Give and Surf Inc.

Our mission is to empower the local communities of Bocas del Toro, Panama through education and community development.

To meet the critical and changing educational needs of the vulnerable and marginalized youth of the Bocas del Toro archipelago through hands-on learning and extracurricular activities that inspire and empower children to stay in school and pursue their dreams.

Goal One: To serve more youth through our year-round free out-of-school time programs in order to close the educational gaps that have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

Goal Two: To develop mentorship and vocational training programs for teens and young adults to meet the needs of the growing tourist sector and increase employment among within the local population.

We provide scholarships to our local teachers who wish to continue their university studies and/or pursue another degree. We also hold regular internal professional development days. Our leadership staff has participated in conferences, in person and virtually.

The last three years have been filled with changes and adaptations as we were hit with the global pandemic and the struggle to financially survive two years with no volunteers and minimal funding, followed by the emergence from COVID and responding to the changing needs of the communities we serve in a post-COVID world. We have diversified our funding sources to ensure financial sustainability, decreasing our need on paying volunteers and service groups and securing funds from private donors, government grants, and online fundraising. Our programs have grown to serve many more children to respond to the huge educational gap and significant learning loss for the local students as Panama public schools were closed for over two years. Our after-school programs focus more on STEM, English, and academic support to complement what is taught during the limited 4-hour school day. Our ability to adapt has enabled us to survive and thrive as well as to reemerge as a key leader and resource for the community's educational needs.