It Was Standing Room Only at the Friends For Jimmy Fundraiser Jennifer Brinckmann - Amigos de La Cruz
February 5, 2013

Wow, wow, wow – what a night! Estimates are that as many as 350 – 400 people showed up for the Friends For Jimmy event.

And even better, we all had a blast! The following letter of thanks was written by Carolyn Sams. She speaks for all of us who were involved in this amazing benefit.

Dear Friends,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came out to the fundraiser on January 30th for Jimmy Lennon. Together we raised nearly 76,000 pesos to assist Jimmy and Karen with tremendous medical expenses!

We are indebted to the nearly 100 donors who gave certificates and/or merchandise to raise money during the event through Silent Auction, Live Auction, Raffle or through the Donation Box. Donors were Mexican, American, Canadian, German, British and other nationalities, from Puerto Vallarta to La Cruz, who came together as one community to help one of our favorite residents. Truly amazing!

Our heartfelt thanks to Aruna and Waylan and the staff of Hikuri/Jardin del Pulpo who provided not only the venue, but also their time and 10 pesos per drink! They provided the space for all of us to greet old friends, make new ones, win boat cruises, luxury accommodation, original art pieces, jewelry, dance lessons, etc.etc.etc., and, of course, to have a great time due to their attention to detail!

Everyone who attended was treated to music from some of our local musicians, all of whom donated their performances... Tatewari (who are releasing their CD in the next few weeks), Los Lost Cruzers, and Philo and Friends. All of the groups, and also Latcho and Andrea, Bryan Savage, Leon Keefe and Geo (look for his CD release in about 2 weeks), donated their time and considerable talents as an auction or raffle item for private events, put a donation in the box, or gave us CDs or paintings for auction. We send a tremendous thank you to them all!

Christina Rubini and Hugo Lopez donated a very dynamic Latin Dance Show which became interactive with the audience. Their talents are not only entertaining but also spectacular! They also donated dance classes to the Silent Auction and offered to turn us all into Latin dancers!

Beta Sigma Phi International Service Sorority, along with others, provided delicious appetizers and even circulated among us to serve us individually. Thank you, ladies, for those donations. We loved them all!

To countless others, you know who you are... thank you so much for your help in getting donations, helping out at the event in so many ways, and just being on call for us and donating your energy when we sent out an S.O.S.!

The unconditional love for Jimmy pulled it off and to see him and Karen at the event was very special!

Thank you so very much.

Carolyn Sams

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