About FOLC
Global support.
Local impact.
Friends of the Oaxaca Learning Center connects donors, volunteers, and supporters around the world with a locally led educational community helping young people in Oaxaca build brighter futures.
Who We Are
FOLC exists to help sustain educational opportunity in Oaxaca.
Friends of the Oaxaca Learning Center is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that raises funds, coordinates volunteers, and builds community support for the Oaxaca Learning Center in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Our role is simple: connect people who want to make a difference with a locally led organization that understands the students, families, and communities it serves.
Our Story
It started with a belief in what young people could become.
The story began decades before FOLC itself was created. What started with tutoring and mentorship grew into a community centered on education, opportunity, and long-term support.
Gary Titus begins tutoring
After moving to Oaxaca, retired social worker and community organizer Gary Titus begins tutoring students and supporting young people with their education.
Gary meets Jaasiel Quero
Gary and Jaasiel begin developing an approach that combines academic tutoring with mentoring, coaching, and personal support.
A permanent home
Gary purchases the property at Murguía #703 and helps transform it into classrooms, tutoring spaces, and a home for the growing educational community.
A new chapter
The nonprofit structure supporting the Learning Center develops further, creating a stronger foundation for its educational work and long-term growth.
A community continues the vision
Students, educators, volunteers, donors, and supporters continue building on that original vision of education strengthened by relationships and community.
How It Works
Two organizations. One shared mission.
FOLC and The Oaxaca Learning Center play different but complementary roles.
Friends of the Oaxaca Learning Center
FOLC connects supporters outside Mexico with the Center's work.
- Raises charitable funds
- Engages donors and supporters
- Coordinates international volunteers
- Supports events and outreach
- Helps fund scholarships and programs
The Oaxaca Learning Center
The Center works directly with students and delivers educational programs in Oaxaca.
- Provides academic tutoring
- Offers English instruction
- Provides mentoring and workshops
- Supports student wellbeing
- Develops leadership and life skills
Gary Titus Legacy
A vision that lives on through every student.
Gary Titus believed deeply in the potential of young people. Rather than simply giving students answers, he helped create an environment where they could discover what they were capable of achieving.
His vision helped shape the Learning Center into a place where academic support, mentorship, trust, and community work together.
Continue Gary's Legacy“He always told me: you can, you can, you can.”
— Jaasiel Quero
What FOLC Supports
Your support strengthens the entire student experience.
Scholarships
Helping reduce financial barriers that can interrupt a student's education.
Educational Programs
Supporting tutoring, English instruction, workshops, and academic preparation.
Staff & Tutors
Helping sustain the people who work directly with students throughout the year.
Technology
Providing access to computers and tools students need for school and research.
Learning Spaces
Improving classrooms and facilities where students learn and build community.
Volunteer Engagement
Connecting volunteers with opportunities to share their skills and experience.
Growth
Building spaces for opportunity.
Support from donors has helped expand and improve the spaces where students study, receive tutoring, use technology, and participate in workshops.
Learn More
Explore the organization behind the work.
Board & Leadership
Meet the people helping guide FOLC and the Oaxaca Learning Center.
Meet Our Team →Our Impact
Explore the programs, results, and opportunities donor support makes possible.
Explore Our Impact →Financial Transparency
Learn how FOLC approaches stewardship, accountability, and donor trust.
View Financial Information →Be Part of the Story
Help create more opportunities for students in Oaxaca.
Your support can become a scholarship, a tutoring session, a conversation in English, a new skill, or another reason for a student to keep going.