The Niños de Chapala y Ajijic (NCA) scholarship program recently held its first “Paint the Lake Green” fundraiser at the former Hacienda del Lago, now the spectacular home of Doug Huffines.
Huffines generously offered to host this event free of charge. He also donated a private dinner for ten, catered by chef Andrew Robertson, which was raffled off, raising over 10,000 pesos.
Attendees enjoyed a delicious meal of mesquite smoked brisket, sausage and ribs, all smoked on site by Texas Ranger Juan Mata, who donated the meat. Also on the menu were cheesy potatoes and coleslaw donated and prepared by Nancy Allan. Dessert consisted of smoked apple pie and ice cream, again prepared and donated by Mata.
Guests also enjoyed a cash bar selection of soft drinks, beer, wine, piña coladas, very green margaritas and mixed drinks. NCA President Doug Friend donated the bar to the event.
Dave Roberts and Pam Lamb fired up their karaoke machine, and the guests kept the party going until 8 p.m. with great songs and lots of fun.
After the meal, Friend and his brother Bill (visiting from Montreal) gave a brief speech about their father, William “Big Bill” Friend, the NCA president for many years who passed away in October 2017. Through his leadership, NCA was transformed from a struggling charity to one that is thriving today.
NCA would like to thank all the above donors, the board of directors and the volunteers who sold drink tickets and ran the bar service, as well as the guests for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and supporting this great charity.
The event raised close to 50,000 pesos for NCA. “We will definitely do this again next year,” said Doug Friend.
Visit NCA.org.mx to learn more about this successful scholarship program.