The Costa Rica Aid Alliance club had its first-ever trip to the San Bernardino school in Costa Rica during the week of spring break. Six PPCHS students worked together to raise money to help construct a brand-new playground and provide resources for the children who attended this school. After co-founders Ashley Hoadley and Kayla Carrasco came up with this idea at the end of their sophomore year, they started stringing their ideas together in hopes of making this trip come to life.
After both co-founders Ashley and Kayla visited their home countries of Costa Rica and Peru, they realized the lack of educational resources provided in these schools. Having a passion for working with children and a strong desire to help provide resources for these kids in need, they worked closely with their sponsor, Mr. Schwartz, and Principal Bayer to make it come true.
“Our passion for helping them in any way we could truly kept us motivated in fundraising as much as we could. Knowing that we could make a difference through our actions in the club made us excited to see where we could go with our idea,” enthusiastically exclaims junior and co-founder, Kayla Carrasco.
Working hard throughout this school year, CRAA was able to fundraise over $3,000 with the help of their club members and student volunteers who came together to not only raise money but also donate supplies that were packed together to take to Costa Rica.
Arriving in Costa Rica alongside the co-founders, Marina Conklin, Kayla Truong, Khloe Dorneval, and Isabella Escudero were immersed in a variety of different activities with children ranging from Pre-K to 6th graders. Each volunteer was assigned to a station in which they would be taught how to play a specific game. Games like potato sack races, spoon races, three-legged races, musical chairs, and ring toss were played as a part of the field day which was a highlight of the trip. CRAA members also came together to paint the main area walls of the school and hand out school supplies bags.
Junior co-founder Ashley Hoadley wholeheartedly recalls, “Witnessing the joy on the kids’ faces as they saw the new playground and equipment filled me with happiness. Interacting with kids ranging from pre-K to middle school age was incredible. They were so grateful they gave us hugs and thank-yous, which made me so happy and made the experience truly amazing!”
After 8 days in Costa Rica, Ashley, Kayla, Marina, Khloe, Kayla, and Isabella were able to successfully provide these children with new supplies, an improved school, and memories that will last a lifetime. With the support of student and parent volunteers and guidance from Mr. Schwartz, the PPCHS CRAA was able to successfully make a difference in the lives of these many children!
