Giving in San Pedro: How You Can Help Local Kids in June or “Eat & Win”

June is a big month for festivals in San Pedro – Lobsterfest kicks of on June 15th, ending with the big block party in the park on June 25th and Dia De San Pedro, is one week of religious ceremonies and festivities at the end of the month.

What better times to enjoy your favorite food AND give back to the community?  Let me tell you about three very worthy causes, all focused on children, that are being highlighted in June on Ambergris Caye.

Blue Water Grill & The San Pedro High School

The owners of Blue Water Grill, Kelly and Mukul Kanabar, are both amazing restaurateurs and huge contributors to this community.  Through their donations program at the restaurant Blue Water Grill and picking a new project each month, they have touched hundreds, probably thousands of kids in San Pedro.  It’s some REALLY good stuff.

After presenting the Lions’ Den and its Vision Clinic for Kids with a check in May, they are turning their sights to the San Pedro High School.

This month, along with the beautiful Phoenix Resort, they are collecting donations (SO easy to leave a few bucks after a delicious dinner at BWG) to provide disadvantaged SPHS kids with backpacks and also a palapa for the lunch area – so the kids don’t have to eat in the HOT sun.  It’s a fantastic initiative that was started and is being spearheaded by the new Miss San Pedro High School, Faith Noel.

Blue Water Grill and the Phoenix match all donations.

Almost every kid in San Pedro uses a Jansport backpack to go to school – kids from 2 to 18 – and they aren’t cheap.  I bet BWG wouldn’t mind either if you put one or two in your luggage.  🙂

Finn & Martini, BelizeKids.Org and Camp Basil Jones

BelizeKids.Org is a fundraising operation starting up on the island that is really just a new name/entity for some amazing work that has been done over the years by the owners of Canary Cove.   They want to expand their efforts to help the kids of Ambergris Caye and involve the community.

(The website is still under a bit of construction.)

The first partnership and project is with the amazing Camp Basil Jones.  I was invited, last year, by director, Mito Paz, to see what they are doing…and was blown away.

Finn of Finn & Martini, fast becoming the hotspot new restaurant, was excited to help.

Finn will be donating $2 dollars from each of his tasty martinis – one just happens to be called the Basil Jones – coconut and basil – his best seller right now.

All money collected will be matched.

Disadvantaged and at-risk kids from all over Belize stay at this very rustic camp on one of the island’s most gorgeous beaches.  They hope to both send additional children to camp and supply pillows, sheets, hammocks and fans to make conditions a wee bit more comfortable.

The Community & The Inspiration Center

June 18th there is a big fundraiser for another extremely worthy cause, Belize’s only organized help for children with disabilities, the Inspiration Center.   Businesses from across this island are banding together to donate and raise money.

Here is how you can participate in a phenomenal cause and what should be a huge, super fun party.

No one is asking you to choose!  But go have a fabulous meal at Blue Water Grill (and buy one of their awesome new bags – I’m using one every day right now) and at Finn & Martini (two tops on my list) and drop a few dollars in the donation box.

The money will matched and will help kids.  What’s better than that?