2/09/2011

PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES 2011 (UPDATED!)

Abril 15-17: Construccion de casa (Guanajuato)



Unete a un grupo de viajeros-voluntarios de Casa HOY, y pasa un dia y medio de actividades culturales en la ciudad de Guanajuato, y el fin de semana, participa en la construccion de una casa para una familia de bajos recursos, dirigida por una organizacion internacional, en la ciudad de Leon. Perfecta combinacion de turismo alternativo y accion social!

Dia 1: Miercoles: Salida DF-Guanajuato
Dia 2: Jueves: dia completo en Guanajuato
Dia 3: Viernes: construccion de casa
Dia 4: Sabado: construccion de casa
Dia 5: Domingo construccion / fin de actividades

Acompañante-guia de Casa HOY con grupo durante toda la experiencia
Logistica de trabajo voluntario
Actividades culturales guiadas

Gran experiencia individual, con amigos o colegas de la misma empresa!

Interesados comunicarse a la brevedad!!! a:
casahoymexico@gmail.com


May 28 - June 4: Women and gender issues (Morelos)



Stay at Casa HOY and get to know the work of Mexican women activists and their everyday struggles in society, visiting local NGOs, urban community projects, and other groups fighting in different fields. We'll also meet with a group of indigenous women and their families in a rural setting.

A great week of social activism, responsible tourism, and cultural immersion!

For fees, and more details please write to hoycommunity@gmail.com
Casa HOY team.


June 25 -July 2: Urban planning (Mexico City)



Come observe and experience the efforts of Mexico City's local government in transforming the most populated metropolis in the world into an environmentally-friendly and sustainable city of 20+ million!

-Stay at an eco-friendly hostel
...-Specific talks with experts
-Visits to public parks, green buildings, urban street art, community gardens, and more.
-We will ride the Metro, Metrobus, light rail, electric buses, taxi bikes, and city rental bicycles!

Sample itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival-welcome dinner
Day 2: Orientation / Bike ride Condesa and Roma neighborhoods
Day 3: Subway system / visit to Plaza de las Tres Culturas
Day 4: Green projects / visit to Latin America's tallest green building and Parque Bicentenario (ex-Refineria) / visit to project of urban green roofs
Day 5: Urban culture & sustainability / inner freeway system, street art, and Museum of Anthropology
Day 6: Metro bus system / Visit to UNAM campus
Day 7: City infrastructure: water, energy, air
Day 8: Recap / departure

A great experience for students, professionals, activists, and urban adventurers!

For costs and to fill out a registration form, please
write an e-mail to hoycommunity@gmail.com


Julio 15 Aniversario HOY 10 años! (DF-Cuernavaca)



July 20 to 5 August: Summer camp (Cuernavaca)



Come to Cuernavaca (the City of Eternal Spring) this coming July, and spend one, two or three weeks at a summer camp for low-income children and youth, teaching English, arts and crafts, playing sports, and more!

Dates: July 20 to August 5, 2011
Hours of volunteering: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Requirements: basic Spanish or a willingness to learn, be outgoing, some experience teaching, able to handle groups, creative, self-motivated, like interaction with children and youth

Casa HOY provides lodging and volunteer arrangements for a summer-special fee!

The fee includes:
> Pick up and drop-off at Cuernavaca’s Casino de la Selva bus station

> Orientation on volunteering, Mexican culture and safety tips

> Hostel-type shared lodging and bathroom

> Breakfast and snacks

> Local transportation related to volunteer work

> Access to a Casa HOY staff person during working hours

> 1 guided cultural/recreational
activity per week

> Goodbye lunch with Casa HOY family!

NOT included:

> Airfare to and from Mexico City
> Bus fare Mexico City-Cuernavaca

> Other meals than those specified

> Other local transportation not related to volunteer work

> Personal expenses

For fees and to receive a registration form, please contact

Casa HOY at hoycommunity@gmail.com


Agosto 7-13: Experiencia Participativa en Nueva York


VIAJE PARTICIPATIVO A NUEVA YORK!!
Una semana de cooperacion internacional, inmersion cultural, accion social, turismo y mas!
Detalles y costos pronto.
Apuntate al evento!
o manda un e-mail con tus datos a: casahoymexico@gmail.com

September 10-November 12: Afterschool program (Cuernavaca)


Details TBA


September 23-25: House building (Queretaro)


Details TBA


November: Ravine cleanup in San Anton (Cuernavaca)


Details TBA


November: Project at eco-village (Tepoztlan)


Details TBA


November 22-27: Thanksgiving week of service (Morelos or Oaxaca)


Details TBA


December: Alternative medicine (Morelos)


Details TBA


December: Sea turtles project (Pacific coast)


Details TBA

* For exact dates, places, and fees per person please write to hoycommunity@gmail.com

Travel and Change the World!

12/06/2010

Best wishes!....



Dear friends all over the world:
Our best wishes for Christmas and the new year!

Estimados amig@s en todo el mundo:
Los mejores deseos para Navidad y el nuevo año!



From Katy, Gerardo and the Casa HOY team
De Katy, Gerardo y el equipo Casa HOY

11/08/2010

PLEASE SUPPORT HOY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Your tax-deductible donations to Por un mejor HOY support operations in Mexico.

For example,
$10 will buy 6 pairs of flip-flops for children


$25 will buy boxes of crayons and notebooks for 10 little girls at Niñas de Eugenia or Casa Perlas


$30 will pay for a one-day rental of a truck in Cuentepec to haul clay from the fields to town


$50 will pay for 1 day's food basket for a group of volunteers in a rural community


$75 will cover the cost of 10 soccer balls or basketballs to donate to the energetic teens at CAM


$100 will buy 1 anti-snakebite shot and the first-aid kit that we always carry and then donate to rural communities

The newly formed Mexican business Casa HOY carries out HOY's mission of offering life-altering experiences to travelers who volunteer their time in Mexico. Participants work at a variety of projects, institutions and communities.

Por un mejor HOY is a New York 501(c)3 nonprofit. Your donation is channeled to operations in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which include maintenance of the hostel where volunteers are housed, supplies for volunteer activities and basic necessities at volunteer workplaces both in the city of Cuernavaca and in villages in the state of Morelos.

Donations may be made through PayPal by clicking the button below.







Or, if you prefer to send a check (payable to "Por un mejor HOY"), it may be mailed to the following address:

Por un mejor HOY
c/o Rebecca Barnhart
535 North Griffith Park Drive
Burbank, CA 91506
Thank you. Peace, health and prosperity in 2011!

10/12/2010

ACCION Y RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL CORPORATIVA

¿Qué le parecería otorgarles una experiencia de labor social, cohesión de grupo, esparcimiento, y superación personal, a los empleados de su compañía?


Casa HOY, una empresa familiar social y ecológicamente responsable en Cuernavaca, Morelos, ofrece un fin de semana de acción social y motivación corporativa:
>Labor social y de voluntariado con niños y jóvenes con diferentes necesidades
>Sensibilización a problemáticas sociales y cómo emprender acciones
>Dinámicas de construcción de equipos o “team building” (juegos, ejercicios, talleres)
>Actividades de esparcimiento (paseos y salidas)

Ejemplo de Itinerario:
Viernes por la tarde: Llegada del grupo, presentación-orientación y dinámicas de equipo, cena de bienvenida.
Sábado: Día completo de labor social, con dinámicas de equipo y actividad de esparcimiento en la tarde.
Domingo: Medio día de labor social con actividades recreativas, reflexión final y comida de despedida.

Costos:
$3,000 pesos por persona (descuentos a grupos de más de 10 personas)
INCLUYE: alojamiento básico, comidas, transporte local, actividades sociales y recreativas, diploma de participación y CD con fotos de la experiencia.
NO INCLUYE: Transporte de llegada y salida de Cuernavaca, comidas y bebidas extra, gastos personales.

Por favor contacte:
Casa HOY
Gerardo Jaime/Katy Barnhart
casahoymexico@gmail.com
(777) 176-7868
¡Gracias!

9/19/2010

Casa HOY is now officially a Mexican family enterprise!


Hi everybody!

We are glad to announce that Casa HOY is now officially a Mexican family enterprise!

offering the following services:

  • Hostel-type lodging for groups of traveler-volunteers
  • Community service programs, urban and rural
  • Themed experiences focusing on:
  • Community Service
    One or two weeks pitching in at an assortment of Cuernavaca-area projects that serve children and adults with different needs.
  • Issue-Specific
    Talks, visits, and interaction with activists working on different social issues: ecology, human rights, LGBT and gender, etc.
  • Cultural Immersion
    Themed educational experiences: alternative healing, pre-Hispanic Mexico, Spanish-language studies, etc.

Please visit our new websites:
www.hoycommunity.net

www.wix.com/casaHOY/Home_Casa
For available dates, specific programs, fees, and reservations, please contact us:
hoycommunity@gmail.com

Gracias y saludos!

Team Casa HOY

8/23/2010

Casa HOY's first Summer program for families!

The Rowe family, a party of four from British Columbia, Canada, came to participate in the inagural Casa HOY trip for families!


The Rowes visited several of HOY’s favorite volunteer sites, including CAM (a youth outreach and foster center), Don Bosco (a school for low-income children that focuses on arts and language programs), Niñas de Eugenia (a girls’ orphanage), and Huerta de Vinci (a biorganic garden and learning center). The family spent most of its time with the children at Don Bosco working with their summer camp program.


Besides volunteer work, the family had plenty of free time to explore the city of Cuernavaca, visiting museums and enjoying family dinners in the quaint, funky cafes downtown. They also had a chance to visit Tepoztlán, a “magic town" an hour away from Cuernavaca, eat some enchiladas and work on their Spanish skills.

7/01/2010

Our last Spring participant...and ready for the Summer!





Michael Hink, a traveler-volunteer from Germany, was our last guest this spring. An enthusiastic person and an avid traveler, he was on a 2-month journey through Mexico, visiting several places and writing about his experiences for a newspaper back home in Europe.

Staying at Casa HOY, Michael volunteered his time at four different projects that included work with kids and the elderly.

Now we're ready our summertime visitors. Please come join us!