A small crew of snowbirds has used a Flin Flon fundraising staple to help out the community in Mexico where they spend the winter.
The group of travellers, most of whom hail from Flin Flon and live in the community for at least part of the year, have used meat draws as a way to help community groups and causes in their adopted home.
It all takes place in a secluded seaside town about an hour away from Puerto Vallarta called Rincon de Guayabitos. The locals shorten it to just “Guayabitos,” but in reality, it might as well be called “Flin Flon South.”
Resident Mary Busby, who splits her time between Guayabitos and Flin Flon along with husband Buzz, says up to 70 Flin Flonners can be found in the town at any given time.
Busby described Guayabitos as “just a little town with a one-way main street, another street and then a beach.”
“It’s only maybe a couple of miles long and we all live in different hotels all along the street, but we get together often,” she said.
With such a large Flin Flon diaspora, it’s not unusual to see little touches of Flin Flon life in Guayabitos. Some residents keep Bomber memorabilia close at hand, while others wash down the sun with a cold Canadian beverages.
However, not everything in Guayabitos is as bright and sunny as the weather. There is poverty in paradise, with infrastructure and utilities usually funded by governments elsewhere being forgotten by local authorities. Schools are under-resourced, as are emergency personnel, who use an old ambulance van to transport anyone with medical issues.
“We hear that ambulance going three or four times a day and they have basically nothing. The government doesn’t help them here, or the schools, like they do in Canada,” said Busby.
“Their mattresses have got holes on them and they’ve stuffed chunks of towels in there so they can sleep on them,” she said of the local fire hall.
With that in mind, Busby and other Flin Flonners with experience in running meat draws, including Mae Lavis and Heather Robertson, took the idea of the south to raise money for local causes.
Every other Friday, Flin Flonners, other vacationers and curious locals come by and exchange their dollars and pesos for packages of breakfast bacon and eggs, chicken, burgers and pork chops, with the proceeds going toward local causes.
There were some raised eyebrows in the beginning, especially from locals.
“They had no idea. A few of the locals have come and watched how it’s done. They’re quite amazed – ‘What’s a meat draw?’” said Busby.
“We have English-speaking friends who come and help me with the meat. The people at the place where we do them speak English too, and they’re great for helping out.”
At first, the money would go to the local school. The buyers raised enough money – about CDN$5,200 – to build a cafeteria and lunch room at the school.
“In the school here, only the poor children get fed, and only if the school has food. We’re talking about maybe wrapping up some food once a week or so and giving it to them, but that’s out of our own pocket,” said Busby.
This year, the main target of the funds is the local fire department and ambulance service.
“Our main focus is getting the ambulance and the main fire truck running good, getting them blood pressure cuffs, Epi-pens, stuff like that. They’re very limited,” said Busby, adding that when they first approached the first responders with the idea, they were met with tears.
Charitable efforts for the local fire brigade have gone further than just meat draws. This winter, Hudbay donated five firefighting suits to the Guayabitos department after the urging of some part-time residents. Another vacationer brought some medical supplies for the responders.
“They were so humbled they almost started crying, just because we were doing it,” said Busby.
The fire hall and ambulance is likely to be the group’s main cause for some time.
“They need so much here with the fire hall,” Busby said. “We have been looking around, but until we find somebody else who really needs it, nobody else really helps the fire and ambulance. We might focus on them for a year or two until they get everything they need, then find something different.”
