Letter From Sue

To all of you who have been in the shelter during Hurricane Wilma:

We hope that by the time you read this, you are all back home, safe and sound, and out of Mexico. We have made some wonderful friends there in spite of the poor conditions we were forced to live under. We are also hoping that, like us, you will never forget the dedication, care and effort that were given to us by the hotel staff at our shelter, and finally back at the hotel. They made a horrific situation the best it could be for us. For these people to put their own families on the “back burner” to protect us, the tourists, is incredible and is certainly an admirable trait for fellow human beings. Above that, they kept a smile on their faces throughout the whole ordeal.  Their unselfish actions should go rewarded – somehow. They were truly grace under fire.

My husband and I were in Playa del Carmen purchasing a home on Wednesday right before the hurricane hit. We didn’t get to finish the transaction completely but will be back in several weeks to do so. It is going to be our community, a sort of “home away from home”, and this is what drives our devotion of helping the people and their community.  

My husband John was one of a handful of people who were taking pictures as the adventure unfolded and has put the images up on the GALLERY section of this website in a (somewhat) chronological order. I welcome any images you might have to send to us of which we will post into the gallery. These images tell a story and portray a reminder for the 800 people stranded in the shelter of the experience we went through. I believe we should all try to help in some small way.

To facilitate helping the people in need, we have devised a simple plan. We will have custom printed tee shirts and sweat shirts made up and offer them for sale here on this website. We have been shopping for the best deal on these items to keep the costs low, and will offer them inexpensively to anyone who may be interested in contributing to the cause. The proceeds will then be given to the the recipients in the form of Wal-Mart Gift Cards, since we found that Wal-Mart is one of the most visited stores in all of Cancun. They carry a large variety of everyday items and are gracious enough to work with us, even going so far as to induce a discount to the cost of the goods. Simply stated, the Gift Card will have more purchasing power than cash for these people. Make an on-line purchase of tee shirts and you will help greatly.

I want to mention a very special person who assisted many of us. You all remember Denise, the Nurse who administered medication and other medical related items when we needed them. It was amazing how dedicated both she and her husband were in making sure we got what we needed. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of medication to go around, so I feel we should help in that regard. We will make sure there is a fully stocked medical supply just in case, and donations will go to this cause as well. The next time Denise travels, we will make sure she has a fully loaded “Doctor Kit” in her possession. Her dedication should go rewarded as I know many of you can appreciate how she has helped.

I realize all of us tend to be bombarded with disaster needs from our own country as well as other countries. We tend to be very suspicious of organizations which collect money from us without really knowing where the money is spent or how it is divided up. This will not be the case here, and I will give you my word and commitment that every penny of profit from the sale of these tee shirts (along with any cash donations) will be put to absolute good use for the people who helped us. I hope you can make that leap of faith to trust us enough to know that we are sincere and will PERSONALLY deliver the donations to these people and their families. As I said, we intend to visit this region regularly since we are property owners so please rest assured this will go to a good cause.

All of use forever will have in common, our adventures in Cancun with Wilma. We were given that experience for a reason, and I am hoping that reason was to open our eyes and be grateful for what we have, and give it back to those who laid down for us.

Thank you all and God bless,

Sue Spina & John Spina (AKA “Raymond the Photographer”)