Amigos de La Cruz (officially Amigos de La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, A.C.)

Amigos de La Cruz is an association of and for the permanent and temporary residents and small businesses of the pueblo of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle working on a variety of projects to benefit all residents of the town.

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is a beautiful little village on the Banderas Bay (Bahia de Banderas) about 20 km north of Puerto Vallarta in the state of Nayarit, Mexico.

Our membership consists of residents (full, part-time & visitors), supporters from around the world, and local small businesses that wish be an active part of the community and contribute to its improvement, orderly growth and development.

FRIENDSHIP CLUB - Here to help a young girl hear for the first time in her life by providing exams and a hearing aid, to help a young man see how beautiful his mother is by providing medical assistance and eye surgery and to sustain a young adult's life by providing costly chemotherapy treatment.

The Friendship Club provides medical and financial assistance and prescription drugs to residents in need (funded separately). For a more complete description of the Friendship Club, click here. For more information contact Lori Wilson.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE - A source for aiding residents or visitors encountering medical or other personal emergencies. For more information contact Duncan Randall.

FRIENDS ON BOATS - Welcoming our floating neighbors in the Marina and at anchor to the community by offering the Cruiser Card and other services and information. For more information contact Landon Hollander.

LIBRARY PROJECT - Following up with petitions to the Municipal government to request a permanent location for a library in La Cruz, researching options and facilitating construction as needed and coordinating with local government (looking for leadership). For more information contact Landon Hollander.

SUMMER PROGRAM - Employs teachers for a 3-week summer program for 60 elementary school children. with sessions on the environment, wildlife, maintaining a clean town, art and other subjects (often in cooperation with PEACE). For more information contact Aruna Piroshki.

ENGLISH CONVERSATION CLASSES - Amigos volunteering to teach English to town residents. For more information contact Aruna Piroshki.

COMPUTERS AND SUPPLIES FOR SCHOOLS - Soliciting incoming residents and visitors for contributions to the local schools and library. For more information contact Connie or Landon Hollander.

RECYCLING - Soliciting funds from the membership and through media to privately fund the program, providing the production, labeling/signage and distribution of recycling bins throughout town, monitoring the location and maintenance of these bins and acting to maintain a sufficient number of drop off points in town are all part of this project. For more information contact Landon Hollander.

STREET CLEANING - Amigos employs two street cleaners that do a daily street trash pick-up in the village center. The "Adopt-a-Street" program encourages members to participate in maintaining clean streets in their neighborhoods. For more information contact Efren Lopez Rodriguez or Duncan Randall.

STREET MAINTENANCE & BEAUTIFICATION - Beyond the issue of litter, trash pick-up and disposal "habits" are an ongoing issue as insufficient containers coupled with a confusing trash pick-up schedule result in the accumulation of piles of garbage made worse by energetic, plastic tearing dogs. Education and neighborhood solutions such as informational signage are needed. For more information contact Philo Hayward.

GARBAGE CANS - As an independent annex to the Street Cleaning & Beautification, is the procurement, labeling/signage and distribution of garbage cans (tambos) throughout town, monitoring the location and maintenance of these bins and acting to maintain a sufficient number in town. For more information contact Landon Hollander.

WORK FOR FOOD - We coordinate with PEACE for this program which provides cleaning and maintaining to other areas of town by giving 9 women work in exchange for provisions and food. This in an effort to keep the streets of la Cruz the cleanest in the Bay area. Project shared with the PEACE organization. For more information contact Landon Hollander.

GRAFFITI REMOVAL - Our goal is to keep the town graffiti free. For more information contact Jim Lennon.

ARROYO, HIGHWAY & BEACH CLEAN UPS - Coordinating with local schools to conduct clean-ups of the local arroyos, culverts and beaches, this project is ongoing and in need of people who love working with kids and come naturally to organizing people and projects. For more information contact Aruna Piroshki.

PLANNING AND ZONING - Investigating and reporting government actions which affect the quality of life in the village such as water quality and availability, sewage, waste management, beach access and zoning. For more information contact Aruna Piroshki or Duncan Randall.

BUENOS VECINOS - (Neighborhood Watch, Community Awarenes, & Community-Police Cooperation Program) This is an inaugural project currently without a contact person.

COMMUNICATIONS - Summarizing and reporting on all of the above and sharing news and information about La Cruz and the activities of Amigos de La Cruz using the Amigos de La Cruz website, Facebook, newsletters and through various other media. Also, providing all promotional and informational media, brochures, signs, cards, etc. for group events. For more information contact Landon Hollander.

MEMBERSHIP - In coordination with the Executives, Asociados and all project contacts as well as the general members, this project focuses on increasing and maintaining membership through existing events, functions and media as well as by using personal contact and social media. Equally important, the ongoing need for creative means of soliciting funds independently of membership dues. For more information contact Duncan Randall.

We are now focusing on the long term infrastructural and cultural needs of La Cruz and how Amigos de La Cruz can exercise leadership and investigate funding to accomplishing these goals.

• Identification and repair of malfunctioning or broken streetlights
• La Cruz Police station permanent installation
• Cultural Center
• Library
• Sports facility

To contact any of our Project Managers, send an email to lacruzamigos@gmail.com with the name of the project or individual and it will be forwarded as appropriate.

Volunteers are always welcome.

We hear variations on this question a lot lately. Is it because with so many more things happening as a result of Amigos de La Cruz, the sentiment is "...things seem to be working just fine...", why bother getting joining?

There's two sides to that thought. For one thing, you don't HAVE to join, but instead, get involved. For those of you who don't have time to contribute your labors and ideas, maybe think about a contribution. And to those of you who can do both, thank you, and to those of you who really don't care, you may stop reading now; you won't get it.

Here's some of the things that anyone, member or non-member, can benefit from as a result of the donations and memberships that allowed Amigos to operate last year:

• A cleaner pueblo thanks to our street cleaning crew who pick up litter and trash throughout town all year long.

• 34 new tambos (heavy duty plastic garbage cans) throughout town cooperatively emptied by GRRSA on a daily, or every other daily basis.

• Graffiti eliminated as it occurs.

• Clean up of the Arroyo and Beaches.

• Recycling program with over 35 collection bins for plastic, glass, aluminum & cardboard.

• Increased communication and goodwill amongst neighbors thanks to the English Conversation Group who helps locals to learn their second language, and the newly formed Neighborhood Watch Group.

• Increased Police patrols and overall presence thanks to the Town Meeting and a renewed dialog with Municipal and State police agencies.

• Improved community relations from a higher profile and presence of Amigos de La Cruz.

• Overall beneficence afforded by assistance, both monetary & personal to La Cruz residents in need of medical aid.

• Increasing community awareness of local and global environmental issues thanks to Summer School Programs.

• A website to stay informed about the community and get information about what's happening and where to eat in La Cruz (for the record, you don't need to be a member to have your restaurant listed or your establishment's entertainment schedule posted).

Let's take another look at this. Does any or all of this sound like it might be worth the equivalent of a 2 person dinner with drinks? How often do you do that? We just ask for it once, but we do all of these things all year. So, throw a donation or membership our way. It'll be your way of saying at least, "Thanks" and at best, "What can I do to help?"

Remember, as a donor you will receive "Amigo Perks" at a long list of restaurants, lodgings and businesses in La Cruz and Bucerias.