Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - Puerto Vallarta is full of fabulous opportunities to volunteer and make a difference. My favorite charity is Pasitos de Luz. Thanks go to so many of you who have donated auction items for events, donated clothes, donated time and/or donated money.

As summer approaches, many of our charities miss the influx of high season and can use extra help. Pasitos has begun a campaign - Miracles in Action - with a goal of getting 300 donors at $25 dollars per month. This money goes to therapy, nutrition, education, medicine (and more) for severely disabled kids in Puerto Vallarta. Please spread the word to help Pasitos reach their goal.

Tax deductible receipts are available for Canada or U.S. or, if you don't need a tax deductible receipts, you can donate through PayPal. Please see the Pasitos Campaign page for more information.

If you have questions, or want more information, you can contact Anne-Marie Haynes from Canadian Children's Shelter of Hope who facilitates Canadian tax deductibles; Arturo Ayala, the director of Pasitos at info(at)pasitosdeluz.org, Teena and Peter Oudman, whose dream was to build Casa Connor for Pasitos in memory of their grandson, at oudmanp(at)hotmail.com, or me, Barb Bremner, at condo211(at)yahoo.ca. Gracias!

Some history: In 1998, after learning from personal experience what it means to provide special care for a member of the family, and how hard it is to offer the treatments when there is no abundance of resources, Yolanda Sanchez founded Pasitos de Luz (Little steps of light) from a house that her family owned.

For eighteen years, her family has donated the use of the house to help disabled children, providing free services of Nutrition, Physical Rehabilitation, Special Education, and more, Yolanda herself has not taken any wages or benefits. During this time, the special needs kids she serves has grown to up to 120 children. This has been accomplished by alternating days between children.

Today, Pastios de Luz has outgrown the current premises and can no longer squeeze in any more children. Thanks to the generosity of a Mexican family, who donated land, and the many generous donors and volunteers, construction was started in September of 2011 to build Casa Connor, a new 22,000 square foot facility for Pasitos de Luz. Now completed, we are focusing on furnishing and operating costs.

Last year, through donations and the great dedication of staff and volunteers, Pasito de Luz operated at a cost per year, per child of $1,500 CDN or $1,125 USD or $18,000 Pesos, a very remarkable accomplishment. "Your generosity of a monthly donation can help us to meet our operating costs," says Director Yolanda Sánchez. Please consider putting a Miracle in Action today!