Q1 2023 Impact Report

Summer 2023 has wrapped up down in Chile! For a VSP student, summer vacation means fun days surfing at the beach. All week long, our kids and mentors are out in the waves enjoying time together. While schools are out of session, VSP is an important bridge for many students who can find themselves lacking daily necessities usually met by their school during the academic year. VSP summer programming gets our students outside and connected with their peers, but it also provides a good meal in the morning, safe activities outside of the home, and additional social supports from our teachers and social workers. Your donations create this safe space for children to learn and grow. All of us at VSP are grateful for your involvement. These opportunities wouldn’t be possible without you.

Summer Highlights

• Porvenir, a new community that was incorporated into VSP in 2022, had the highest enrollment of students this summer. It is a community located on the outskirts of Valparaíso that is heavily affected by housing insecurity. We are currently working with three different neighborhood organizations in the area.

• The team has increased social-emotional learning for students and their families to address the behavioral and mental health challenges affecting our students post-pandemic. We have seen a decrease in verbal and physical violent conduct among most VSP students.

• Advanced surf sessions have continued to grow and are important opportunities for our most motivated surfers to improve their surfing skills and techniques. The program grew to include 8 students by the end of the summer.