San Pancho, Nayarit, Mexico – Entreamigos is open and ready for the new season! We are excited to share our reorganized library space, our latest product designs in La Galería and fun new toys in the Ludoteca. Come over and say hello! We’re open Monday-Friday 10am-6pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm.
With all this great energy there are some important changes within Entreamigos to tell you about. In 2017, our beloved founder, Nicole Swedlow stepped down as Executive Director and created a dynamic Leadership Team of three strong and capable women – Glenda, Frieda and Sarah.
They led Entreamigos with commitment and creativity. Now, as EA continues to look to the future, Glenda and Frieda have made the decision to move to areas better aligned with their interests and expertise, and the Board of Directors has named Sarah Kaminshine as the Executive Director.
Sarah has been with Entreamigos since she and her family moved to San Pancho in January, 2013. She started as an after school circus teacher and later, transitioned to coordinator of the scholarship program. In accepting the Executive Director position, Sarah is accompanied by a skilled and diverse leadership team made up of members of the San Pancho community who have worked and partnered with Entreamigos for several years. The team members are:
Glenda Ponce Gil – Administrative Director;
Ramon Ponce Gil – Accounting and Legal Coordinator;
Abraham Vivas Castillon – Environmental Director;
Nicole Marie Majewski – Education Director;
Gaëlle Posada – Sustainability Director;
Frieda Fredenhagen – Creative Director;
Yazmin Gutierrez Castañeda – Community Director
Sarah, the Leadership team and the Entreamigos staff are excited to begin this new season.
This week, we have already received over 300 visitors to our Library and our 0-5yr play space, Ludoteca. Our drop-in after school classes also began this week, with the following FREE activities offered to all children every Monday through Friday:
Free Drop-in After School Classes
Monday
4-6 pm: Sports
Tuesday
4-5:30 pm: Art
Wednesday
11 am-12 pm: Bilingual Storytime for Babies
4-5 pm: Sing Along Storytime
4-6 pm: Sports
Thursday
4-5:30 pm: Art
Friday
4-6 pm: Sports
Newly Renovated Eco-Design Center
We are in the process of renovating our productive workshop area and with that we’d like to present our eco-design space! Soon, this area will offer the same trades of cutting glass, screen printing, sewing, and multi-use but with a greater focus on educational and vocational training.
Women and other community members will be invited and selected to be part of this educational program where they will have the opportunity to learn new skills and be part of the team that creates all our innovative products for the gallery.
Opening this space up to more community members means that more people gaining skills that could transcend to they own entrepreneurial efforts in the future.
As we transition this space to a more complete educational platform, we will NO LONGER be accepting external glass and screen printing orders, as we did in the past. We deeply appreciate those who have trusted us for these jobs, your choice helped maintain other educational programs for years!
All our designs will be presented in our gallery, where every item inspires a better and more environmentally responsible world. Your purchase makes Entreamigos possible.
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.