Thanks to my good friend, Sarah H., for giving us this relief shipment primer. Click here to read the latest updates on relief needs.
“If you are interested in shipping to Guatemala directly, there are two reputable, tried and true outfits … Zuleta www.transporteszuletagt.com and Medrano www.medranoexpress.com The major difference betrween the two is simply which states they ship from, and how frequiently they ship to Guatemala. Zuleta covers fewer states and picks up once or twice a month; Medrano covers several more States and often has more frequent departures. Both their websites are a little challenging and your best bet is to call their headquerters to find out if there is an office or pick up location near you. Zuleta for instance often has small stores or individuals (often in Latino neighboorhoods) as their pick up locations —- these can be hard to track down as they are not clearly advertised. Both deliver to the Lake Atitlan region in 2-3 weeks. You can also try contacting Zuleta by emailing their Miami office representative, Carmen Morales at zuletacarmenus@… … she is extremely helpful, responsive and familiar with all their locations. I am afraid trhat I personally do not have a similar contact for Medrano.
Both companies essentially operate the same. They both offer a variety of box sizes, which they will deliver-the most economical is the roughly 36 x 30 x 24. which runs about $330 each to ship — this will of course vary depending upon the company and where you ship from.
The great thing though is the fees are based on box size … not weight. So, you can cram them full of heavy donations such as jeans, shoes and tarps. Also-ASK FOR A DISCOUNT. Both companies have historically given discounts (sometimes up to 40%) for shipping to Mayan Families, a 501 (c)(3) charity.”
If you have any questions about coordinating shipments – or if you have anything to add to Sarah’s information – it would be great if you could leave a comment to this thread, so that everyone can see them, and learn together.
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