Amigos Thanks You for Giving Amigos de La Cruz
November 24, 2011

Elena and the Work For Food crew of 3 cleaned the entire culvert and all of calle Pina in one afternoon.

As high season settles in, it's time to once again focus on our important projects in order to maintain the momentum we were able to achieve during the long, hot summer months. There has been talk of Amigos losing focus with too many different projects, so let's put this rumor to bed for good. All of our projects have the same underlying theme: making La Cruz a better place for its' residents & visitors.

The core of Amigos projects remains street cleaning, litter control, trash maintenance and recycling. Amigos de La Cruz employs two workers who work year round picking up trash and litter on La Cruz streets. To augment this effort, Amigos has entered into a partnership with the PEACE organization in its' WORK FOR FOOD program.

Nine local women work two hour shifts in exchange for a "dispensa", a box of food staples and provisions. These women are organized by another local, Elena Munguia, who oversees their work and coordinates with Amigo Efren Lopez Rodriguez, the director of Amigos street cleaners. Going forward this crew will not only be cleaning and maintaining the streets, but the culvert in El Mangal as well. Additionally, they will be addressing the cleaning and maintenance of the trash bins and recycling containers. These efforts are ENTIRELY FUNDED by Amigos de La Cruz with the exception of Elena's compensation which is paid by PEACE.

To continue forward, we ask all of you for contributions towards these efforts. To date, we have received two anonymous donations via PayPal for the WORK FOR FOOD program which will pay for three weeks of dispensas/supplies. That leaves 49 weeks unaccounted for. Each week costs Amigos over 450 pesos. We also need contributions for 4 more recycling bins in order to do a production run. To donate please click HERE. You will see several options to direct your contribution; Trash Receptacles (each one costs us 260 pesos), Recycling Bins (cost of 500 pesos includes sign with your logo or message), Street Cleaning, Arroyo & Beach Clean Up and Work For Food. Please choose as you see fit to earmark your donation.

Amigo Jim Lennon has personally overseen graffiti elimination in La Cruz. He continues to stay on top of this to the point where we generally don't even notice graffiti in the village. IF you do see any, please contact us HERE  (select "Report Graffiti" in the subject box) so that we can get Jimmy on the trail…

Cleaning the arroyos and beaches is an ongoing effort for us as well and when possible we try to involve the students of La Cruz. While we have not finalized the date of our next effort, it will be soon and we will be sure to notify you here on the website as well as via email. These clean up events are always fun and productive, a great way to contribute a little sweat for the greater good, but they also come at a cost (garbage bags, gloves, rakes, snacks & drinks for the kids) so your donation for this can be done HERE  (select "Arroyo & Beach Clean Up" in the Donation box).

Speaking of the students of La Cruz, two more very worthy projects are in progress and also need your support in energy & time as well as financial. We have already received a reconditioned desktop computer for use in the elementary school and funds for the purchase of a new computer for the same. We would like to continue this program and it is only via our website and YOUR word of mouth that this happens. We encourage all incoming visitors and residents to please consider donating that soon-to-be-replaced computer to this worthy cause. You can contact Landon at landon5123@mac.com for details. Likewise, for those who can't drive a computer down, perhaps you can at least bring schools supplies and Spanish language children's books. These will be donated to the local schools and to the Biblioteca al Aire Libre. You may donate to these important projects HERE, select "Books & School Supplies" in the Donations box.

If you are a person whose actions speak louder than your wallet, you may want to volunteer to help us on one of the above projects. Lori Wilson, head of the Friendship Club, welcomes volunteers for her group to help oversee the aid to locals in need of medical assistance. She would be especially appreciative of an individual with good Spanish speaking skills.

Other projects that Amigos are working on are the efforts to secure a permanent location/building for a library and police station, efforts to repair & repave the streets of La Cruz and the Neighborhood Watch program which is in its initial stages and can use input from residents throughout town.

Again, our common theme is improving our village for the benefit of all. We invite you to join us in these efforts. For more information on any of these projects, please peruse our website, use the  “Contact Us”  selection in the menu bar, email us at: lacruzamigos@gmail.com, or contact editor Landon at landon5123@mac.com and we will help you find your niche in Amigos de La Cruz.

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