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 Vallarta Living | May 2007 
Play Time in Bucerias
 Sue Fornoff - PVNN
One year ago, several of the members of Beta Sigma Phi (an international service sorority) were having lunch at Karen's Place on the beach in Bucerias. They were talking about how nice it would be if the children at the Bucerias Special Needs School had a playground.
Each chapter of Beta Sigma Phi identifies a charitable organization to assist in their area, and the Special Needs School is the one selected by the Bucerias chapter.
Sitting at a nearby table were Mary and Jay Piazza of Geneva, Florida. They couldn't help overhearing the conversation and soon joined in the discussion of the lack of playground equipment for local kids.
It just happens that they run a business called Piazza, Inc, and are representatives for Big Toys, Inc. of Olympia, Washington, a manufacturer of playground equipment.
Mary promised that day to go home and look into the possibility of getting a discount or donation from Big Toys. The sorority members were delighted, of course, and crossed their fingers hoping for the best.
Despite some ongoing serious medical issues, Mary kept working on the project and was able to get Big Toys to agree to make a generous donation of a playground to the school. The women of the sorority with input from the Piazza's decided to purchase a few more items to round out the play equipment.
Next came the monumental task of figuring out how to get the equipment from Washington to Bucerias for the lowest possible price. Shipping costs, shipment consolidation, customs brokers, and customs fees all entered into the mix. It was a huge project to coordinate, but thanks to Guadalajara-based company PARC, SA CV, another manufacturer's rep for Big Toys, the problem was solved.
Mauricio Mendez de la Pena and Griselda Garcia Guzman of PARC stepped in and took charge. Part of the equipment came from Canada, and part from Washington. Garcia worked closely with the company's customs broker to get the shipments consolidated at the border for a huge savings in shipping costs.
Beta Sigma Phi held two major fund raisers in the last year, a Christmas bazaar in December and a pancake breakfast in March. All proceeds from the two were earmarked for the playground project. When it appeared that Beta Sigma Phi might come up a little short on funds and would have to scale back the project, Bubba and the Bottom Feeders came forward with an offer to help out.
Finally, costs were finalized, checks issued and the playground was on the way. After a successful border crossing, the truck arrived in Bucerias on May 17th. School was out of session for a long weekend and the students knew nothing of the surprise they had coming.
That Thursday, school employees, Beta Sigma Phi members and their husbands unloaded the many parts for the playground. On Saturday, May 19th, work began bright and early to assemble the structure. The Piazza's came especially for the installation and brought company Chief Playground Installer Jeff Huckelbery with them. Huckelbery donated his time for the project and the Piazza's bought his plane ticket.
In an effort similar to a parent's busiest Christmas Eve ever, the structure went from a stack of parts on the ground to a complete playground in about 6 hours. Huckelbery organized the group of Beta Sigma Phi members, husbands and even a teenaged son into a team of playground builders. With his instruction and cheerleading, not only did the structure get built, participants had a great time.
On Monday morning, May 21st, the Piazza's and members of Beta Sigma Phi anxiously awaited the arrival of the unsuspecting children.
With expressions of amazement on their faces, many of the kids quickly ran to the playground and started having a great time. Others were more cautious on their approach to the new centerpiece of the school yard. But before long, everyone, including some of the sorority members, was playing with the xylophone, sliding on the slide, crawling through the tunnel, or climbing on the ladders.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held that day. The Piazza's and Huckelbery were there from Piazza, Inc., Garcia and Mendez came from Guadalajara on behalf of PARC, school director Jesus Salvador Romero Rangel, and members of Beta Sigma Phi all joined the children for the special event. Mark and Jan or Mark's Restaurant in Bucerias donated a pizza lunch for everyone.
What started as a "wishful thought" one year ago was now a reality. The members of Beta Sigma Phi want to express their heartfelt thanks to all those who helped make this dream come true.
The Special Needs School, "Centro de Atencion Multiple #12" is located on Calle Rio Colorado in Bucerias. The school currently serves 36 students ages 5 through 20. |
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