Many people on this chat board know that I do alot of charity work in Cancun. I was the President of the International Women's Club, a group of women from all over the world that live in Cancun and do charity work for different organizations. I began Give A Toy Get A Smile in 2006, after Hurricane Wilma devastated Cancun. I collected toys from the tourists that came to visit and have been distributing toys, school supplies, shoes and clothing ever since! We have distributed over 3,000 toys over the last 5 years to many local groups including La Casita, The Little Yellow Schoolhouse on Isla Mujeres, Learning to Live with AIDS and HIV, La Casa de Esperanza Orphanage as well as many small pueblos around Cancun. I have also been involved with the Bomberos de Cancun. In December, Give A Toy Get A Smile donated toys to the children of the firefighters for Christmas. The Chief was thrilled to have his men recognized and mentioned at the time that the equipment they were using was in really poor condition. They were using gardener's boots instead of fire-retardant boots. The coats and pants were terribly torn. They asked me if there was any way that I could help them find other equipment that was in better condition. Well, they asked the right person! I was put in touch with Fire Chief John Stetter from Berlin, Wisconsin. He had "like new" equipment that he needed to get rid of since his department got new uniforms. We arranged through Yellow Freight, to have the uniforms shipped to Cancun. Normally, the price would be $2500 but they charged us less than half. Hyber is shipping from Florida to Cancun and only charging us a minimum. Between the two shipping companies, the cost will be $1300usd...HALF the normal price! The equipment is going to cost $2,000usd. The estimated value of the equipment is over $18,000usd. We will be receiving 21 pairs of boots, 24 helmets, 35 bunker pants and 28 fire coats. These are all specially made and regulated by the fire departments in the US. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for our Fire Department. Now I know that if I hear the Fire trucks' siren, I know the men have the proper equipment to deal with the situation. I hope you agree with me that Cancun needs to institute a Fire Safety and Prevention Program in the schools. Prevention is the key. Through Give A Toy Get A Smile, I hope to start this invaluable program to keep the children of Cancun safe and well protected! Señor Felix Diaz, the Chief of Proteccion Civil was also very happy to help us get the uniforms into Puerto Morelos and off to the Firemen in Cancun. If you can, please support our local firefighters. If we get these sets paid for, Chief Stetter assured me he would contact other local fire departments to obtain as much equipment as we need to protect our firefighters. Thanks, in advance, to all that can help! Nancy
Good work, Nancy, in finding the equipment and managing the details of getting it here. Can you give us more details about how the financial side of this is going to be handled? Are you planning to prepay, hoping for some degree of reimbursement from well-intentioned people, later; or, are you planning to see if you can get enough pledges of support, or actual contributions, before doing anything more, etc? Please fill in the info gap for those who might wish to help.
Hi V. Thank you for your interest. I have prepaid all of the expenses for the transportation. I have just received $150 dollars and $5000 pesos after much publicity on this issue. Chief Stetter is working with me and told me to hold off on his payment and to work on getting reimbursed for the transportation...I'm more or less handling everything all at once, hoping that if we get enough support, we can order additional equipment. Our initial cost for this shipment is $3,300usd (hopefully, no tax since it is a donation and I have the cooperation of Proteccion Civil). Every little bit helps! Cancun can depend on their firefighters....let's show them our support!
Forgot to mention...I really couldn't wait until the donations would come in first fearing that the equipment might be given away. It had to be taken out of the US Fire Department and I didn't want to lose it...the reason I prepaid everything.
I'm sorry, CN, your use of "going to" and "will" in your first post, earlier today, made me think you were speaking of the future. OK, let's see if I've got it right. If I'm following this, so far, you're into this project $1,300 for shipping, and you'd like to get reimbursed for it if possible. He isn't requiring you to pay in advance for the equipment. OK, let's see if I understand this. It appears the Chief has released the equipment to the shipper [without your having to pay for the equipment]. You hope to clear the goods through Customs at Puerto Morelos, duty free... ...and you hope to have this man's help to accomplish that. In any case, I'll be happy to contribute. I'm just trying to get a clearer picture of what has transpired, and what hasn't. _______________________
Firemen I totally understand, V. I didn't want to get anything going until I knew the uniforms were mine. Fund-raising has begun around Cancun for this important project and I am sure, within time, all of our firemen will be equipped with new uniforms. I thank you for clarifying everything for the people on the Board. I have learned so much, met so many and accomplished so much thanks to Steve and Cancuncare. I check frequently to see what's going on and there's never a question that someone doesn't have the answer to. I want to thank you for your support and hope we get a bunch of members from Cancuncare to follow your lead! My phone number is 998 204-0072 for anyone that would like to help. Nancy
Nancy, This is a great thing you are doing. After the two firefighters died at the Plaza Las Americas fire a few years ago, my firefighter friend, Eddie, who lived here at the time, and I, found out that the firefighters were using Scuba gear as a breathing apparatus. Together, through the generous donations of friends, and users of this Forum, we raised a significant amount of money for the families of the two firefighters who were killed. With the help of jenxxx, who got us access to the families, we presented the money directly to the families. No photos, no press, no nothing. Lots of hugs and lots of tears. We did not want to hand it over to some bureaucrat and have no idea of whether all, some or none of it got to where we intended it to go. Then, through Eddie's contacts with the City of Boca Raton, FL FD and my contacts with the City of Orlando Fire Dept, we brought lots of very good conditioned jackets and pants similar to the kind you described. We were bringing 4-5 sets each, per month, in suitcases and duffle bags, as we traveled back and forth to FL. Through our personal contacts we were lucky enough to get these donated for free. Some went to Pto Morelos but most went to the station at the corner of Chichen Itza and Tulum. Tere is some connection between these two depts. This equipment is both heavy and bulky. Here is what your work will hopefully accomplish. The equipment you are providing and that we provided, is the most basic of firefighting gear. This is the first thing that available funds go to purchase, after trucks and that sort of thing. Since you are donating these items, the FD funds that would normally be buying this type of equipment, can now be used for equipment that otherwise would not be acquired due to lack of money. God Bless your efforts, T.J.
Direct assistance like this, in the hands of a reliable person, has every advantage- it guarantees that money or gifts go for the intended purpose, and that resources not be lost in admin and advertising, such as is typical with institutional charities.
Wow, looks like I've logged in at the right time!! Nancy - fantastic work arranging all of this, and getting things done so efficiently!! I'll make a donation - let me know how. Paypal? Or can I drop it off somewhere.... Thanks and good luck
I spoke with Hyber Shipping and the Uniforms will be on the boat tomorrow to arrive in Cancun next week between Tuesday and Thursday! Just have to go to Puerto Morelos to pick them up. Hopefully, everything will go easily and the Firemen will have some new equipment by the end of next week! YEAH!
