must buy shoes, uniforms, backpacks and supplies each year and, after elementary school, take a long bus ride to reach their out-of-town junior and senior high schools.

Entreamigos has a scholarship program, now helping over eighty students and funded mostly by Americans and Canadians, in which $600 USD/year helps a child graduate from high school. To support a university student from San Pancho living and studying in Puerto Vallarta requires $2200 USD/year; something that is not cheap for many of us here, but is priceless if you are a child with ambition and ability living in San Pancho in a family where, perhaps, neither parent finished grade four.

While meeting some of the volunteers at the center I met a young lady who is 18 months away from graduating as a lawyer, thanks to her scholarship. She intends to promote human rights in Mexico!

Entreamigos was started in 2006 based on the idea of sustainability. Now it is a certified by the Mexican government as an Environmental Education center. Not only is the center beautiful but the staff teach sustainability to school groups, environmental design students and take the message out to the community in San Pancho and surrounding communities. Thanks to these efforts, San Pancho, Sayulita, Bucerias and other towns and villages along this coast have recycling programs that are so essential to the planet. Puerto Vallarta? Nada! What's wrong with this picture?

More on Entreamigos Community center and its impact on the planet Earth next week.

Entreamigos primary focus is to increase educational opportunities for the children of San Pancho in Nayarit Mexico. To achieve these goals Entreamigos runs an art collective non-profit store, a library, a computer center and a collection of educational and community based workshops and initiatives. Entreamigos is entirely funded by donations and almost completely run by volunteers. To learn more about our programs and activities please visit entreamigos.org.mx.

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The International Friendship Club is a registered charitable organization in Mexico listed as Club Internacional de la Amistad de Puerto Vallarta A.C. It is located at the northeast corner of the Rio Cuale Bridge above the HSBC Bank, Colonia El Centro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, 48300. Phone: 322-222-5466. Website: ifcvallarta.com Email: ifcvallarta(at)gmail.com