Abriendo Mentes welcomes a new office AND a new classroom

And not in the same space!

Two new opportunities presented themselves to us in the past 2 months. A very generous man named Terry who owns an office in the Casa del Sol office complex in Potrero offered us the use of his office space! This has been one of our dreams from the beginning, to have our own private space to house all the supplies, do small classes and in the future, create a computer lab for computer classes.

Downstairs in the new office space!

It was a far off dream that would have taken a lot of capital, but Terry made this dream come true for us. He had the idea of donating the use of his unused office space for the benefit of the community, and of course we accepted with much gratitude. The space is coming together nicely, electricity just turned on, furniture slowly rolling in; it is becoming our own. We plan to start the pre-school classes there next week, and are collecting funds and computers (we already have one donated!) for our computer lab, slated to be up and running by the beginning of 2011. Thank you Terry for making our dream a reality.

The upstairs arts and crafts area

On top of this great news, Potrero also welcomed the opening of a new Youth Center this month. Built in the place of the old dilapidated Police Station, the Youth Center was built with funds raised by the Potrero Association within the community of Potrero and Flamingo. It is truly a community project. The new space is open, airy and bright; a great environment for learning.

Mateo, Sofia and Nayelli in the new Youth Center!

We are fortunate enough to be included on the list of groups that have access to operate in the Youth Center. We currently split our time between this new space and the Salon Comunal beside it. If nothing else, this building is a monument to the progress that Potrero is making and shows the community's dedication to enhancing education and opportunities for the future.

Drew, Geral and Brandon doing a worksheet in the new Youth Center

If you are interested in donating resources of money to support the creation of a computer lab in Potrero, or to help add interior improvements to the Youth Center (noise canceling wall fixtures are a must) please contact us at opening.minds.project@gmail.com or visit http://www.omprakash.org/partner_profile/p/65 to make a tax deductible donation.