News & Photos

  
 
 

12/29/08 Tribute from the Bleyl Family in Memory of Tyler Bleyl Below is a message from our founder Nancy detailing her recent trip to La Casa Hogar del Esperanza (The House of Hope orphanage) The Bleyl family has setup a memorial website for their son Tyler Bleyl. We encourage our supporters to take a moment to visit the site and keep the Bleyl family in their thoughts.                          www.TylerBleyl.com

We went to La Casa Hogar del Esperanza with the Bleyl Family yesterday...Tracy, Rob, Taylor (16), Madison(14), Kennedy (8) and Carter (5). We had a wonderful time with the children. They received the Christmas gifts we brought and were very happy to meet this new family. It was a bittersweet moment for us all. Tracy explained to us how the previous year, she and Rob had brought their daughter, Taylor and their son, Tyler (17) to visit the children's orphanage in Merida. She told me that he loved working with the kids and wanted to return again to help. Unfortunately, he passed away this year and the family wanted to continue to help the children in Mexico in his memory. The Bleyl Family has donated $1000usd to be used to help with the needs of the children and to improve the living conditions in the house they live in (paint, curtains, etc). We think we have made life-long friends with this family. The kids were so happy to hand out the toys to the Mexican kids and we hope, when they return in June, we can celebrate our new friendships by taking all the kids from the orphanage out for a special day! We're so sorry for Tracy and Rob's loss but we're sure that Tyler is watching and sees how many things will be accomplished in his memory.

12/23/08 New Playa Del Carmen Dropoff!  The Tropical CasaBlanca Hotel in Playa del Carmen has joined Give a Toy Get a Smile and offered to be a drop-off site for donations for the less fortunate kids around the area. Their address is:
Tropical Casablanca Hotel
Avenida 1, Calle 10 y 12
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 77710
They expect get a huge surge of people from the 25th til after the 1st and will be collecting toys from their guests for that period of time- We are very pleased to add them to our drop off sites!

12/23/08 Distribution Details from our founder Nancy!

We visited the Little Yellow School House in Isla Mujeres on December 10th and enjoyed a traditional Christmas celebration. First, we went from house to house and the children sang for the people in the houses. They were given candy for their songs. Next, some tourists visiting Isla volunteered to play the guitar and sing some Christmas Carols. That was a lot of fun and happy to know some of the songs (cause they were in English!!) We played some games and finally, Santa showed up with a big black bag full of presents for the children! It was such a happy moment for the children and adults. The smiles on the children's faces were priceless! As each of the kids took their presents and pulled apart the wrapping paper, you could see the excitement on the faces of the kids....and the happiness in the eyes of their parents. It was truly a moving experience!

 

This past Thursday, the 18th of December, we had the pleasure of donating the toys to the school for "Exceptional Children". They had a big Christmas party and we were lucky enough to have a wonderful young man volunteer to be Santa for us. He was terrific. He made a grand entrance, carrying BAGS of TOYS, and ringing his ball. You can see by the pictures how warm and loving he was. He spoke to and hugged each of the children and HO HO HO'd for all of us. I got many thank you's, not only from the kids but from the mom's, dad's and even the grandmas and grandpas! It was heartwarming!

 

We have the orphanage in Bonfil this week and a little family we adopted, and Christmas Day at the Hospital General. We'll be busily collecting our smiles. We started this drive to provide children with a little bit of happiness during the holidays, that might otherwise be difficult in their family situations. We are lighting up the Yucatan with SMILES!

12/21/08 Toys Are Going Out! Nancy Claus is hard at work making lots of smiles around the Cancun area. We're updating our PhotoBucket Album with the new pictures as soon as they come in. Meanwhile, Nancy will provide us with the details of the distributions when she stops to breathe. We would also like to thank The Province and Canada.com for supporting us with a story in their publications. Hopefully some new supporters will read it before they head down for Christmas & New Years and will be able to help out the kids while they're here!

11/25/08 Some Pass Due Details! Below are some details from our activities earlier this year.

To start is a wonderful write-up that RLouisa posted on TA regarding their trip to distribute shoes and toys to a small village near Cancun;

To all who come to Cancun know what the beautiful people of Mexico give to your every trip, the smiles the kindness and the genuine generosity of what they do in their daily jobs to bring you and everyone else a great vacation.
My family had the ability to give back to these people and it was incredible. After we met up with Nancy, "Head Kid in Charge of Give a Toy, Get a Smile", we headed out into the jungle to distribute shoes and toys to a small village of people. When we started driving up, all of a sudden there seem to be children that came out of the trees to come and see us, each with such anticipation and wonderment in their eyes. Their simple lifestyles gave way to these "strangers" that wanted to bring joy to their face. The elder woman came with the children and helped calm the excitement and hysteria of the unknown that was here. "Grandma" as we came to know her, practically ran to us and gave us kisses and hugs. The kindness and thankfulness in her eyes will stay with me forever. It was almost as if she was the kid receiving something also.
As the trunk was being opened, the children loved what they saw. Almost all the children came out barefoot, but left with a new pair of shoes or sandals. They loved their "beautiful" shoes, they exclaimed. Seeing the joy on their face was something that everyone who comes to Cancun needs to experience. It was a joy of receiving something, even though it wasn't expected. Their was no entitlements asked for, no strings attached, just the love and thanks of their smiles and tears in getting these simple gifts.
At last I had to stand back and take in the whole situation. The joy on each and every kids face, the thankfulness on their parents grins were all the thanks this person needed. I just hope more people are able to see this same joy as I do.
If you want pictures or help about the organization please feel free to contact me. It is a worthwhile cause.
                                                                                                Rlouisa

Here our founder Nancy tells us about her trips to the General Hospital in October and some of her distributions of blankets and toys in November;

I went to the Hospital General for a visit with the kids with a teacher from Canada. We found out that they had a Cleft Lip and Palate Repair for 70 children over 2 days. We visited with the kids and, in some instances, gave stuffed animals to the moms waiting for their children while they were in surgery. We came in and found the children lying in bed, nothing to do, blank stares and bored moms. At least, we give them something to talk about! They never expect to see an American, going through the halls and room, giving out stuffed animals. The look on their faces was priceless! We even had the doctors playing with the little hand puppets! By the time we left, the children were sitting up in bed, SMILING, mom's were SMILING, the staff was SMILING...our job was done! 

On November 9th, Marta Dwyer, an avid supporter of Give A Toy, was visiting Cancun and helped me to distribute the blankets that were donated to the children in the Casa del Esperanza. Members of Trip Advisor had donated money's back in April because the children's blankets were 10 years old and VERY WORN! We got 18 Princess, Cars and Galaxy blankets and each kid got a new one. The company that we bought the blankets from donated 12 more!!! We have 12 more blankets to distribute for the holidays! We have another VERY POOR orphanage run by this wonderful man Angel (yup, he is!). He takes care of these 6 children, alone, with the help of 3 nuns. All of the children have emotional, and in some cases, medical handicaps. 6 of the blankets will be going to these children as well.

 

We have several appointments to give out toys to the kids in the local schools and have lots more after that. Please keep watching to see all of the events we have giving the children their toys! And our payback is simple...SMILES!!!

 

11/15/08 Photo Gallery Update! We've updated our PhotoBucket Album with lots of pictures from the last few weeks. Including the distribution of blankets to the La Casa del Esperanza (the House of Hope) as well as pictures of several children who took part in cleft pallet clinic at the Cancun General Hospital. More details coming soon...

As an added bonus Nancy has scanned several of the Thank You letters that are being mailed to the supporters of the Blanket Drive earlier this year. Click Here to download the scans. (PDF File)

 11/12/08 Thanks to The Hard Rock Cafe Cancun for their Support!

Give A Toy Get A Smile is so proud to be working with the Hard Rock Cafe. located in the Forum By the Sea Shopping Plaza. When you bring a toy for one of our children for Christmas, you will be greeted with open arms by the wonderful staff of young men and women. On behalf of Give A Toy Get A Smile and Hard Rock Cafe...We wish you a Happy Holiday Season!

 

11/4/08 Things are coming together! Below is a message from our founder Nancy.

Slowly, things are starting to come together for the Christmas Holidays. We have collected (lots of) toys and toys and money donations are still coming in. It's going to be a very joyous and exciting Christmas!

 

I am looking forward to NurseinLA coming to Cancun this week. We are going to go to the Casa del Esperanza in Bonfil to give out the blankets we bought for the children. For those that helped out by donating a blanket, I will be sending out THANKS YOU's from the children. I am sure they will be thrilled to receive these blankets. It is starting to get cooler in Cancun now, so they couldn't come soon enough!

 

We have a number of places we will be donating toys to:
2 schools for children with severe emotional, physical and mental handicaps
2 orphanages (Bonfil and La Casita)
The Little Yellow Schoolhouse in Isla Mujeres
The children of "Learning to Live with AIDS-HIV"
The children in Hospital General
The children located in the jungle
We are sure to get a lot of smiles with all the beautiful toys we have for the children! 

 

I am also very proud to announce that the November/December issue of Home and Away Magazine, put out by the AAA has listed Give A Toy Get A Smile this month. Go to their website www.homeandawaymagazine.com and write Cancun in the search and you will see Cancun Christmas Cheer. Thank you Home and Away Magazine for supporting and promoting this drive!

10/22/08 Christmas is fast approaching! 2008 is flying by and we're almost ready to start handing out Christmas and Three Kings Day presents to the less fortunate kids around the area. Thanks to all of our wonderful and generous supporters, 2008 is set to be yet another record year for us and we still have over two months to collect more toys for the kids! Be sure to check back frequently, as we will be updating the site more and more as we get closer to Christmas and we will also be sure to take lots of pictures for our Photobucket album so everyone can share in the smiles! So tell your neighbors, tell your friends, and scream from the rooftops!                           Give A Toy Get A Smile!

9/15/08 Backpack and school supplies distribution details! After some delay Nancy has found the time to write up a brief description of some of her most recent distributions of the school supplies and backpacks that we have collected. Below, the words of our founder Nancy;

On September 1, Andy and I loaded up our pick-up truck and off we went into the jungle. We saw that many children already had backpacks to go to school with but we found this little village of many children just after the bridge after Valladolid Nuevo. What a bunch of nice people! I spent 10 minutes trying to explain why we were there and then a man came up to me and said, "Seņora, ellos hablan PURO MAYA"! They only speak Mayan....okay! Between my friend, (the comedian, he thought it was so funny that I was trying to explain in Spanish....and my Spanish is BAD enough!) and a lot of sign language,  I was able to convey my point. We gave out backpacks and school supplies to all the children in the village.  

We then headed towards Chiquila. We saw a bunch of kids and we finished giving out the rest of the backpacks. We had one little boy...I'll never forget him. He saw us leaving, and he didn’t' get his backpack. He jumped on his bicycle and rode past us and cut us off and stopped...FRED FLINTSTONE STYLE, and with NO SHOES! OUCH! He came over to the car and said "Me regalo una muchilla por favor?" (Can you please give me a backpack?). We did and happily, he jumped back on his bike and rode off! 

It was a great experience and after seeing the kids in our little village, we realized the dire need for shoes....NOT REGULAR SHOES! THEY LIKE FLIP-FLOPS! Flip-flops with Princesses on them or Spiderman or pretty jewelry...they LOVED IT!  

We had the pleasure of taking Ryan and Sonia Louisa (RLouisa on TripAdvisor) and their boys to the village the following Friday. They got to see, first-hand, how we do our distribution. We all had a great time, trying on shoes and giving out small toys. One Granny came over to me, gave me a big hug and kissed my cheek and said "Gracias". She then went to Sonia and Ryan, hugged them, kissed them both on the cheek and said " Gracias". Then she went over to Andy, and to EVERYONE'S SURPRISE, she hugged him and PLANTED A BIG KISS on his lips. We almost fell over! But she really wanted to show her gratitude!  

We had a wonderful afternoon with the Louisa Family and we were excited for them to see the families we meet. Ryan mentioned that he noticed that, not only do we have smiles from the kids, but that all the adults are smiling too! We had a great day and made lots of smiles!

9/2/08 Backpack and school supplies are going out! The distribution of backpacks and school supplies to the kids who need them is underway. Be sure to check our Photobucket Album for all of the latest pictures. 

8/13/08 Large Bag Donation! We have received a donation of 187 assorted school bags from Sr. Jorge Resendis Gomez of Mexico City just in time for our back to school distributions! We cant wait to start handing them out to the kids who need them most packed with school supplies so they can get off to a good start with the new school year!

6/30/08 Blanket drive update! Below is a message from Nancy regarding the drive to purchase new blankets for the children in La Casa del Esperanza.

The Company that I ordered the blanket and sheet sets from, in the US for the kids in the orphanage, has also decided to DONATE a bunch o' more blankets for other children in this area! Again, I almost cried! They told me over the phone when I called to confirm my order! How GREAT is that???

Thanks to all my TA Angels (you know who you are) for helping me to keep things alive...Contact me so we can have a drink on behalf of the kids (I only drink Coca-Cola, so not to worry!)

6/30/08 Temptations Resort joins Give a Toy Get a Smile! We are pleased to announce that the Temptations Resort in Cancun is now a drop off for donations and has agreed to help us gather toys for the children in Cancun this Christmas.

6/15/08 Biggest Single Cash Donation to Date! Below is a message from our founder Nancy,

Today, we were thrilled to receive a donation of $2,650 usd from Mary Kay Cosmetics European Division. This money will be used to buys toys in New York this summer and making Christmas-time a lot brighter for these children. AeroMexico has also joined us by donating an extra box to the kids to bring down toys every time my husband returns to Cancun (once every 3 weeks). This allows us to buy a greater variety of toys and donated toys!

6/15/08 New Puerto Morelos Drop Off! We now have a new donation drop off in Puerto Morelos for supporters who are visiting the area. It's David Lau's Chinese Food and Pizza right in the main square.

6/14/08 Blanket Drive Below is a message from our founder Nancy regarding her efforts to collect blankets for local children...

The Blanket Drive for the children in La Casa del Esperanza (the House of Hope) reached the goal of 18 Disney Blanket Sets. These blanket and sheet sets will be donated to the kids at the orphanage in November, when it gets a bit colder. Thank you to everyone from Trip Advisor that donated and for your kindness and generosity!

Big hugs, kisses and SMILES from the Cancun Kids (to the following supporters)

BobDidIt, CherylP, BSQ, NurseinLA, poftheo, Monkatom, Kayem, MMT, Selluacaddy, May2000, ala2kw, Beloro, Penny Penguin, lexyca, Debbie, Ellabear, ladyme1, luvcancun08, and n2pizza from Trip Advisor.

Thank You to Howie and Tamar Baylarian for buying a blanket, too!

5/13/08 2008 Recent Distributions Below is a message from our founder Nancy, detailing her activities for Mexico's Children's Day and the last several weeks.... Click here to see all of the photos!

Hey everyone! Here is a review of how the Children's Day celebrations went.

Friday, April 25th, I went to the Casa de Esperanza in Bonfil. I gave out clothing to the children, we played Cinderella (if the shoes fit, they got them!) and we had donuts and juice. The kids were very happy to recieve new T-shirts and shorts, pants and socks.

Wednesday, April 30th I went to La Casita with the help of some of the ladies at the International Women's Club. In the morning we made over 100 Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and then at 4:00 we started the party. We played a relay race and then Simon Sez.

 

Armando the Magician came by to entertain the kids for about an hour. They were amazed at his tricks. I still can't figure out how he turned those hankerchiefs different colors. We then went into the dining area and the kids had their sandwiches and cake and juice, provided by the IWC. Then I gave out the toys that were donated, for the most part, by all my frineds on TA! THEY WERE SO HAPPY! Everyone had a new toy! We left La Casita feeling really good!

 

 

 

Wednesday, May 7th we went to the school for the children with severe handicaps. This is really our most rewarding experience...these children are so loving and were so happy to receive the toys. These children loved the matchbox cars, stuffed animals and backpacks. They were so appreciative and thanked us for bringing them the toys.

Friday, May 9th we started out early. We picked up Selluacaddy and Beachjunky and off we went to the Hospital General. We gave out coloring books and crayons and stuffed animals to the children. We got BIG SMILES from the children, the moms, the dads, the nurses, selluacaddy and Beachjunky! The SMILES were flowing! We went out for a quick lunch and then headed over to the orphanage in Bonfil. Andy had brought down 2 scooters for the kids and they LOVED them. Each child took a turn and helped the little ones ride it too. Sellu and Beach were happy to see that the children were so friendly and shared their things. I was a bit worried that they would scoop up the children and run....there was so much love in their eyes! One little girl grabbed Sellu's arm and had to have a picture with him. Then another young girl grabbed him for another photo. All the children were just FASCINATED with his tattoos! Sellu and Beach had brought BAGS of toys and stuffed animals to donate and then ran BACK TO WALMART with us to buy a BUNCH MORE! HOW GOOD ARE THESE PEOPLE!!?? We spent a wonderful day together and dropped them back off at the RPLA at 9:45 pm!!

Now, I am collecting school supplies and backpacks for the beginning of school and TOYS for Christmas! It's not too early to bring these things down if you are coming to Cancun. (If you're not coming to Cancun soon, you may make a donation via PayPal direct to us!) No donation is too small...every peso goes toward a new toy for a child!

Thanks TripAdvisor.com and all the wonderful people that support me. Christmas and Children's Day are a whole bunch happier because of all of your donations!

Love you ALL!

Nancy

4/4/08 2008 New Toys at Wal-Mart With some of the generous PayPal donations we have received from our supports Nancy was able to buy 28 new toys for the kids at Wal-Mart, where we were extended a %10 discount on many of the items. Below is a short message from Nancy.

 

( Above is a photo of ) the basketful of toys we were able to buy thanks to your donations. The picture shows me with the 2 managers at Wal-Mart that I work with, Berto and Javier (and associates). We bought our 10 bat and ball sets, a bunch of action figure dolls, girl dolls, soccer balls and other COOL toys! It is wonderful to get this money now because Wal-Mart has a lot of toys on liquidation. The Action figure were normally $199 pesos (or more) and we got them for $85 pesos! That's a significant savings and it allows me to buy really nice toys for the kids. Whether you can donate $1.00 or $100, the donation is greatly appreciated. It's one more toy we can give to a child that might not have ANY new toys!

Thanks, TA buddies for your help! Tienen corazones de oro! (You have hearts of gold!) Love you ALL! Nancy

4/1/08 2008 Give a Toy Get a Smile visits La Casita Orphanage! Below is a message from our founder Nancy.  

I had a wonderful experience yesterday at the local orphanage, La Casita, It was my first visit there and I found the children to be so friendly, curious about why I was there and very helpful. I went with Tammy Caison, the Ms. American Dream. We had a great time handing out candy, coloring books, crayons and slinkies to the kids. I'm really not sure who had a better time...them or us!

Please find it in your heart to help us out by donating just a little bit, or by going to (the store) while you are visiting Cancun and buying some toys for our Drive. Hard Rock Cafe and Needful Things are collecting toys and school supplies.

Thanks to all my old and new friends for all the help you have given me and for all the wonderful smiles I have received from the kids. I could never have done it without you! Nancy

Be sure to check out our PhotoBucket Album for all of the most recent pictures from our distributions.

3/20/08 2008 Collection Officially Started!!!  The Give a Toy Get a Smile efforts have officially started for 2008! Lets all make sure this is our best year yet! Already Nancy has been to the local hospital to spread some smiles and we are making plans for Mexico's Children's Day! Below is a short message from our founder Nancy.

I went to the General Hospital last week and gave out stuffed animals and coloring books and crayons to the children. You can see how beautiful the children are, and I tell EVERYONE ALWAYS that the presents that they are receiving come from the tourists that visit Cancun. You all make SUCH A DIFFERENCE and I could never have accomplished so much without (our supporters)! You all deserve to see the smiles I get on your behalf because you are the people that are supplying me the toys! BIG SMILES AND HUGS FOR YOU ALL!

If you are coming to Cancun and can't get to a drop off site, call me (once your in the area) and I will come pick up the toys...Cel...998 204-0072 or my home is 887-5760. I ALWAYS have my cel so that's the best way to find me.

I have had many requests for people that would like to join me at the Hospital to give out toys. I like to do that but sometimes it's not possible. I do try to get over to the Hospital when I have tourists that want to go along. Now that I am mobile again, my life has become a lot easier. So if you're in town and want to come along to the Hospital, please let me know in advance and we will try to make plans to make it happen!

Thanks again to everyone and come on down to Cancun...your home away from home!

Be sure to check out our PhotoBucket Album for all of the most recent pictures from our distributions. 

 

All previous news stories have been archived CLICK HERE.