Help the Local Firefighters- Friday Meat Raffle in Guayabitos
Tara A Spears
Three besties- Heather Robertson, Mary Busby, Mae Bottell Lavis- from a small town in Manitoba, Canada spend the winters in small town Mexico. Back home, the caring trio volunteer and raise money for various causes. Mae said, “We decided as long as we are here, why not help the community?” How the trio discovered a cause to support was accidental. They had brought five full sets of protective fire suits with helmets from Manitoba. They took the gear to the local station on the lateral in Guayabitos. The grateful staff gave them a tour. “Instantly we knew that our meat draw fundraising would become our 2019 cause,” said Mary.
This is the original list from the firemen and it’s a real eye opener:
Vehicle Needs: Top priority: ambulance and truck rehabilitation. Brake and Discs For trucks
Pre-Hospital Equipment: látex gloves, bandages, oximeters, glucometers, syringes
Training for staff: The firemen and EMTs should continually update their skills with training modules that the government offers. However, no subsidy is given so the dedicated staff has to reach in their own pockets to learn new techniques.
Mattresses for rooms of personnel: the fire fighters stay at the station to work 24 hours for 5 days a week. Look at the actual firehouse photos.
What really got my attention is that the firemen’s ‘wish list’ was so basic to being able to do their job- they weren’t asking for luxury items. Brakes!! I’m still reeling over that one…but fortunately for the Guayabitos protección cívil y bomberos that three Canadian Angels raised enough from the first meat draw to provide the new brakes. Now, with you and I attending the next meat draw this Friday, January 25, we can work on getting them an operational bathroom!
What the heck is a meat draw? I didn’t know myself. Mary explained, “The first time that we wanted to raise money to help a group, the three of us were trying to think of something different that people in our small town would be interested in.” They thought that everyone needs to eat, so why not raffle off packets of meat? Over the years this has been a simple but effective fundraising technique for the gals. Heather said, “We have helped schools, bike clubs, Rotary, individuals with a medical emergency, and now Mexican fire fighters.” It’s a raffle that has different packs of meat as the prize. In addition, the group provides the ever popular 50/50 raffle where the lucky winner splits the money collected for the tickets. I have friends that live to play 50/50 raffles! The ladies sell 3 meat draw tickets for $50 pesos.
If these three ladies are typical resident of Flin Flon, Manatoba, I want to visit there. Flin Flon is a small mining town of about 5,100 that averages 35 snow days each winter with a whopping 116 cm/ 45 inches of snow annually. This mining centre expanded with the development of several mines adding to its industrial base. With a scenic setting and a number of nearby lakes, Flin Flon has also become a moderately popular tourist destination. There certainly are lots of big hearted folks that hail from such a small place.
Come meet these fun and kind ladies at one of the meat draws. The Meat Draws are being held Friday afternoons 3:00, every 2 weeks until the end of March. The venue is the El Rincon de Jaltemba Steakhouse, south main street, Ave. Sol Nuevo in Guayabitos. (just before Decameron on the west /ocean side of the street.) All proceeds go to the Guayabitos All proceeds go to assist the protección cívil y bomberos rincon de guayabitos firemen and EMTs. See you there!
