The IFC provides: Community Aid Services, Medical assistance; Educational assistance; Food to families, as well as gifts to other Charitable Institutions.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Our mission is to bring a smile to life, to give hope and a better situation to a child or the entire family. We connect those who need, with those who have. Most of our donors do not wish to visit the families; they are content just to contribute. We appreciate all who enable us to REACH OUT.
IFC Physical Donation Suggestions can be found on our Wish List. Desperately needed items are at the top of the list and change often.
Other places our Community Aid Services provides help is to the patients of the Regional Hospital and the Juvenile Reform facility with supplies of soap and shampoo. You can donate any unused products from your hotel to our office for redistribution to the needy.
Dental Hygiene Aid - Whether it is to the children in the cleft palate program, kids groups or to families in need, we provide dental hygiene education, booklets for toddlers on dental hygiene, also toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Monthly stipends are being granted to the following:
SANTA BARBARA REHABILITATION CLINIC - We provide financial assistance to this clinic for the physically disabled.
SALVATION ARMY - We provide funding for their “After School Program” where children are assisted with schoolwork, kept occupied with crafts and given a nutritious snack. They also rescue children from the street, and offer counseling for families vulnerable to substance/drug addiction and child abuse.
IFC RICE AND BEANS PROGRAM - Provide funding for a “Rice and Beans” program that distributes food to families whose children attend school on a regular basis.
R.I.S.E. – Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (Children's Shelter of Hope). We provide funds to help them with their needs for the handicapped and orphaned children in the community.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Through our volunteers, we have an ongoing school assistance program, which improves schools in challenged areas around Puerto Vallarta by building kitchens, screening windows and putting bars on windows for security.
Donated supplies and books in Spanish are also distributed to schools in need.
Large items such as desks, blackboards, and special education equipment are also provided when the budget allows.
SCHOOL SUPPLY AID - School begins at the height of the low tourist season when families are financially strapped the most. Primary grades K through 5 are tuition free, but uniforms, shoes, backpacks and mandatory classroom supplies are not free. Without these they cannot attend school, thus becoming street kids. While not all children in need end this way, it is all too frequent for a child to be unable to attend regular classes. They fall behind in their grade level making it easier for everyone to say “no need” to junior high or high school that is not mandatory or free! Backpacks and colored pencils are the most needed.
Additionally, we support:
BECAS - The IFC provides this institution with additional funding for their Scholarship Program. Their objective is to assist deserving students with bursaries for their continuing education.
LOS MANGOS LIBRARY - We provide funds on a monthly basis to the library to help maintain staff and services that would otherwise be cut.
MEDICAL PROGRAMS
Since 1987 the IFC has funded a Cleft Palate Program, a worthwhile and rewarding program. It remains committed to continuing this program in association with Dr. Ezequiel Fuentes and his surgical team from Guadalajara, for as long as the need exists.
Over forty children annually benefit from reconstructive surgery, which is followed up by orthodontia and speech therapy. The whole process can take up to fifteen years to complete. Dr. Fuentes’s Team of Surgeons, who volunteer their time and skills, are instrumental in creating new faces for the children.
We genuinely appreciate the time, skill and generosity offered by Dr. Fuentes, the Surgical Team and local hospitals who donate the use of surgery and recovery rooms. Without these donations this much-needed program could not exist. Your donations are needed to pay for medications, surgical and dental supplies, and transportation when needed.
In addition to Cleft Palate surgeries, the IFC and our medical teams are involved in reconstructive surgery for birth defects like webbed fingers and toes, missing and disfigured noses and ears, etc. Recently, we took on the case of a 6 year old child with third degree burns of the mouth and chest.
Through our Patricino program, we help families with medical situations. Recently, we helped a man regain his eyesight after he was blinded by glaucoma. The man now can work and support this family.
The IFC needs your donation to support overall peration of the club, You can make a donation to the General Fund to help us continue with the above programs, and more.
- DONATE to the IFC General Fund - Please click the DONATE button below. Donations can be made through PayPal using your paypal account or with a regular credit card.
NOTE: Your donation is in Mexican pesos. Paypal will convert to your currency based on current exchange rates.
