My name is Nancy and I am a Registered Nurse from New York living here in Cancun. I am asking the help of tourists coming to visit Cancun in the next 4 months. I am very active in Community Projects here and I am asking you to bring down 1 toy from the US when you come down. We have an AIDS association here, with children living with and affected by AIDS-HIV. The purpose of this drive is to give these children a little something extra for the holidays. Toys are very expensive here and these children are a second thought when it comes to getting medication, nutritional supplements, etc. These children live outside the Hotel Zone area, usually in small shacks, sometimes with dirt floors. I am not asking for expensive toys...even hair ribbons, coloring books and crayons and stuffed animals are great for a kid that gets very little. I DO ask that it is NEW, no second hand toys please. The children range from 6 months to 18 years old. This Toy Drive will go on from now until the week before Christmas. All toys (watches, sneakers, clothing) can be left at the club MY PLACE located in the Hotel Zone in Plaza Zocalo, next to TGIFridays. Your help would be greatly appreciated and will help to bring a smile to a child's face for the holidays. Thanks! Nancy
Could I add the suggestion that perhaps people bring you the toys from MacDonalds, Burger King, etc. (still in plastic)? Simple enough to ask for one when we hit the drive-thru for that indulgent burger & fries!
Great idea Val :!: Wish I was going soon so I could help you out...maybe my husband will buy the " it's not for me honey think of all the children we could help " :wink: :!:
That is a good idea, Val. Anything will do! The kids really just enjoy getting some "extra" toys . The more I have, the more I am able to give away! Another thing...if you tape your e-mail address to the package, I will keep a list of all the e-mails and have a friend take pictures at the party so that we can send pictures of the kids to all that helped! These kids are poor to begin with...and on top of that, they are dealing with the AIDS virus themselves, or a family member might have it. They are too young to be dealing with life's most difficult stresses....One little present can really make the difference!
Hola CancuNurse May-be if this was a annual event, you could start at the beginning of the year and that way everyone would get the chance to contribute. Think of a charitable name to call your cause, it may catch on a little bit better. Steve may even make this post a sticky, for a worthy cause. Good Luck Daz.
Hey gang...I have a post on Trip Advisor as well and these are some of the answers to the questions they had. Please bear with me. I am trying to answer everyone's questions. First off...if you want to send money. you can send it to my NY address. My husband (still working in NY and commuting, bless his heart!) can cash the check there and then bring the money down and I can buy the toys in Walmart. They are sooooo much more expensive there but this is a possibility. (I bought a doll in KayMart for a little girl here for $9.99 in NY and the same exact doll here was $40.!) If you do want to send money, please include your name and your e-mail address, so that I can send you pictures. Please send to Nancy Myers, PO Box 418, Jericho, NY 11753. I will also e-mail you to let you know I received the money. Cheryl, I am not sure that paying the customs amount would permit me to bring the toys into Cancun. If you have ever read the customs forms that you sign when you get down here, you will see that it sayd only 5 toys at a time. I am going to go check it out with Aduana in the next few days and see what we can do. If paying the customs on the toys is the only issue, I am sure we will be able to take care of that. I can't thank you enough for your interest. Last year I worked with this group as the President of the International Women's Club of Cancun. We raised over $12,000 USD to help with nutritional supplements, medication, repairs to the meeting house after Hurricane WIlma, psychological coping etc. We had parties for Dia del Ninos (Children's Day) and Dia de Los Reyes (Three Kings Day...the children get their presents on this day...Jan. 6th...from the 3 Kings). I will do my best to provide the children with a little extra happiness and to inform everyone that helped about how successful this project will be. Please keep in mind what kind of toys you are buying...toys that need batteries or have explicit instructions in English are not good. Batteries are expensive to replace and these kids speak Spanish. Trucks, dolls, Legos, Twister, Candyland, Dominoes, Rummy-o, Paints, crayons, perfume, nailpolishes, hair ornaments, Nerf toys, plastic dish and food sets, pocketbooks, wallets (they have to be a little bit cool) Barbie things....all are great things! Hope these suggestions help!
Thanks Barnstyke, for your vote of confidence. How would I get in touch with Steve to see if this is a possibility? In the US, we call these drives "Toys for Tots". I like to think of this more a a "Random Act of Kindness". It could be a really phenomenal International project with all this help from Cancun Care! Thanks again for your support!
Hey Nancy, What a great idea. Something speaking against toys from Germany? <g> Joke. If i have some place in my luggage left i will bring down some new toys Are there some toys mexican children really like? Greetings Nic
Thanks for your support Nic...check the luggage! Maybe you can fit just one nice toy. If every tourist that came down here brought just one toy, we could open a toy store! The amazing thing about these children is that they are very appreciative. They are not the spoiled middle class kids that get whatever they want. These kids are aprreciative of the attention and the fact that they know we care! Please include your name and e-mail if you do bring a toy. I want to send photos to everyone (around Christmastime) that supported this cause. Thanks again!
