Created June 19, 2004
IN THEAMERICAN LEGION DEPARTMENT OF MEXICO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The American Legion is a service organization formed of men and women who served
in the Armed Forces of the United States during time of war. (Click to see eligibility dates.) We are dedicated to serving our comrades in distress, the widows and orphans of our fallen comrades, and our communities.
For those of us who live outside the USA, we understand that when we speak of "the community, state, and nation" we mean our host countries as well as the country we served proudly as members of the Armed Forces. This section of our Web Site is dedicated to the service projects that are being realized by specific Posts. (Omissions will be corrected as the Webmaster receives updated information.) Each paragraph inclues a link to the Post Directory page's contact information corresponding to that particular Post. If you see a project of interest to you or your organization, please contact the Post to see how you can combine efforts. Together we can make a difference ! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table of Posts with Continuing Service Projects | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Harold L. Claire Post CR-10 (San José, Costa Rica) has a long history of community service. They have supported the activities of the Red Cross in Escoza for over 20 years. They also support the Salvation Army and provide assistence to a girls' orphanage (ages 5 to 12 years). Currently the Post is aiding a family of 9 that lost its home to a fire. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Although Corporal Ricardo Harrison Morales Post ES-01 (San Salvador, El Salvador) is new, it already is establishing a tradition of community service. They collaborate with US Navy and Coast Guard
ships when they make port calls. Together they perform community service projects. Because of their example, the Salvadorian Navy has
expressed an interest in being included in future service projects. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Romeo J. Routhier Post GT-01 (Guatemala City) includes among its activities providing support and assistence to an orphanage. They also participate in the “Camino Seguro” program benefitting children living around the municiple garbage dump. Through this program, underpriviledged children receive what they need to attend primary school. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
M/Sgt. Mario Enrique Gonzalez-Acker Post GT-02 (Antigua) has a history of providing community service that goes back to its founding. Because of its monthly newsletter (circulation: 3,982) assistence has been channeled throught the Post from donors around the world. The Stephen Skelton Memorial Library is open 7 days a week. This ensures that their 7,000 books (including 1,000 titles in Spanish) and 50 videos will have a wide circulation. They tell us that there is always a need for more children’s books – in Spanish and in English. The “Nido Jesus Niño” Orphanage has received assistence from the Post continuously over the past five years. The 23 children housed in the newly relocated facilities have benefited from the Newsletter’s publicity. The Post has donated or assisted in the donation of food, clothing, computers, vehicles and cash. In addition, it maintains its own special fund (separate from other Post funds) to assist this institution. Academic Scholarships. The Post is currently sponsoring 12 students studying grades 1-8. The program guarantees that once a scholarship student begins his/her studies, tuition will be paid for all eight years. To do this, the Post raises money first (a continuous effort that receives especial support from the Auxiliary); when $2,400 USD has been accumulated, another student is chosen and the tuition payments begin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alan Seeger Post MX-02 (Mexico City) provides assistence for a residence housing 20 blind girls. They also help an orphanage by providing necessary equipment; recently they made a donation of washing machines. Local youth have benefited from their attendance and participation in the Louisiana Boys State and Girls State programs. This is one of only a few state programs that occur late enough for Mexican students to participate. Typically Mexican highschool students are on summer vacation only during July and part of August; by these dates, most U.S. departments have already finished their Boys State programs. Escuela Legion Americana. In 1967 the Post built the first instalations of a school in Jusco that has continuously expanded so that it now provides primary education to over 1,000 students. The Post continues to provide assistence to students and to participate in various events during the school year. Local residents are so proud of their school that they have successfully resisted efforts by politicians to change the name of the school to something more “Mexican”. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alvarez Castillo Post MX-03 (Guadalajara) has a number of long-standing community projects. Every year since 1989 at Christmas they host a “posada” for over 680 orphans from several (7) orphanages. The Al Tallman Christmas Posada includes a picnic lunch, piñatas, games, and the distribution of presents. Each child receives a gift: clothes, shoes, appliances; in 2003 a girl asked for a computer... and St. Nick managed to find one for her ! Little League baseball in Guadalajara is definitely a Legion activity. The Post began sponsoring the first teams that originally formed the league. It has promoted the donation of sports facilities and the League’s leaders still hold their meetings at Post 3. Presently over 500 boys participate in the Leage and there is a waiting list to join the teams. The Post also supports the Turilla Children Program ( a juvinile correctional institute) and a program for local children in the “Colonia” (sub-division) where the Post Home is located. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Fordham Post MX-05 (Monterrey) participates in the activities of the American School Foundation of Monterrey by their participation on the Board of Directors and the awarding of American Legion Scholastic Award to outstanding students at each grade level from First Grade to the High School Seniors. It also provides scholarship assistence to students at the Gante Institute. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lake Chapala Post MX-07 has traditionally supported a number of local charities. They perform maintenance and cleaning at a community cemetary, support a nursing home for elderly Mexicans by providing appliances and up-keep, aid an orphanage, collaborate with the local Red Cross of Chapala, and maintain a number of nursing students in school. Every Independence Day (Sep. 16) they host local elected officials at a special event; this is such a long-standing tradition Lake-side that the mayor often has to turn-down other invitations to attend this event with the Yankees and their Canadian friends. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Service Officer related work that was the hallmark of Guadalajara Post MX-12 will now be taken over by Banderas Bay Post MX-14. Lead by Mr. David Lord, Legionnaires pro-actively go out into the hinterlands to find persons who have a right to benefits from the VA. Typically they go to an outlying community on market day, set up banners around the RV provided by DSO David Lord, and then go to work explaining the benefits that many Mexicans rate based upon their own or their spouse’s service in the U.S. armed forces. Post MX-14 has only just received it’s Temporary Charter (at the June 2004 Department Convention). At present it is evaluating a number of public service projects before choosing their initial activities. Ideas include services for disabled children (“Painted Ponies”), Toys for Tots collaboration with the local Navy League, identifying and participating in service projects realized by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard personnel while their ships make port calls in Puerto Vallarta, the establishment of a Navy-Relief organization to benefit members of the Mexican Navy, and the possibility of establishing a canteen for U.S. naval personnel performing port calls where food and computers can be provided along with a “call home” program. Obviously, this new Post has lots of ideas and initiative. We look forward to seeing which of these programs will be adopted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul “Rojo” Edge Post MX-15 (Puerto Peñusco-“Rocky Point”) is a relatively new post that has already established themselves as a group of good-willed folks willing to aid those in need. At present they are assisting persons injured in a fire at a local restaurant. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
José María Zalaya Post NI-01 (Granada, Nicaragua) is another new post which has hit the “ground running”. The Post has donated computers to a local hospital and to the local police department. They also assisted in the importation of a fire engine donated by a group in North Carolina. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Post PC-02 is yet another new post in the Department. They have begun to assist a local hospital with volunteer workers and service officer related activities. They work Tuesdays and Thursdays while another veterans organization (VFW) are there M-W-F. |