Friday, June 25, 2010

Pacaya is now open again and we're excited to get back out to one of our favorite places. We are donating $10 for every tourist that we take to the mountain to help the locals there rebuild after huge eruptions left many homes in the area completely destroyed.



There have been lots of changes to the area with all the recent volcanic activity. Its looks like it snowed a half a foot of volcanic sand out there blanketing everything. All the leaves have been burned off the trees leaving an eerie desolate feeling on the mountain.




Come by Old Town Outfitters to sign up today to climb Pacaya.



See ya on the trail

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Old Town on the Cover of July's BIKE magazine!!!



We made the Cover of July's BIKE magazine.....pretty Cool!!

Check out the article and sign up for one of 3 dates to pioneer this new route at www.adventureguatemala.com

Monday, June 7, 2010

The relief effort continues

As the donations have continued to roll in we have been working very hard out in the communities. We are sending our vehicles to and from San Miguel Escobar 3 times a day to ensure that volunteers can continue to stay involved in the clean up.

Over the weekend your donation dollars at work:

Q2000 - 20 wheelbarrows
Q1000 - various vaccines for the medical clinic
Q1300 - 55 gallons of Diesel for the heavy machinery

Other than these cash donations the Old Town Outfitters office has received local donations from the good folks here in the valley. We have distributed clothing and food to the communities of San Francisco Sales on the slopes of Pacaya Volcano, San Miguel, and La soledad on the slopes of Acatenango volcano.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us out and made donations! Although much head way has been made with the clean up efforts, there is much still to do.
Get in touch with us here in the office to find out how to get involved.
Thanks,

Donations continue to come in which is great.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Money Received and Spent to Date

Thank you to all whom have donated in any way. We are trying our hardest to keep track of all the wonderful donations to make sure they are focused to the families and support the most in need.

Money and donations received to Date through OldTown Outfitters:
-Q 15,607.91
-Medicines
-Diesel
-Clothing
-Food
-Shuttles
-Trucks
-Volunteers!!! *Awesome!!!


Money spent:
200 pounds of Corn Q 300.00
100 pounds of Beans Q 470.00
15 pounds of Sugar Q 50.00
Q 400.00 worth of Diesel
Medical Masks Q 300.00
Gloves Q 300.00
5 pickaxes Q 240.00
5 Hoes Q 250.00
6 Pry-bars Q360.00









Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Volunteers Needed

First of all, the volunteers that have been on site, You Are Awesome! The help you are giving is very necessary and appreciated. Please continue your efforts.

We are still in need of more Volunteers.

Schedule of Volunteers

Date: Mon trough Sunday
Leaving Time: 9am - 1pm
Leaving From: Y Tu PiƱa Tambien (1era Avenida Sur No. 11, Antigua, Guatemala)

What to bring?

- Rubber boots, rubber gloves
- Hat
- Shovel
- Bottle water
- Long pants (no shorts!)
- Sunblock
- Cell phone
- Tifoidea shot (be sure to get one)
- Lots of energy!!!

For more information and donations please contact us via FB or call Blake at: 4298-8159 ; Pablo at: 5876-7355 or Emilio at: 4768-1433

Items that are needed to support a sustainable recovery:
Please donate money for items that cannot be donated. $$$$$
NEEDED IMMEDIATELY:
-Diesel fuel
-Anti-Bacterial soap
-Brooms/ cleaning supplies
-Medical Masks
-Bedding
-Large Pry bars
-Buckets


***Please bring your donations by OldTown Outfitters. (5 Ave Sur #12C)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Tropical Storm Agatha



I am sure you have heard of the recent volcanic eruption near Guatemala City,
but we have been affected more by recent Tropical Storm Agatha battering
us here in Guatemala dumping an unprecedented amount rain in 4 days.
Water saturated soil has prevented the constant rain from
being absorbed, thus the entire country has been inundated with water.
Rivers have jumped their banks, bridges have been taken out, and mudslides from flash floods have buried villages and made roads impassable leaving many communities completely cut off from the outside world.




When the worst of the flooding happened a few days ago, we shut our doors
and began collecting food, water, and clothing to distribute to the most
heavily hit areas around the Antigua valley. We were absolutely shocked to
travel just 5 short kilometers down the road from Antigua to find
neighboring villages covered in some places by as much as 9 feet of mud.
For those of you who are familiar with San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja (towns along our famous “Valley Ride”) route, a massive landslide has completely destroyed 44 homes, partially destroyed countless others and displaced over 200 families. We have since gone there as well with shovels and food to help the people dig themselves out.



Many villages are completely covered in mud and the villagers are left with
nothing. Their houses and belongings completely covered or washed away.
We carried hot food, canned and dried food, and clothing to try and reach
as many people as possible.



Supplies are starting to trickle in from abroad and make it out to the areas
most in need. However, this is going to be a long rebuilding period and
many will be left without. In efforts to provide more long term support to
folks, we are trying to raise money for the following projects:

1. Rebuild homes.
2. Provide basic necessities [food, water, diapers, toilet paper, etc.]
3. Building supplies for reconstruction.
4. Long term aid for folks who lost their entire crop for the year.
5. Vaccines for disease from standing water and thick mud.



We are seeking any amount of donation to help in these efforts. The US dollar goes a long way down here, so any assistance is greatly appreciated. Old Town Outfitters as well as other concerned citizens, business owners and NGO’s are working with a 501c(3) Non-Profit organization from the affected area to channel the funds to those affected. Please request a receipt if needed (only donations over $500 please).

**************************************************************

Please see below for 2 options on how to make a cash donation. Note any deposit should be flagged with “Agatha relief”.

OPTION #1 BANK DEPOSIT

Deposit Info:
Citibank
NY 111, World Trade St., N.Y. 10043
ABA 021000089 or SWIFT CITIUS33
TO BE DEOSITED TO ACCOUNT: 36236584
I/N/O BANCO REFORMADOR, S.A. - GUATEMALA
For Further Credit Account # 4761000494
I/N/O Matthew Ryan Hartell


OPTION #2 PAYPAL.com

Follow this link which will take you through the steps to pay with any major credit card online to our account here in Guatemala. Please label any deposit with “Agatha relief”

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Q95PGBVM9BLZE

A Paypal account is not needed, just a Credit Card or Bank Account.

Please look for the Continue without signing in link if you do not
wish to use a Paypal account.


Thanks,
Old Town Outfitters team