Tara A. Spears
So many seasonal vacationers take the time to give back to their adopted community. It’s amazing what the kind and generous folks at the La Penita RV Park accomplish by holding Sunday Hamburger Night for approximately 10 weeks to generate money for scholarships. Did you know that the public is welcome? No ticket required, simply take a cab to the RV park just north of the Penita main Avenida. Choose your grilled burger or sausage and sides, sip from the open bar, relax and have a good time. As the vacation season wraps up, plan to attend the Sunday, March 1, Scholarship Fundraiser. Not only will you get to meet the students but the food and libations are accompanied by an exciting silent auction! Come to the Park pool area between 5:00 -8:00 pm to check out all the goodies. What an amazing impact each burger and margarita will have for these young men!
Presently, the RV Park Educational Fund is supporting 23 talented men. The range of study is impressive: there are 4 engineers, 4 in business, 2 lawyers, 2 architects, 6 in health care fields plus three studying to be doctors! These guys are smart, motivated, and the future of the community. In the 19 years that Carole Thacker has managed the Educational Fund, it has provided financial help to more than 34 men.
The RV Park Educational Fund opens the door to the opportunity to achieve their dreams! For the majority of the students, without this scholarship he would not be able to attend university.
In 2008, the cost of Mexican university tuition was $800 pesos a year. The cost gradually increased until January, 2023, the tuition saw a huge increase to the current level of $4,500 a year. Due to the generosity of the park residents, the Educational Fund was able to increase the scholarship amount to keep pace with the expense. The reason that the RV Educational Fund assists only men is because there is another organization that funds the females according to that group’s objective.
It’s very important to know that the RV award is based on several criteria-not just economic need. This is why there is such a high success rate of graduates. Not every applicant receives an award: we evaluate to consider who is academically capable of succeeding, and how his education will benefit the community, leadership potential, in addition to his economic need.
In a tourist/ hospitality driven economy there is a high demand for the business degrees to manage the hotels as well as in the support technical fields. In this area there is high demand for all the typical service fields: business, engineering, medical. The awards are made for one year but renewable until the student completes his studies and graduates.
We applaud the motivation of these outstanding young men as they strive to achieve their potential and to enhance the quality of life for themselves, their families, and their community. Each young man dreams of the day that he will have his own business or executive level employment. Who could have imagined that enjoying a burger and margarita under the palms would have such significant and long-lasting benefits? Please help by being a sponsor- message Carole Thacker.