A contented crowd of 160 party-goers attended the Enchanted Evening gala held September 30 as a benefit for the Poco a Poco San Pedro Izticán project.
The sell-out event was hosted by Alfredo and Carmen Bentivoglio in their elegant Chula Vista Norte residence. A huge team of volunteers assisted in the complex arrangements for ticket sales, transportation logistics, guest seating, bar service, a silent auction and the live auction of a progressive Argentine BBQ feast for eight.
Young members of the San Pedro Brigadista rescue squad pitched in as party helpers while students enrolled in the Gastronomy program at Chapala Technological Institute assisted as food servers for the tapas-style dinner menu catered by Chef David Abarka. A dapper Frank Ewer acted as MC, introducing the host couple, Poco a Poco President Jim Shelton and his tireless activist spouse Myrian Mendez, Brigadista leader Anita Torres Guerrero and event coordinator Kari Higgins.
Poco a Poco champions community programs and activities in San Pedro Itzicán and neighboring indigenous villages located along the rugged north shore east of Mezcala. The inhabitants of these isolated villages face serious social issues stemming from the limited availability of health, education and transportation services, scarce work opportunities and environmental deterioration that engender poverty, poor nutrition and chronic diseases.
Operating under the wing of the registered non-profit organization Deporte y Desarrollo para Crecer, Poco a Poco is dedicated to fostering self-sufficiency for greater quality of life among the people living in San Pedro Itzicán, La Peña, Agua Caliente, Chalpicote, La Cuesta, Zapotera, and Santa Maria de la Joya. These backwater hamlets are home to around 12,000 native dwellers, where minors outnumber adults by two to one.
Projects tied together under the motto “a hand up – not a hand out” encompass diverse health care, agricultural and small business initiatives, training and learning opportunities, and community services such as monthly trash clean-up campaigns. To meet goal challenges, Poco a Poco has developed strong partnerships with the Jalisco Civil Protection and Firefighters Brigade Association, local and international Rotary clubs, a wide spectrum of volunteer health care professionals and a growing circle of Mexican and expatriate supporters.
Find out more about this worthy cause at www.pocoapocosanpedro.com and the group’s Facebook page.