VALLARTA MISSION
Supporting the mission of Christ Church by he Sea Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
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Christ Church by the Sea
A Letter Received from the VALLARTA FOOD BANK
May 29, 2020
Hello Vallarta Food Bank Family,
We’d like to give thanks to all the wonderful people who have donated, volunteered, and shared our campaign. Two months ago we started Vallarta Food Bank with just 6 despensas (food packages) to give away, and now we’re up to more than 3,000 a week. In a short two-month period, we’ve achieved so much to organize our efforts and reach the most vulnerable and hungry families in Vallarta. Providing food doesn’t just fill an empty stomach, it can also shape a life that is not limited by hunger. To maintain the food bank’s momentum, there is much more you can help us with.
We are thankful to have incredible support from the Vallarta community. Non-profit charities, corporations, small businesses and individuals have all provided the food bank with generous donations. We honor all financial support by keeping our operations 100% volunteer-based with only 5% going to rental, utilities and non-food supplies. This allows us to distribute the equivalent of 5 meals for every USD dollar we receive.
Besides distributing despensas at our food bank, we also share our donations with other agencies. Fundación Down Vallarta, Ayuda a las Familias con Cancer, Proyecto Pitillal, Pasitos de Luz and Corazón de Niña are some of the organizations we assisted.
We want to take this opportunity to recognize all the volunteers that donated their precious time at our food bank registering families, packing, delivering and distributing food. We wouldn’t be able to do this without our invaluable volunteers; a special thanks to Greg and Kiko who coordinate all the activities with patience and grace. Also, we want to extend a big thank you to Rabbi Shneur, Mushkie Hecht and Wayne Kennedy for lending their community center for our despensa production. It would very difficult without Talbot Turner who donated his truck and driver 5 days a week to deliver thousands of despensas throughout Vallarta.
We’ve learned so much in the past two months, especially when it comes to working with our non-profit partners. Casa JoJo Foundation is an amazing agency that’s willing to go the extra mile to help us raise funds for tax-exempt U.S. donations. Canadian Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation in Canada is making it possible for our Canadian donors to receive tax receipts. We also have the privilege to work with Fundación Borges Coppel, who’s making a huge monthly donation to help provide for 700 families. Because we share the common goal of providing assistance to the people in need within our community, we’re able to work together to serve more people.
This month, we’re spending $73,000 USD to make 12,500 despensas, which is the equivalent of 350,000 meals for the families in need. That’s a huge amount of money, and we’re grateful for every cent. The next challenge we’re facing is the upcoming rainy season. Add the COVID-19 pandemic into the list of obstacles and you’ll discover that soon, our hungry families will have fewer job opportunities to help put food on the table. With your help, we can give hope and nourishment to these families during the summer months.
We also want to look ahead into the future of our community. Our vision doesn’t end with providing emergency food assistance. We want to help improve the livelihoods of families in Vallarta. Our goal is to create a community center where anyone can sign up for skill-training programs to improve their job prospects like English language, electrical, carpentry, sewing, plumbing, and entrepreneurship.
In addition, we want to improve our food program. These are some of our ideas:
Soup Kitchens: instead of getting a food package, our families can get hot food 6 days a week.
Food Market: instead of getting a food package, our recipients can use points to purchase their choice of food and necessities specific to what their family needs.
Food System Collaborative: support local agriculture by partnering with local food growers to provide and trade fresh food at our market.
Elderly Box Program: on a monthly basis, deliver a box of food and necessities to our elderly community.
Food Scholarship: clients receive food scholarships when they commit to programs to improve their job skills
We can make a fast impact if we launch these initiatives as soon as possible. Look at what we’ve already done in just two months! We’re asking you to join our rainy season pledge, a special three-month commitment that will go a long way in helping people get through this trying time. You can send a donation today and pledge to do the same in July and August, or make a single gift that stretches across the entire summer. Better yet, sign up for monthly giving and help us achieve our vision of a more self-sustaining paradise.
Both three-month commitment and monthly giving are available on our website at
https://vallartafoodbank.com/monthly-membership
Our website is now ready to accept both credit cards and PayPal, and we’d love for you to move your donation to our website to save money on service charges
https://vallartafoodbank.com/donate-1
Donate with Casa JoJo Foundation for U.S. tax-exempt receipts. Monthly donations also accepted. https://www.casajojofoundation.org/vallarta-food-bank.html
With gratitude,
Francie, Frankie and Jimmy
Vallarta Food Bank
379 Río de La Plata, Puerto Vallarta, Jal., 48340, Mexico
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