28 replies to this topic

[lakesidevictimsfund]

You wanted to help and here is your chance. The Lakeside Victim’s Fund has been established to collect and distribute money to the families of the Lakeside victims who died in the May massacre.

Recognizing that the families are struggling not only with losing their loved ones in terrible circumstances but are also struggling with the cost of burials, possibly the loss of income from the deceased, and in many cases the need for psychological counseling which they cannot afford. The fund will collect donations for the next two weeks to be distributed to the recipients by well respected leaders of the Mexican community who have determined the individual family needs. 100% of monies donated will go to the families. The families know the money is a gift from the hearts of the foreign community

We are asking that if you belong to a church or organization that you volunteer to take up a collection when you gather. PM us with your name and organization if you can help out and do this. Place the money in an envelope and take it to either the office at LCS with The Lakeside Victims Fund written on the outside or to the American Legion and place it in the locked suggestion box in the bar. In San Juan Cosala go to Viva Mexico and find the decorated box set on a table in the center of the restaurant and deposit the envelopes there.

If you wish to donate individually, you can do so by doing the same as the directions for the organizations. A PayPal account will be posted for those who are out of town and wish to donate as soon as the account is available.

The Fund can be contacted by emailing lakesidevictimsfund@gmail.com

[Bisbee Gal]

Thanks for doing this, it sounds well thought out.

But, please change the font on your post; I could read it, but just barely.

[Lexie]

This is terrific. So glad this is underway and thank all of you involved in creating this collection.
Lexy.

[JayBearII]

Thanks very much to the people who set this up. We have wanted to help in some way, and we look forward to donating. We will encourage others to do so,

[lakesidevictimsfund]

But, please change the font on your post; I could read it, but just barely.

Sorry about that - I've changed it now!

[lakeside101]

glad to hear this has been set up. i'll be donating.

[ohjoni]

We ade out of town. Please be sure to post about Paypal (a few times) when the account is set up.

[JaneDoe]

What a wonderful idea - kudos to those who have set this up.

I am so glad to have this opportunity to show a gesture of sympathy and caring to these families!

[lakeheron]

I will be at Mikys across from Tobolandia tomorrow at 2:30 and can collect funds at that time.

[Catinmex]

I am also out of town, so will await the Paypal account..........so appreciate that this is being done. Thank you.

[thevalerieleigh]

Having just returned from a 4 week holiday, we missed the horrors but learned that two of our neighbors lost children, one grandson and one son.
Since we were away, we missed the opportunity to participate in the 9 nights of the Novena and to contribute by bringing food/drink/disposables, etc. as we have done in the past when a neighbor loses a loved one. We bought flowers and dropped by both homes to let them know how deeply saddened we are to learn of their losses. It seemed so little and we were both reduced to tears when looking at the pain in the face of the boy's mother. It seems so little, so late...
We will continue to try and help these families heal but it is hard to know what to do and if anything will help.
I appreciate the effort to provide some kind of financial assistance to these families who are suffering and in such pain. We will contribute.
Valerie

[CCC]

Thank you for organizing this. I am sharing it with my snowbird friends.

[lakesidevictimsfund]

Thank you to those who have responded to our request to pass the information on. The word is definitely gettng out.
Your care and generosity will help ease at least some of the pain these people are living with.
One man lost his 17 year old daughter and a son. There are other tragic stories.

[lakesidevictimsfund]

Hang in there. PayPal is coming.

[tomgates]

Three drop-off donations locations. LCS, American Legion and Viva Mexico restaurant.

[sambrit10]

While I think this is a great idea (I read an interview with the owner of Mario's, whose son died in tragedy, saying he didn't know how he was going to pay for the funeral), and I plan to contribute as soon as it goes up on Paypal (I'm in California right now, having just returned from Ajijic), I wonder if anyone has heard about this:

http://www.guardian....-crime-victims1


This is just one of many articles I've seen on the subject. It is a brand new law, just passed. It seems that helping the local (Chapala lakeside area) families get on the registry named in the article would be a worthwhile thing to do ... many of them may not even know about the fund. Since I'm not there I can only make the suggestion ... not sure how to get it started ... consult a lawyer? Maybe some of the funds from this collection could go to finding a lawyer who could make it happen.

Of course money doesn't bring back dead loved ones ... but if it could help the other kids in these families get educated, get better jobs, etc, maybe future tragedies could be avoided.

I'm curious, to the person who is managing the fund, how were you going to get the money to the families? Have they even identified all the victims yet?

[bournemouth]

Sambrit 10 - while the registry is a good idea, this is Mexico, and it will take a long time to get something like this up and running and to the stage where funds can be given out.

In answer to your question re: getting funds to the families, this paragraph from the original post may answer that question:

"Recognizing that the families are struggling not only with losing their loved ones in terrible circumstances but are also struggling with the cost of burials, possibly the loss of income from the deceased, and in many cases the need for psychological counseling which they cannot afford. The fund will collect donations for the next two weeks to be distributed to the recipients by well respected leaders of the Mexican community who have determined the individual family needs. 100% of monies donated will go to the families. The families know the money is a gift from the hearts of the foreign community"

[sambrit10]

Bournemouth, I see what you mean, and I do feel the condolence fund should proceed as planned. Also, thanks for the clarification that I obviously missed on my first read-through. As soon as Paypal comes up I'm there! This is a great idea.

I think the government compensation fund is worth keeping an eye on, though.

[lakesidevictimsfund]

Sambrit you have asked good questions. First, some of the families have just received some money towards burial.
The fund has members of the Mexican community as liasons to the families and is in the process of assessing needs. Two families will begin psychological counseling twice a week for an hour each time beginning tomorrow. The fund will pay for this.
We have three more families to talk to and then we will know where we are going with this and how much we can help.

One family lost an 18 year old son. Their 19 year old son was in his 4th semester of architecttural studies. The family was scraping by to send him. That has come to a screeching halt. We are working to find him a sponsor so he will have some sense of normalcy to be able to continue.

Each family has different needs and we will do what we can to fill them. Your generosity and that of the community can make it all happen. We are only the conduit. We will report to the community as things move forward.

[lakesidevictimsfund]

A very good person has stepped forward to sponsor the young man.