PHARR, Texas - Index Reynosa Fundación wants to add additional charity events throughout the year in order to augment its main fundraiser, an annual golf tournament held at the City of Pharr’s Tierra Del Sol Golf Club.
Index is the largest trade association for the maquiladora industry in Mexico and one of its largest chapters is in Reynosa. Index Reynosa set up its own foundation six years ago.
Index Reynosa Fundación’s most recent golf tournament was held on October 28 and had the aim of raising a record high $100,000. Around 180 golfers took part, most of whom work in or are associated with the maquiladora industry.
Among the charities the foundation is helping this year are Miradas de Esperanza, Children’s Haven International, Centro de Capacitación y Talento Empresarial, and Rio Bravo Ministries.
Checks will be presented to these charities at an event at the Cambria Hotel in McAllen on December 14. Mike Myers, an Index Reynosa board member who leads Index Reynosa Fundación, said that while the check presentations are “moving" he gets most fun from raising money through the golf tournament. “That’s where the rubber hits the road,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service on the eve of the tournament, Myers spoke about his plans to raise additional funds.
“Our committees are our strength and so we’re going to push the foundation down to the committees, where the rubber hits the road and get more input on their side so we can have more events,” Myers said.
“There are other things that we can be doing out there. And so we’re getting ready to take the next step and create a social responsibility group.”
Myers said former Index Mexico President Enrique Castro is “Mr. Social Responsibility” within the Index Reynosa group. Myers said Castro will lead the social responsibility group.
“He’s going to get down into the committees and come up (more ideas for events) so we are not just doing one golf tournament a year. (Instead we would be) doing events throughout the year,” Myers said.
“It would be nice if we could put the money in the bank and spend just the interest, kind of like an endowment. I mean, that is the ultimate goal. That way that money never disappears.”
Not wishing to get too far ahead of what is possible, Myers added: “I know you’ve got to walk and crawl. We have crawled already and we’re doing some walking. But we do see a vision of making it bigger and that’s by using our committees.”
Another way of raising more money for worthy causes in Reynosa, Myers acknowledged, is getting the corporate offices of the maquiladoras that operate in Reynosa to give more to Index Reynosa Fundación. Many of those maquiladoras are, after all, Fortune 500 companies.
“That is the next step. That’s Enrique’s vision, right? Going to the corporate level and letting them know what we are doing. And they are going to say, that’s great. And instead of that $5,000 check, here’s a $50,000,” Myers said.
“But again, you’ve got to walk (first). You’ve got to crawl through the mud and get yourself up and get going.”
At the golf tournament, Castro brought along some wheelchairs along to show the golfers where their fundraising goes. Castro leads Centro de Capacitación y Talento Empresarial (CCTE) in Reynosa. The charity works to integrate wheelchair bound individuals into the workplace.
Castro said the golf tournament highlights an aspect of the maquiladora industry that many people are not aware of - social responsibility.
“They think about just investment, about new plants, near-shoring, and so forth. Here, you are talking about the biggest assets that the maquiladoras have, which is the workers.”
CCTE has grown to become a national charity. Castro said he would like to expand CCTE’s footprint even further.
“We would like to make this a binational thing (by taking the group into the United States), maybe to Central and South America,” Castro said.
Bob Steele is president of the board at Children’s Haven International, one of the Reynosa charities that Index Reynosa Fundación assists.
“I have been with Children’s Haven International for 20-plus years, blessed beyond words. And there's really a blessing when I see these kids that come to us with nothing but a bad background. We see them graduating college, going on to be good citizens, really making something of themselves. It’s really a blessing.”
The history of Children’s Haven International is documented on the group’s website. It states:
“Over 35 years ago a lady named Shirley, from Flint Michigan, moved to the interior of Mexico and married a local man named Lee Mendoza. One day, Shirley, who came from a Mennonite background, found an orphaned child had been left at her doorstep. She took in the child and as time went by many others were also taken in and cared for.
“In the mid 70’s the Mendoza’s moved to Reynosa and rented a building where they continued to take in children who needed a home. Tragically a fire destroyed the rented building. It was at this time the Mennonite Disaster Relief provided the funds to purchase 14 acres and build six separate homes on the outskirts of Reynosa.
“Our Home is called Refugio Internacional de Niños (RIN), or International Refuge of Children, and is overseen by Children’s Haven International whose sole purpose is ‘Providing loving Christian care for needy children.’ As a 501 (c) (3) non profit organization, the mission of Children’s Haven International is to fully provide for each of the youngsters who come under our care; so that his or her physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs may be met and that he or she can become a responsible, Christian citizen of their country.”
Betsy Chacon is executive director of Children’s Haven International. She said Index Reynosa Fundación helps the group the most.
“They are our biggest supporters throughout the year. We don't have any group that does more for our organization than Index. We’ve just we've seen this (golf tournament) event grow, even to include more charities. We just really appreciate that the maquilas are remembering the community that they're serving in Reynosa and we're blessed that we are chosen to be a part of it,” Chacon said.
Editor's Note: Here is an audio recording of the interviews with Castro, Steele, Chacon, and Myers:
