Manos de Amor www.manosdeamor.com

The association is a nonprofit organization that was born from the desire of a group of citizens of Bucerias to help the less fortunate, especially the children of Bahia de Banderas. It was formed on April 13, 2004.

Our hope is to provide these children with food, clothing and shelter, ensure that they attend school and give them a safe haven for as long as necessary. Hopefully, when the home situation improves, they can return to their families or, in some cases, be placed in adoptive homes.

The main project of this group is to construct an orphanage/shelter in Bucerias. This will be the first in this area. The nearest in Nayarit is in Tepic and those in Puerto Vallarta have their own motives and needs to be addressed. At this time there is nowhere for the children of the bay who are in need.  The children who will be housed in this Casa Hogar are not necessarily orphans. They are children whose parents are either unwilling or unable to care for them.

The origins of homeless children are rooted in the general issues of poverty and income distribution in Mexico.  Donations help provide the funding necessary to give these ones a better chance!

Fundraising to build the Orphanage

February 2005 -  First Rhythm 'n Ribs in the central plaza in Bucerias. nearly 1,000 people in attendance. We brought in nearly $70,000 pesos from the sale of food, drinks, T-shirts, raffle prizes and commemorative tiles. All food and raffle prizes were donated by members of the communities of Bucerias and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Music was provided by local musicians.

January 2009 each year - Cocktail Party held at Condominiums Los Alebrijes in Bucerias. This is a beautiful setting, on the beach and beside the Infinity pool. Food is provided by local restaurants and volunteers. Tickets sales are limited to 75 people and are always sold out well in advance of the event.

February 2009 each year -  Rhythm 'n Ribs held in the plaza in Bucerias. It was estimated that 1,500 people attended this event. One of the many wonderful things about these events in the plaza is that they are attended by the local Mexican people as well as the ex-pat residents and visitors to the area. The event grossed over $116,000 pesos. The assistance from the community was wonderful. Members of the government of the Municipality of Bahia de Banderas donated money to help local women to provide tamales. We had several hundred kilos of ribs, barbecued chicken wings, chili, posole, corn dogs, pastries, etc., all donated by the community of the Bahia. More than 40 raffle prizes were donated by restaurants and businesses of the area. Many original works of art were donated and sold via a silent auction. Entertainment consisted of a Hawaiian dance troupe from Puerto Vallarta, Ballet Folklorico from the Valle, Our master of ceremonies was Denise Fiske-Chow. The many volunteers from the area, including visitors, manned the ticket booths, bars and food booths. This is a wonderful example of the community pulling together to help this worthy cause of building an orphanage/shelter for the needy children.

On an ongoing basis, ladies of Manos de Amor hold bazaars several times a month, Donated articles of clothing and household items are sold at very reasonable prices to the community and the proceeds go to support the shelter.

Altruism Festival which is held in May of each year - Food and drink are provided by local business. There is non-stop entertainment for 3 hours. Only 24 charities are recipients of the proceeds from this event. We hope to continue to be one of those.

If you would like to help out, donations to Manos de Amor can be made by paypal on our website or check, payable to Manos de Amor por Bahia, a.c. and mailed to:

Valiene Heckart, Treasurer
Manos de Amor, Rio Compostela 11, Col. Tules Dorado
Bucerias, Nayarit 63732, Mexico
Email: casavaliene@gmail.com

Thanks for your help!

Valiene Heckart, Treasurer