Celebrating 10-Years of Helping Children, Families, and Schools
as Keys 4 Life, Inc. Comes to a Close
Thank you so much for your support over the last ten years!
Yes, that’s right...
Ten years ago we officially started the nonprofit organization, Keys 4 Life, Inc!
On March 31, 2023, Keys 4 Life, Inc. officially crossed the finish line. Our original intent was to provide assistance to underprivileged children and families in four key areas of life: spiritual, educational, emotional, and physical. We have accomplished what we set out to achieve. Now, it’s time for us to step aside and pass the baton to the other island organizations that have risen up to help the people living in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Farewell is always hard, and change is never easy, but we are celebrating the hundreds of ways that Keys 4 Life, Inc. has brought assistance with love to so many families and teachers in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We end our time together with a big… Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing your love and personal resources with these beautiful people! We were the conduit, but you were the source of love being poured out with your financial gifts and volunteer time. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Recently, we had the wonderful opportunity to provide much-needed supplies to many of the schools on Isla Mujeres. Many teachers were gifted with things that either wore out or needed repair.
Keys 4 Life gave laptop computers, printers, LCD projectors, AC units, speakers and wireless microphones, boxes of printer paper, pens, pencils, markers, sticky notes, soccer goals and netting... over $15,000 USD worth of supplies thanks to the generous support of wonderful people like you. Thank you so much!
Volunteers at our Middle School Painting Party!
Thank you to all the volunteers who spent their morning scraping, sweeping, cleaning, brushing, pouring and rolling PAINT at the Isla Mujeres Middle School! Our group gave a sweet makeover to the outside of two classroom buildings and half of another. We also painted the inside of the boys and girls bathrooms. In addition, we hired a plumber to fix all the toilet flushing mechanisms which were broken, and replaced the main water pump and pipes supplying water to the school campus.
For additional pictures.... click HERE
"Love Your Island Day" a Huge Success!
There's a special bonding that occurs when people from different walks of life and different cultures come together to work side by side for a common goal. It's been wonderful to experience the camaraderie that's developed between members of the expat community and local residents who teamed up to improve the quality of life for everyone here on beautiful Isla Mujeres. Whoever thought that picking up garbage would be a fun group activity! 63 jumbo garbage bags were filled that morning. We've made a good start, but there's much more work to be done.
For additional pictures.... click HERE
OUR STORY:
Keys 4 Life, Inc. began when Debbie and I visited a Mexican friend living in a little squatter village on the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. He and his wife served us a delicious lunch of chicken with vegetables and rice… the whole time with genuine smiles on their faces, and gratitude in their hearts for what they had to share with us. As Debbie and I finished our time with our friends, we hugged, said goodbye, and began to walk back to the main road along row after row of run-down, dilapidated shacks. Each one housed families who had built homes with whatever they could afford or salvage. Each one with dirt floors, corrugated tar paper walls, and tin roofs. We looked up to the sky and asked, “God, how can you allow these beautiful people to live like this… you should DO something!”
At that moment, Debbie and I heard the still, small voice of God saying, “I did. I brought you here.” It is amazing to me how God speaks when you have ears to hear. I didn’t know anything about starting or running a nonprofit, but now I was highly motivated to find out. One year later, after several rounds of paperwork and elbow grease, we received our official recognition from the IRS as a bonafide 501(c)3 nonprofit organization… Keys 4 Life, Inc. was born, and we hit the ground running!
With the help of friends like you, we began pouring concrete over dirt floors in home after home. Then, we helped families continue to improve their homes with stronger, rain-resistant roofs and solar panels for electricity. Soon, we began helping the local schools and school teachers providing them with classroom supplies and athletic equipment: soccer balls and goals, printers, projectors, laptop computers, markers, and whiteboards. During the pandemic, we provided hundreds of care packages - groceries and other essential items - to families who were out of work. That’s just a few of the things we have accomplished with the help and financial backing from friends like you.