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Victoria

Oct 11, 2002, 1:41 PM

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little gifts in San Miguel de Allende

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We will be in San Miguel in a couple of weeks & we have a lot (like 100+) of little bottles of shampoo, conditioner & soap from hotels. As long as they understood what these bottles/packages were & that they were to give them to their parent(s), would it be appropriate to hand them out to kids when approached? Or even to an older person as far as that goes? Would this be considered offensive? Or maybe there would be a place we could donate them, such as a retirement home or orphanage... Thanks so much.

jennifer rose

Oct 11, 2002, 2:17 PM

Post #2 of 9 (930 views)

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little gifts in San Miguel de Allende

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I was in San Diego last weekend, and there were a lot of poor and apparently homeless people hanging around Horton Plaza and the Gaslamp District. Some really looked like they could’ve used soap and shampoo, too. Would it have been appropriate for me, visiting from Mexico, to have handed out amenities from the hotel? What if I brought the down-and-out set amenities from Mexico? Would this be considered offensive?Give them to an orphanage. Or better yet, simply donate them to a worthy cause right in your own backyard so you don’t have to schlep the little bottles down here. Consider giving a cash donation to a recognized charity in Mexico instead.

Lavanda

Oct 11, 2002, 3:58 PM

Post #3 of 9 (931 views)

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little gifts in San Miguel de Allende

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Or donate them to a nursing home in your area.: I was in San Diego last weekend, and there were a lot of poor and apparently homeless people hanging around Horton Plaza and the Gaslamp District. Some really looked like they could’ve used soap and shampoo, too. Would it have been appropriate for me, visiting from Mexico, to have handed out amenities from the hotel? What if I brought the down-and-out set amenities from Mexico? Would this be considered offensive?: Give them to an orphanage. Or better yet, simply donate them to a worthy cause right in your own backyard so you don’t have to schlep the little bottles down here. Consider giving a cash donation to a recognized charity in Mexico instead.

Kate

Oct 11, 2002, 9:54 PM

Post #4 of 9 (927 views)

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little gifts in San Miguel de Allende

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:I have seen a lot of folks bring well intentioned gifts to Mexico's kids. Probably one of the best things you can do for the children is give decent tips to your waiters and maids.Please don't give the kids candies. Mexican kids eat waay too much sweets and don't need more. Don't buy chicklets from the chicklet kids, either..they are cute but you are just encouraging child labor.Each city has a DIF office,you could donate a few bucks through them.If you want to hand stuff out to kids, get some small packs of crayons, colored pens, or colored pencils..not shampoo..

Judy in Minnesota

Oct 12, 2002, 5:07 PM

Post #5 of 9 (928 views)

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little gifts in San Miguel de Allende

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Apparently I travel to different places than the other posters...where I go the little hotel bars of soap and the shampoo make the kids fight over who gets them...they use it in their buckets of water to wash the rich people's cars as they are parked at the Pizza Huts, theaters, etc. But I do agree about the candy..doing medical mission work in Central America and seeing how many teeth we need to pull from the little ones make me a true believer in no candy...they have sugar cane to suck on and that is why their teeth are bad.

Abq

Oct 12, 2002, 6:34 PM

Post #6 of 9 (928 views)

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Presents are always welcome

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One woman I know gave them to a battered woman's shelter. I think any non-profit orginazation in Mexico that caters to overnighters will welcome the donation.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------t these bottles/packages were & that they were to give them to their parent(s), would it be appropriate to hand them out to kids when approached? Or even to an older person as far as that goes? Would this be considered offensive? Or maybe there would be a place we could donate them, such as a retirement home or orphanage... Thanks so much.

Carol Schmidt

Oct 12, 2002, 8:09 PM

Post #7 of 9 (927 views)

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Am. Legion Women's Auxiliary distributes hygiene items to rural schools

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Some of the items they always need are toothbrushes and toothpaste. Inside the SMA city limits many groups are helping the schools, but in the poorer rural areas they need everything--notebooks, crayons, etc. They also put together layettes for poor families who sometimes leave the delivery room with only newspapers to wrap their newborns in.Also needed are donations to the Biblioteca earmarked for scholarships to high school and college (only a few hundred dollars can make the difference between a kid making it another year in med school or not, or a girl being the first in her family to finish high school).The president of the Legion Auxiliary is out of town this week--contact me personally with what you want to bring exactly and I'll check next week to see if the group can distribute it.

Peggy

Oct 13, 2002, 1:00 AM

Post #8 of 9 (931 views)

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Jennifer is right >

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Donate them to a worthy cause at home. Our veterans hospitals, nursing and retirement homes do not provide these simple toiletries, at least in Florida, and we all collected these little hotel giveaways and made periodic trips to distribute them. And we (American Legion Post and Marine Corps League) saved all year the special items for the Christmas packages. It would break your heart to see how grateful our forgotten veterans were with our small gifts. And for the Mexican children, please bring them crayons, pens, pencils, books and coloring books, they would love these.

sparks

Oct 13, 2002, 9:40 AM

Post #9 of 9 (931 views)

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Sugar

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I think that may be a tough call. Fresh sugarcane has a few benefits; minerals and trace elements that they might not normally get .... and the abrasive action of chewing cleans the teeth. Eating starchy foods that stick to teeth and lack of brushing can contribute as much. And way too much sugar filled pop.