MHG Project Joya Fundraiser
At Project Joya, we believe that art is for everyone. We are raising funds to advance the techniques, networks, and capacity of jewelry-making in Mexico, with a focus on jewelry students and professionals based in San Miguel de Allende.
Project Joya is a Berkley-based effort that supports student and professional artists native to Mexico and San Miguel de Allende—a colonial-era city in the central highlands of Mexico. Our goal is to provide modern jewelry-making equipment to artists native to Mexico. This is a collaborative effort that further involves the exchange of skills and techniques: jewelers of San Miguel de Allende teach forgotten techniques, and American jewelers teach modern techniques with the equipment being sent.
According to the Mexican government, approximately half of San Miguel de Allende’s population lives in poverty to extreme poverty. In 2020, ten percent of households had no access to sewage systems, and many of those did not have a water supply network, bathroom, or electricity. With your gift, jewelers will be able to produce a higher quality product in safer working environments. With better tools and equipment, jewelers will be able to earn more and invest in their trade, communities, and families.
Our first project is for a young family in San Miguel De Allende. Jesus, who makes jewelry, lives with his wife Alejandra and their one-year-old Daughter Aliah. Jesus supports his family by offering to teach San Miguel De Allende tourists about jewelry. It is truly amazing how innovative the Mexican people are. If they cannot afford to buy it, they make it out of what they have. During the pandemic lockdown times in Mexico, there were no PPP loans to help businesses stay alive, there was no unemployment money to keep food on the table, no stimulus money, and there was no moratorium on rent, so too many people found themselves without a place to live. That is why I’m doing this Go Fund me to raise money to Help Jesus and his family get the tools, equipment, and education to provide a better life for his family.
We have raised over $10,000 in equipment, tool, and gemstone donations for a Jesus family. Our next goal is to raise $20,000 to provide students and faculty of a jewelry school with equipment and other resources necessary to compete with artists around the world.
I am shooting for the stars and hope that you will join me on this exciting journey! Thank you for your generous support.
Matthew
To help us with our goal please click the clink below which will take you to the Go Fund Me donation page.