Many travelers to the area like to bring down gifts to give out in addition to tips, or donations for local families.
Ideas for Children´s Toys & Adolescent Gifts
The only recommendation (and requirement, in the case of Give a Toy Get a Smile) is that toys please be new, not used. The toys needed are just the same as kids anywhere would love with a few exceptions. Battery operated toys are not requested (batteries are expensive and are unlikely to be replaced). The children helped here may not have electricity and may not even know what a PlayStation is, so toys that depend on electricity are also not required. Toys that have instructions in English are not recommended, as these children speak Spanish. The children range in age from six months to eighteen years in age.
- trucks
- dolls
- Legos
- dominoes
- paints
- crayons
- perfume
- nail polish
- hair ribbons or accessories
- coloring books
- sports balls
- make-up kits
- a diary
- inexpensive jewelry
- Nerf toys
- pocketbooks
- wallets
- Barbie dolls
- water guns
- marbles
- Matchbox cars
- blocks
- stuffed animals
- clothing (again, new please)
Ideas for School Supplies
- backpacks
- notebooks
- assignment pads
- pencils
- pens
- markers
- erasers
- crayons
- pencil sharpeners
- stickers
Give a Toy, Get a Smile
www.giveatoygetasmile.org
This local organization, based in Cancun with additional drop off stations in Playa del Carmen and Tulum (Cabanas Copal), accepts toys and school supplies year-round for local children. Toys are now being received for the April delivery for Children's Day, and backpacks with school supplies for distribution in August for the new school year. There is a big red box in the front desk area of Cabanas Copal where donations are accepted daily.
Hekab Be Library in Akumal:
http://hbwishlist.blogspot.com/
What they need most:
- Time - consider donating an afternoon to help with various projects (painting, organizing space, checking in books, etc.). Contact Maggie to plan a time: Maggiemk@aol.com
- Money - while last year was one of the best so far in terms of meeting the library's financial needs, please remember that monetary donations are the only thing that helps pay the bills and other library expenses. The budget is modest, but still requires cash flow. No government funds or money from other sources are received.
- Old clothes - gently used clothing for teens, children & infants is needed.
Taller Cero in Tulum:
http://www.locogringo.com/forums/tm.a...
http://www.locogringo.com/forums/tm.a...
This group supports the Taller Cero arts workshop in Tulum. This is a non profit - donation run Creative workshop for young kids and young adults. Twice a week they open the palapa roof building and run art classes, theater, library, chess, and more. They also teach pattern making and other fabric arts in hopes that some can earn a living with this knowledge. Bringing donations of Books written in spanish for kids and young adults is preffered, rather than money donations. Spanish books for children are very expensive in Mexico to buy. Story books, song books, picture books etc. would be so welcomed.
PROJECT RED CROSS PLAYA DEL CARMEN, QUINTANA ROO
The Mexican Red Cross is a Private Assistance Institution, established in Mexico for 95 years. The Red Cross presently work in 465 comunities offering daily services like; Medical Consultation, Emergency Response, and Humanitarian Aid in cases of disasters as well as social and cultural programs.
In the Municipality of Solidaridad, Quintana Roo, this Institution has been offering services since 1992, with resources generated by the services that the Red Cross offers. The Red Cross does not receive any funding from the Government, State or Municipal. This is the reason why finding donors is of extreme importance allowing this institution to continue providing the much needed attention to the community.
The Mayan Riviera is a tourist destination which in the last years has had an important growth for the State of Quintana Roo and for Mexico. Playa Del Carmen is considered to be the 2nd city with the fastest annual growth in Latin America, with near 200,000 inhabitants.
The Municipality of Solidaridad has an extension of 4,245.67 Km2, which represents 8.35% of the surface of the State. The hotel infrastructure of 24,684 rooms, allowed the destination to host 2,418,623 tourists that came to visit last year, producing 781.92 million dollars for the economy. It has also allowed to have annual average hotel occupancy for 2004 of 74.14%.
The Mexican Red Cross, Delegation Playa Del Carmen, is worried about the great development of this community and the lack of equally growing infrastructure, facilities and equipment to attend medical emergencies in order to serve the community. At the moment there is a single doctor's office offering medical service from 9:00 to 22:00 hours Monday through Friday, two nurses in the same schedule, ambulance of basic life support. The limited team of collaborators is not sufficient to meet the daily demands of medical services and ambulances due to multiple accidents on the highway.
This year:
Services
No.. of beneficiaries
External consultation
8,121
Treatments
3, 265
Services of ambulances
1,205
Special services
11, 306 beneficiaries
If you wish to contribute, volunteer or help in any way please contact Cruz Roja Mexicana
Claudia Hurtado Valenzuela
TUM
Cruz Roja Playa del Carmen
cruzroja.playadelcarmen@gmail.com
