Sonrisas Mazatlan was founded in 2010 by a group of nine women who were overseeing Friends of Mexico’s (FOM) education programs. Some of the students, who had been helped since primary school by these programs, were completing high school. And the women realized that, despite huge financial barriers, several of these bright and enthusiastic students should be university bound. Seeing an urgent need and wishing to fill it, they resigned from FOM, began raising money, and Sonrisas was born! Four students were selected as the first Sonrisas university scholars. Three of them have now earned their baccalaureate degrees: Alvaro and Rafael in Robotic Engineering from UPSIN and Ivan in Mathematics Education from UAS. We’re taking great pleasure in watching them succeed in their new careers, and hope that their success will encourage other kids in their neighborhoods, the poorest in Mazatlan, to pursue their dreams of higher education. In fact, that’s the whole point of our mission! In 2016, a new partnership was created with UPSIN (Universidad Tecnologica Sinaloa). When we first started, we had supported students we knew personally from our work at FOM. As we grew, we realized how difficult the assessment of candidates would be. The University helps us identify talented students who require financial assistance. After we select the recipients, the University monitors their academic progress, keeps us up to date, and disburses our scholarship funds at intervals throughout the school year. This is a wonderful relationship for us. The University’s scholarship office has the expertise and the means to evaluate the financial need and academic promise of applicants, and to administer scholarship funds from various sources. Panama Restaurant and El Cid operate similar programs through UPSIN.
