210 projects from 130 social organizations in the commune have benefited in the last 10 years from the Social Projects Fund of the San Antonio Siglo XXI Foundation and its founding partner, Codelco División El Teniente.

Cristian Sanhueza Olivares, director of Community Development for El Teniente, explained that “these funds were created with the aim of improving the quality of life in San Antonio. This is part of Codelco’s strategy, which focuses on social value, environmental value and economic value. Hundreds of organizations have participated and several of them, to date, have been awarded these funds, which represents a benefit for the city and what we seek as Codelco, which is to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.”

35 new contracting entities

This year, more than 70 representatives from different social organizations in San Antonio participated in the signing ceremony and delivery of resources from the tenth version of the Fund, in which 30 million pesos were distributed among 35 awarded entities.

Ítalo Bustamante, executive director of the Foundation, explained that “in this tenth version of the Fund, we had more than 80 projects that participated in this competitive fund. 35 initiatives were awarded that contemplate the improvement of public spaces, advances in social centers and projects to promote reading. Various projects were presented to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the commune.”

Contribute to community projects

Consuelo Fuentes, representative of the organization Divertea San Antonio, celebrated that “with this, we seek to have professionals to work on the skills of children and adolescents within the autistic spectrum. Almost all organizations operate on a non-profit basis, we do not receive support from any institution. So, receiving this support allows us to work with families.”

“We are looking to set up a memory tea table to remember our origins in Leyda. We are grateful for these funds because they are very important for our town, which is small, with few inhabitants and few resources. That is why this is important,” said María Guzmán Meza, president of the Leyda Senior Citizens Club.

Meanwhile, Inelia Fuentes Herrera, president of the Senior Citizens Club 'Teachers Forever of San Antonio', said that "we are very happy to have applied and received support. This will help senior citizens because we have many things to offer, especially in a social field such as education. Therefore, we will carry this social project in our hearts."

With the signing of these agreements and the delivery of resources, the organizations of San Antonio will execute their initiatives and contribute to the development of the port commune. The initiatives have a deadline of December 31, 2024.