Organizations & Associations
Become involved - places to lend your support, make a difference and help the local community.
Over the past few years Zihuatanejo has made a name for itself with community efforts and fund-raising activities that aided some of the more needy schools and educational facilities in the area.
Both the annual Zihuatanejo SailFest and the Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival attract tourists and visitors from out of town who, through attendance and participation in these events, have brought much-needed funds to educational and cultural endeavors in the community, such as the Netzahualcoyotl School for Indigenous Children and the local Casa de la Cultura, which brings cultural classes and activities for free to the community.
Besides education and culture, one of Zihuatanejo's areas of need still is the local chapter of the SPCA, which has to deal with quantities of mistreated and abandoned animals, both domesticated and wild. Help is always needed for the care, feeding and exercising of the animals as well as the fundraising for sterilization campaigns and vaccinations. Contact information is provided in the various sections covered here, should you have support to give during your stay in Zihuatanejo, so please don't fail to contact the institution to offer your help.
AA Meeting info for the Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo and Troncones area
An important and special community project in Zihuatanejo is the Netzahualcoyotl Primary School, which is receiving local and international support from local businesses and individuals, tourists, the boating community, and now Rotary International.
Ninos Adelante is a non-profit organization recognized by the government of Mexico. Founded by a small group of Americans in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo in 1978, its purpose is to provide scholarship dollars to motivated, needy children in the community and provide them the opportunity to complete Secundaria (Jr. High) and Preparatoria (High School).
Info on the local Rotary Clubs and meeting dates
The Zihuatanejo Society for the Protection of Animals was founded by Helene Krebs Posse in 1982, without adequate installations and maintained exclusively with the founders resources. It provides protection, medical support and home-finder services for stray and mistreated animals It is located at Casa Marina along Fisherman's Walk, next to the basketball court in downtown Zihuatanejo.
A group of volunteers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged parents in Zihuatanejo provide and education for their children. Los Ninos is a registered non-profit corporation that uses donations to supply uniforms, school books, teaching & learning materials, art supplies and athletic equipment to needy children in non-funded, and under-funded, schools.
Movement for the rescue and preservation of Zihuatanejo Bay (Movimiento para elrescate y preservacion de la Bahia de Zihuatanejo) - promoting ecologically-minded action in the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo area. Info in English and Spanish.
Oficina de Convenciones y Visitantes - The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
With the purpose of bringing musical awareness and variety to the Zihuatanejo community, the annual Zihuatanejo Guitarfest, started in 2002, also raises money for the Casa de la Cultura and other cultural and educational causes. The Festival is a week-long Guitar extravaganza held every spring, usually in March or April (dates fluctuate with Easter)