What began as a pilot program in 2006 has grown into the largest school supply donation program in Latin America and the cornerstone of PriceSmart’s corporate social responsibility efforts. Starting with 2,000 students in Costa Rica, the program now reaches more than 139,000 students and 7,000 teachers at 275 public primary schools across Central America, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, providing school supplies, teaching materials, and essential items that help schools maintain clean, safe learning environments.

Silvia Ramos, a teacher at Centro Escolar Católico Luisa de Marillac in San Salvador, El Salvador, notes:

“We are in a very difficult economic situation these days.  The families anxiously await the delivery of the supplies.  It allows parents to spend that money on something else for the family.”

Aprender y Crecer focuses on meeting students’ basic material needs, but a defining feature of the program is its human component. In addition to organizing donations, program coordinators support teachers throughout the school year by promoting the use of donated books and strengthening classroom literacy instruction.

Of note is the program’s recent expansion to provide vision screenings, eye exams, and eyeglasses to students at participating schools, all free of charge.  PriceSmart optometrists perform the eye exams, making this initiative a truly collaborative effort.  Since 2022 Aprender y Crecer has provided more than 175,000 vision screenings and 39,000 pairs of glasses, the vast majority of which are the student’s very first pair of glasses.  

“I’m really grateful for this project because I have been able to study better, I don’t have to strain my eyes, and I don’t get headaches anymore,” remarked Yelani Mora, a fourth-grade student at Escuela Central San Sebastián in Costa Rica, upon receiving her very first pair of glasses from Aprender y Crecer.

Studies have proven the direct link between correcting a child’s vision and that child performing better in school, completing more years of education, and thereby increasing their future earning potential.  Thus, it can be said that giving a child a pair of glasses helps break the cycle of poverty.

Over the last 20 years, Aprender y Crecer has donated more than 1.6 million school supply packages and 3.6 million books to students, along with 325,000 books to school libraries.  We look forward to many more years, and many more milestones.