We all know summer is a slow time in San Felipe.  The heat and the humidity bring all the non-essentials of life to a screeching halt. The bulk of us flee to the north and cooler temps.  However, not all of the residents of San Felipe have that option.  Some must struggle through the rising temps and breathtaking humidity.  Many also face fewer opportunities for employment as the need for their services drop due the the migration north as businesses shorten their hours to compensate for the rising cost of electric and drop in customers.  The work of the ladies at the food bank doesn’t slack off though.  In fact, each week more families, seniors and disabled come to our doors looking for assistance.  We don’t offer much, a bag of beans, flour, rice, nutritional supplements and diapers for the children and elderly, help with medical prescriptions that aren’t cover by insurance.  All this adds up to higher expenses for Volunteers Without Limits at the same time that our sales in the thrift shop drop off to nearly nothing and most of our regular donors have left the city for the summer.

So what do we do?  

We hate asking for money.  We know everyone is facing harder times and the economy is in the pits.  We know that everyone has family members that need help and that their incomes are lower and expenses higher.  We know that there are a multitude of worthy causes all seeking assistance and that no one can afford to help them all. Yet, we also faced with the fact that our current bank balance is not sufficient to buy food much less meet the emergency requests that will come to us in the next three months.  Our expenditures amount to $1200-$1500 each month.  We have just enough to carry us through July.  Without your help we will not have food to give out or gas for the deliveries to the elderly in August and September.

So I must ask.  If at all possible, Please click on the Paypal button on our website and help us continue on with this work.  You can choose to make a one time donation or subscribe to make a monthly donation.  You don’t need a Paypal account to do this and you can use a credit card safely and securely to help.  

Thank you for taking the time to read all the way through this article.  May the Lord bless you for your generous spirt if you are already helping, are going to help and even more so if you are unable to help at this time.  

RIP Roberto.
Last winter Roberto came down with pneumonia surely aggravated by the severe cold and lack of heat in his humble shelter. He did not survive his battle. Many others will suffer the unbearable heat this summer in similar structures in San Felipe.

Quoted from FROMTHEDECK.NET

Our beliefs are guided by the Bible so we took the words “feed the hungry”, “see to the widows and orphans” to heart and in doing so became “facilitators” of Volunteers Without Limits. We didn’t start it or nor are we officially part of the the organization. We are just helpers. We help with some of the food delivery, shopping and picking up donations. Sometimes we help with fund-raising events. But the heart of the organization is the Director, Paty Orozco. She is the one who oversees the distribution. She also screens all applications and visits the homes of the clients. Paty came to the food bank one day in the early days and offered to work as volunteer and run the thrift store if in exchange she could set up a space to help the parents of children with severe disabilities by teaching them about resources available for their children’s care. She also petitioned to get help supplying nutritional supplements and disposable diapers for these children.

When the founders of the original food needed to leave town due to health reasons, Paty jumped in and formed a new non-profit association under the name of Voluntarios sin Limites which means Volunteers Withou Limits. She picked this name with the forward thinking that someday the work may expand to help more than the hungry and disabled children. Now three years later that dream is growing and VSL is supporting the efforts of the drug rehab facility by promoting the sale of their crafts. We are also reaching out help people of all ages who face major medical needs. Last month VSL help an eleven year old boy (who is being raised by his older brother) get an MRI and CAT scan that determined he had tumor on his spine and we are purchasing the necessary corset for him to wear following his surgery. Paty has also lobbied for and obtained additional help from other agencies to fund renting the traction apparatus he will need in the hospital following surgery. Interest grew and before we knew a musical event was created by Martin and some of the local musicians which raise money to help the family with the rest of their portion of the medical expenses. The last word was that Eli had gone to Mexicali for his surgery but it had been rescheduled for the 28^th o f May. In the meantime, Eli has been given a walker to help him get around safely.

READ MORE  about Susan and Chuck HERE….

Update on Eli from Terry Van Arsdale (October 2013):

…..the jam was a winner. More than enough money was earned and a good time was had by all.  The surgery was eventually successfully completed and Eli is doing very well.

Eli is eleven years old and in the 5th level of school. His lessons include Spanish, math, world history – his favorite – and geography. He is studying English five days a week. He considers school “a piece of cake”.

He is playing basketball and traveling about town on his bicycle.

He and his brother are living in a nice house near the Malecon that has been provided by a generous Canadian named Jessica Ireland.

An added bonus to the fund raiser was that the musical group “VADOS LOCOS” reconnected and are enjoying large crowds at the many functions they have been playing.

It’s going to be a long hot summer and the pantry shelves get mighty bare when all of our friends fly north.   Please join us for this one last fundraiser at the end of the season as we celebrate your generosity with ice cream treats.  Put a smile on a child’s face and bring them along.

There will be no silent auction but there will be a 50/50 raffle so you could go home with some cash.