Marieke Brown (who is spearheading the fundraising) wrote us a letter to recap the fundraising and state of the Ambulance.
Hello wonderful Akumal community!!!
Following on from the Akumal Ambulance fundraiser dinner at Turtle Bay Cafe on Saturday night, most of you will already know that the dinner was sold out, and it was a huge success! We have totaled the numbers and can confirm that you helped us to raise MX$66,070.00! We would like to give special thanks to the people who donated extra money in addition to the ticket price.
We would also like to say a massive thank you to Jen and Bart Smith and their team for a fantastic evening, and also for their enormous generosity! They donated 100% of the price of each ticket to the Akumal Ambulance.
So why do we need an ambulance in Akumal?
The geographic location of Akumal in relation to the nearest Red Cross delegations means that in the event of an emergency it takes the Red Cross at least 30 minutes to reach us (45 minutes if you are in North Akumal) assuming that the ambulance is available at the time of call. In a medical emergency the chances of survival drops significantly if the patient cannot be transported to a hospital within 1 hour of the accident. Prior to having the Ambulance in Akumal it was impossible to get a patient to the hospital in time. We have seen wait times last year in Akumal of 1.5 hours or more as even the private ambulances in the area were not available to attend a call.
The Red Cross Ambulance stationed 24 hours per day in Akumal has been serving our community since Dec 10, 2014. During this time, the ambulance has attended almost 100 people, and through speed of response, has dropped the number of deaths in Akumal by 500% in 2015 compared to 2014. In order to sustain the ambulance in Akumal, the Red Cross needs to raise 75,000 pesos each month and is asking for the support of the Akumal Community to achieve this. Many people are not aware that the Cruz Roja Mexicana receives no regular financial help from the Government, nor Red Cross International. They operate exclusively on the generosity and support of their local communities, and through fundraising.
If we are not able to help the Red Cross to raise enough money, they will remove the ambulance from Akumal, and will have no choice but to operate just one ambulance in the Tulum Municipality, covering an enormous area from Akumal to Coba to Punta Allen, to just north of Carrillo Puerto.
Who’s already helping?
Monthly pledges are the most important source as they will allow us to have a sustainable ambulance. We are trying to help the Tulum Red Cross to raise monthly pledges within our community to cover the remaining costs. Several business owners and individuals have already confirmed their monthly financial help, which is wonderful. We still need more to chip in, but we want to give a big thank you to those that have pledged regular support.
These people include:
- Edventures
- Hotel Club Akumal Caribe
- Akumal Direct Reservations
- La Buena Vida
- Akumal Dive Center (incl Blue Caribe and Cancun Adventures)
- Secrets Hotel Akumal
- John and Sharon Winkle
- Bob and Sherwood Anders
CEA and Hotel Club Akumal Caribe have also been donating accommodations for the paramedics to help to keep that cost down.
How much more do we need to raise?
The money raised from Turtle Bay Cafe on Saturday night in addition to the monthly pledges mentioned, covers about 38% of the annual running costs of keeping the ambulance stationed here in Akumal. This is a fantastic start! Time is of the essence though, as Carlos Condstanse, head of the Red Cross in the Riviera Maya, has given us until Nov 14, 2015 to show sufficient financial commitment to keeping the ambulance in Akumal. If you can help with even a small amount per month, call me (Marieke Brown) at (52) 1 984 105 8475. If you have a Mexican corporation, please remember that all pledges are tax deductible. Donations can also be easily made through PayPal. You don’t even have to have a PayPal account, you can just use your credit or debit card.
Donations in Pesos: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZAAD79BPGYG4U
Donations in US Dollars: Use the Donate button at the bottom of this page.
Having an ambulance stationed in our community is critical for the care of our families, friends, neighbors, employees, and our clients in the event of an accident. Please help us to ensure that we can maintain the amazing work that the Red Cross are doing in Akumal.
Thank you again to everyone who came to the dinner on Saturday, and for all of those who have pledged and are considering pledging! It takes a village, and I am immensely proud to be a part of this one. 🙂
Warm regards, Marieke
Emergency numbers for your phone book:
Red Cross Delegation 984 802 5521
Direct Akumal Ambulance Cell 984 129 9471
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