Families Helping Families

Dear Friends, Supporters and Volunteers of FHF Mexico, Inc.,

Christmas will be here soon and it is time to prepare for FHF’s annual house building project in Rocky Point, Mexico. This will be our 15th year!

Because Christmas is on Wednesday this year, the construction portion of the Christmas 2019 house building project in Rocky Point will begin on Thursday morning, December 26, 2019 and continue through Saturday, December 28, 2019.

We are working on the details for a Christmas Day afternoon service opportunity as well as a Family-to-Family event and our yearly Fiesta. We will let you know more about these events later.

If we utilize all of our tools, equipment and scaffolding, we have the capacity to build four (4) houses at the same time from December 26‑28. Many families have already contacted us to express interest in contributing financially and working on the project this year. In an effort to be fair to those that want to participate, we will accept volunteers that desire to participate in the order in which the financial contributions are received and volunteer worker commitments are made.

We have learned that the ideal number of people working on one house is 40-50 and that the cost to build one house is about $35,000-$40,000. Assuming that each group or family has an average of 5 workers, that would mean we would have approximately 10 groups or families on each house. Consequently, in order to raise enough money to construct one house, each group or family should donate $3,750 or $750 per person so that we will have enough money to completely finish each of the houses. We do not want to start work on a house if there is not enough money available to complete the entire house. Also, if one group or family has more than five workers, that group or family should increase its financial donation by $750 per volunteer worker so we don’t end up with a disproportionate number of volunteer workers and not enough money to complete the house.

Those volunteers that respond with a commitment for workers and send in their financial contributions will be added to this year’s list on a first come first served basis until we reach the maximum capacity. Please send your tax deductible donations, as soon as possible, by check made payable to “ FHF Mexico, Inc.” c/o Ralph Pew, 1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217, Mesa, Arizona, 85204. We prefer that you send an old fashioned check by mail because of the expense associated with credit card or PayPal donations.

After we have the completed list of volunteers for the project, we will send an email explaining details including information about lodging, meals, what to bring, and a detailed itinerary for the week. If you are planning on joining us and do not have a passport, please begin now to obtain one. Crossing the border back into the United States is much less complicated with a passport and the U.S Border Agents will expect you to have one.

Saludos,
Ralph and Jared

Dear Friends, Supporters and Volunteers of FHF Mexico, Inc.,

We are pleased to announce that because of the generosity and hard work of all of you as volunteers and financial supporters, FHF Mexico, Inc. and its predecessor non-profit entity have completed more than 80 houses, a community cafeteria, building for down syndrome boys to build piñatas, a dental clinic and a medical clinic in Rocky Point. Thank you “y muchimas gracias!”

Because Christmas is on Tuesday this year, our construction schedule will be different from years past. We know that some of you prefer to spend Christmas morning at home with your family and then drive to Rocky Point in the afternoon; however, as you can see from the following schedule, this year Christmas Day will be very busy for all of us in Rocky Point.

The Christmas 2018 house building project in Rocky Point will begin on Monday morning, December 24, 2018 and continue through Wednesday, December 26, 2018. Please plan on arriving in Rocky Point Saturday or Sunday, December 22rd or 23rd, so you can begin work on Monday morning, December 24th. We will be working with the folks that operate the San Rafael Community Center where we have already built a an outdoor cafeteria, a house for the teacher and a medical and dental clinic. In this area, we will be building two of our typical houses that will be reconfigured for K-3 classrooms.

On Christmas morning, we will finish all the blockwork on the classrooms/houses and, in the afternoon, we will prepare and participate in celebrating a Christmas program and feed approximately 400-500 people that live in the area of San Rafael.

Wednesday we will work on and finish the roof and interior framing for the classrooms, present a house that was built during last year’s project to a family and have our volunteer Fiesta at Las Palomas. This will be a very busy and active three days.

If enough volunteers are committed to donate funds and work on houses during this time frame, we can also begin and finish the shell of two additional houses in this area.

We have the capacity to utilize all of our tools, equipment and scaffolding to build four (4) houses at the same time from December 24‑26. Many families have already contacted us to express interest in contributing financially and working on the project this year. In an effort to be fair to those that want to participate, we will accept volunteers that desire to participate in the order in which the financial contributions are received and volunteer worker commitments are made.

We have learned that the ideal number of people working on one house is 40-50 and that the cost to build one house is about $35,000. Assuming that each family has an average of 5 workers, that would mean we would have approximately 10 families on each house. Consequently, in order to raise enough money to construct one house, each family should donate $3,500 so that we will have enough money to completely finish each of the houses. We do not want to start work on a house if there is not enough money available to complete the entire house. Also, if one family has more than five workers, that family should increase its financial donation by $750 per volunteer worker so we don’t end up with a disproportionate number of volunteer workers and not enough money to complete the house.

Our goal for this year is to have 180-200 committed volunteer workers and to raise $140,000. Many volunteers have wanted to do more to help FHF Mexico, Inc. in serving our Mexican friends and neighbors. This year we would ask you to make a more generous contribution than the amount outlined above so that we can purchase additional scaffolding, planks, power tools and other equipment so that we can stage and construct 5 or 6 houses at one time in the future. Any additional financial contribution you can make would be greatly appreciated. Please send your tax deductible donations, as soon as possible, by check made payable to “ FHF Mexico, Inc.” c/o Ralph Pew, 1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217, Mesa, Arizona, 85204. We prefer that you send an old fashioned check by mail because we are not equipped to process credit card or PayPal donations.

Those volunteers that respond with a commitment for workers and send in their financial contributions will be added to this year’s list on a first come first served basis until we reach the maximum capacity. We would love to include everyone that wants to participate, but as you can imagine, until we have enough money to buy more equipment (tools, mixers, scaffolding etc.), we can only manage four (4) houses at one time.

After we have the completed list of volunteers for the project, we will send an email explaining details including information about lodging, meals, what to bring, and a detailed itinerary for the week. If you are planning on joining us and do not have a passport, please begin now to obtain one. Crossing the border back into the United States is much less complicated with a passport and the U.S Border Agents will expect you to have one.

Saludos, Ralph

Dear Friends, Supporters and Volunteers of FHF Mexico, Inc.,

We are pleased to announce that because of the generosity and hard work of all of you as volunteers and financial supporters, FHF Mexico, Inc. and its predecessor non-profit entity have completed more than 70 houses, a community cafeteria, building for down syndrome boys to build piñatas, a dental clinic and a medical clinic in Rocky Point. Thank you “y muchimas gracias!”

December 26-28, 2017

The Christmas 2017 house building project in Rocky Point will begin on Tuesday, December 26, 2017 and continue through Thursday, December 28, 2017. We are planning a Christmas Day “Feed the Community” project. Please plan on arriving in Rocky Point Saturday or Sunday, December 23rd or 24th, so you can participate in this fabulous Christmas Day experience. We are working with the folks that operate the San Rafael Community Center where we built a cafeteria and this is a perfect place to stage this service project to feed and spend Christmas afternoon with hundreds of the wonderful people in the San Rafael area of Rocky Point. During the work week, we are also planning a “Family to Family” night when our American families can host a local Mexican family and begin to nurture international friendships.

Volunteers

We have the capacity to utilize all of our tools, equipment and scaffolding to build four (4) houses at the same time from December 26-28. Many families have already contacted us to express interest in contributing financially and working on the project this year. In an effort to be fair to those that want to participate, we will accept volunteers that desire to participate in the order in which the financial contributions are received and volunteer worker commitments are made.

We have learned that the ideal number of people working on one house is 40-50 and that the cost of land, utilities, materials and specialized construction labor after we leave for one house is about $35,000. Assuming that each family has an average of 5 workers, that would mean we would have approximately 10 families on each house. Consequently, in order to raise enough money to construct one house, each family should donate $3,500 so that we will have enough money to completely finish each of the houses. We do not want to start work on a house if there is not enough money available to complete the entire house. Also, if one family has more than five workers, that family should increase its financial donation by $750 per volunteer worker so we don’t end up with a disproportionate number of volunteer workers and not enough money to finish the house.

Our Goal

Our goal for this year is to have 180-200 committed volunteer workers and to raise $140,000. Many volunteers have wanted to do more to help FHF Mexico, Inc. in serving our Mexican friends and neighbors. This year we would ask you to make a more generous contribution than the amount outlined above because we have the opportunity to buy a larger parcel of land at a good price that will help us stay ahead of the housing demand and have lots to build on for next year. Any additional financial contribution you can make would be greatly appreciated. Please send your tax deductible donations, as soon as possible, by check made payable to “ FHF Mexico, Inc.” c/o Ralph Pew, 1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217, Mesa, Arizona, 85204. We prefer that you send an old fashioned check by mail because we are not equipped to process credit card or PayPal donations.

Those volunteers that respond with a commitment for workers and send in their financial contributions will be added to this year’s list on a first come first served basis until we reach the maximum capacity. We would love to include everyone that wants to participate, but as you can imagine, until we have enough money to buy more equipment (tools, mixers, scaffolding etc.), we can only manage four (4) houses at one time.

After we have the completed list of volunteers for the project, we will send an email explaining details including information about lodging, meals, what to bring, and an itinerary for the week. If you are planning on joining us and do not have a passport, please begin now to obtain one. Crossing the border back into the United States is much less complicated with a passport and the U.S Border Agents will expect you to have one.

Saludos, Ralph

Dear Friends, Supporters and Volunteers of FHF Mexico, Inc.,

We are pleased to announce that because of the generosity and hard work of all of you as volunteers and financial supporters, FHF Mexico, Inc. and its predecessor non-profit entity have completed 65 houses, a community cafeteria, building for down syndrome boys to build piñatas, a dental clinic and a medical clinic in Rocky Point. Thank you “y muchimas gracias!”

The Christmas 2016 house building project in Rocky Point will begin on Monday, December 26, 2016 and continue through Thursday, December 29, 2016. It is possible that we may plan a Christmas Day “Feed the Community” project. If that happens, we will let you know so you can be there on Christmas Day to be a part of this wonderful tradition. We are working with the folks that operate the San Rafael Community Center where we built a cafeteria and this would be a perfect place to stage this service project and feed hundreds of the wonderful people in the San Rafael area of Rocky Point. We have the capacity to utilize all of our tools, equipment and scaffolding to build four (4) houses at the same time during this week. Many families have already contacted us to express interest in contributing financially and working on the project this year. In an effort to be fair to those that want to participate, we will accept volunteers that desire to participate in the order in which the financial contributions are received and volunteer worker commitments are made.

We have learned that 40-50 is the ideal number of people working on one house and that the cost of land, utilities, materials and construction for one house is about $35,000. Assuming that each family has an average of 5 workers, that would mean we would have approximately 10 families on each house. Consequently, in order to raise enough money to construct one house, each family should donate $3,500 so that we will have enough money to completely finish each of the houses. We do not want to start work on a house if there is not enough money available to complete the entire house. Also, if one family has more than five workers, that family should increase its financial donation so we don’t end up with a disproportionate number of volunteer workers and not enough money to finish the house.

Our goal for this year is to have 180-200 committed volunteer workers and to raise $140,000. Please send your tax deductible donations, as soon as possible, by check made payable to “FHF Mexico, Inc.” c/o Ralph Pew, 1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217, Mesa, Arizona, 85204. We prefer that you send an old fashioned check by mail because we are not well equipped to process credit card or PayPal donations.

Those volunteers that respond with a commitment for workers and send in their financial contributions will be added to this year’s list on a first come first served basis until we reach the maximum capacity. We would love to include everyone that wants to participate, but as you can imagine, until we have enough money to buy more equipment (tools, mixers, scaffolding etc.), we can only manage four (4) houses at one time.

After we have the completed list of volunteers for the project, we will send an email explaining details including information about lodging, meals, what to bring, and an itinerary for the week. If you are planning on joining us and do not have a passport, please begin now to obtain one. Crossing the border back into the United States is much less complicated with a passport and the U.S. Border Agents will expect you to have one.

Saludos, Ralph

Dear Friends, Supporters and Volunteers of FHF Mexico, Inc.,

We are pleased to announce that because of the generosity and hard work of all of you as volunteers and financial supporters, FHF Mexico, Inc. and its predecessor non-profit entity have completed 65 houses, a community cafeteria, building for down syndrome boys to build piñatas, a dental clinic and a medical clinic in Rocky Point. Thank you “y muchimas gracias!”

The Christmas 2016 house building project in Rocky Point will begin on Monday, December 26, 2016 and continue through Thursday, December 29, 2016. It is possible that we may plan a Christmas Day “Feed the Community” project. If that happens, we will let you know so you can be there on Christmas Day to be a part of this wonderful tradition. We are working with the folks that operate the San Rafael Community Center where we built a cafeteria and this would be a perfect place to stage this service project and feed hundreds of the wonderful people in the San Rafael area of Rocky Point. We have the capacity to utilize all of our tools, equipment and scaffolding to build four (4) houses at the same time during this week. Many families have already contacted us to express interest in contributing financially and working on the project this year. In an effort to be fair to those that want to participate, we will accept volunteers that desire to participate in the order in which the financial contributions are received and volunteer worker commitments are made.

We have learned that 40-50 is the ideal number of people working on one house and that the cost of land, utilities, materials and construction for one house is about $35,000. Assuming that each family has an average of 5 workers, that would mean we would have approximately 10 families on each house. Consequently, in order to raise enough money to construct one house, each family should donate $3,500 so that we will have enough money to completely finish each of the houses. We do not want to start work on a house if there is not enough money available to complete the entire house. Also, if one family has more than five workers, that family should increase its financial donation so we don’t end up with a disproportionate number of volunteer workers and not enough money to finish the house.

Our goal for this year is to have 180-200 committed volunteer workers and to raise $140,000. Please send your tax deductible donations, as soon as possible, by check made payable to “ FHF Mexico, Inc.” c/o Ralph Pew, 1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217, Mesa, Arizona, 85204. We prefer that you send an old fashioned check by mail because we are not well equipped to process credit card or PayPal donations.

Those volunteers that respond with a commitment for workers and send in their financial contributions will be added to this year’s list on a first come first served basis until we reach the maximum capacity. We would love to include everyone that wants to participate, but as you can imagine, until we have enough money to buy more equipment (tools, mixers, scaffolding etc.), we can only manage four (4) houses at one time.

After we have the completed list of volunteers for the project, we will send an email explaining details including information about lodging, meals, what to bring, and an itinerary for the week. If you are planning on joining us and do not have a passport, please begin now to obtain one. Crossing the border back into the United States is much less complicated with a passport and the U.Ss Border Agents will expect you to have one.

Saludos, Ralph

Dear Volunteers,

We are pleased to inform you that we have finally figured out how to utilize Sign Up Genius for the five (5) different aspects of the project that need coordination. When you click on this link, there will be five (5) sign-up opportunities that you can utilize as you prepare for the trip and work on the project:

1. Christmas Day Dinner,
2. Making a House a Home,
3. Donations to the Children’s Shelter,
4. Tools for the Construction Projects, and
5. Carpool Coordination.

On each sign-up sheet, there is narrative briefly describing the purpose for each sign up. At the bottom of each of these pages, there is a “Created By” line with a “CONTACT” link at the end. If you have any questions about these sign up opportunities, please send us an e-mail through this “CONTACT” link.

Saludos cordiales y nos vemos pronto!

Ralph

All of our friends and supporters of the Families Helping Families Rocky Point Projects:

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support of the Families Helping Families project in Rocky Point, Mexico. We hope everyone is having a great year and are making preparations for Christmas in Mexico. We have been to Rocky Point recently evaluating needs and preparing for this year’s projects. As you might expect, the needs are great and there will be plenty of work to do.

Please mark your calendars accordingly for this year’s events:

December 24, 2014: Arrive in Rocky Point
December 25, 2014: All-Hands effort to prepare and serve Christmas Day Feast for needy families
December 26, 27, 29, 30, 2014: Work on houses (note Sunday off)
December 30, 2014: LifeVantage group arrives
December 31, 2014: LifeVantage construction project begins

As we have said each year, it is helpful for us in the planning to know how many people are coming with you and how much money you will donate. The amount of money donated and the total number of volunteers available will determine the scope of this year’s project. Please let us know by October 15, 2014, the answers to these two (2) questions:

1. How many working volunteers will be in your group?
2. How much money will your family/group donate?

On the topic of finances, we suggest a donation between $3,000 and $3,500 per family or $750 to $1,000 for individuals. Please keep in mind that it takes approximately $28,000 to acquire the land and build a house; we need all of the financial support possible. So that we can get an early start on foundation construction, we ask you to make your financial contribution prior to October 31, 2014. You can do so by sending a check payable to:

FHF Mexico, Inc.
c/o Ralph Pew
1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217
Mesa, AZ 85204

After we receive your responses and financial commitments, we will be back in touch with you about details regarding safety, accommodations, tools, passports, releases and answers to frequently asked questions. Please recognize that in order to properly plan the logistics, staging, and workload for our volunteers, we will accommodate/assign those desiring to participate based on the order in which we receive your labor commitment and financial contribution.

Saludos! Ralph

To All Friends and Volunteers

Thanks to many of you, the 2013 Christmas house building project is well under way. Jared and I have authorized construction work to begin on the foundations for two houses and we are going to Rocky Point next weekend to make final arrangements and purchase materials. We have decided on one of the recipient families and are still considering others. We will let you know more about that later.

DATES

Wednesday, December 25, 2013: Christmas Day “Feed the Families” project
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – December 26, 27, 28, 2013: House building work project
Monday, December 30, 2013: Finish work on houses, if necessary

FUNDRAISING

As of today, we have received commitments for approximately $35,000 in donations and 70 workers. Based on this contribution amount and having confidence that the rest of you will make your contributions soon, we have committed to building two (2) houses this year. This means we need to raise at least $20,000 more within the next couple of weeks. If you haven’t already done so, please send your contribution check to “FHF MEXICO, INC.” and mail it in care of Ralph Pew, 1744 South Val Vista Drive, Suite 217, Mesa, AZ 85204. If more money is donated and more workers volunteer, we have enough capacity to do three (3) houses so there is plenty of room for all who want to help.

THIS YEAR’S CHRISTMAS PROJECTS

Each year volunteers ask us what they can bring or what else they can do to help while we are all in Mexico. This year we have two very special Christmas Projects that we hope to complete while we are all in Mexico.

1. CHRISTMAS HOUSE

We will deliver one of the houses that is now completed to a family during one of the afternoons of the work project. This family and the house need everything except clothes. In the next few weeks, we will send a link with a sign-up sheet so you can review the list and designate what you will bring or buy in Mexico to contribute to make the “house” a “home.” This is always a great opportunity to experience the happiness and joy that comes to a recipient family.

2. CHRISTMAS DINNER FOR ROCKY POINT FAMILIES

For those that will be in Puerto Peñasco on Christmas Day, we are organizing a street cookout for the people that live in makeshift shacks in remote parts of Rocky Point. Please let us know if you will be there and would be willing to participate. Please respond to this e-mail to let us know if you will be available for the Christmas Day “Feeding the Families” project. This effort to feed hundreds of people in the community on Christmas Day is a favorite event for those that have participated in the past and a great way to really experience Christmas.

Because the Mexican government and border agents have now made it more difficult to bring certain food products (especially meat) into the country, we are organizing this effort by focusing on a meal we can prepare from food purchased in Mexico. After we have an accurate count of how many of you will be in Rocky Point on Christmas Day and want to participate, we will send a list of assigned food items, quantities and when/where we will organize for this wonderful event.

Click Here For Participation Details

This is just a small video of the work Families Helping Families is doing in Mexico:

We would love to share with you an amazing DVD that Scott Mecham,  put together following this last Christmas in Puerto Penasco. For a $10 donation (and feel free to give more), we will send you a DVD that helps explains the mission, the purpose and the fun that families are having,  helping families in Mexico. We are asking for donations to help finish the 4 houses that were started in December 2008, and are almost finished. We would like the families who have qualified to be able to move in this summer, and we are really close.

Early in 2010 Michael Wells, a dentist from Tooele, Ut, contacted us at Families Helping Families and asked us if we would be interested in taking a small group of high school and Jr. high school students from the Tooele Rotary interact club to Mexico to build a house. Michael’s sister and her family had worked on the Christmas houses the year before. After some discussion, June of 2010 was picked for the first FHF/Rotary interactors trip. Plans were made and all the arrangements were in place. Two days before departure Michael was hospitalized with a serious infection in his hip. Michael and his wife, Karlene, were unable go, but somehow this small group of interactors along with some members of the Jared Parker family and a group of Lauren Parkers friends were able to build a little two bedroom house for Franciso Michiua and his three beautiful children. It was an unusual and memorable experience for all. This small trip started a most wonderful partnership with FHF and Utah Rotary Intenational.

The interactors returned home so excited and energized that, the next year under the direction of a healthy Michael Wells, we were joined by interactors from all over the state of Utah. In 2011, with the help of many volunteers, 65 interactors and 25 leaders raised the money for and built a beautiful 3 bedroom house for the Morales family. Brad Barber, of Brigham City, Utah, assisted in renting a bus for the transportation of the young people to and from Puerto Peñasco Mexico. His Spanish was especially helpful in getting all the volunteers across the boarder.

Having learned much from the two previous years, the 2012 FHF/ Rotary interactors trip was a spectacular effort with a remarkable out come. The 200 youth volunteers, 4 buses, and 50 leaders, combined their efforts to build three beautiful homes, and visited many schools. The volunteers brought with them 3,000 pounds of books for the school libraries, and many shoes for a new safe house for children.

The 2013 rotary trip from June 9th to the 17th promises to be equally exciting. 100 youth on two busse will once again visit schools and contruct a house for a family in need. This year the volunteers will once again visit and give service to elementary schools. They will also participate in furnishing one of the homes that they stated last year and will present it to a wonderful family.