Local Family Partners with Mexican Community Center to Aid Families

Elena Ulibarri, of Keller, has spent the last few months gathering local help to support a small community center in her mother’s hometown in Mexico. Elena, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, heard about the need for newborn care baskets in Nuevo Casas Grandes, in Chihuahua, from her mother, who has been serving there in her hometown for decades. Her mother’s church group needed a bit more support, both financially and in item donations, to complete their project, so Elena, her husband James, and their four children stepped in to help! Her sister, Maricela, also a member of the Mormon church and a Keller resident, got her daughters on board, too. Soon their sister, Ramona, who lives in Fort Worth, started asking her friends for donations, and the sisters were able to provide supplies and funds that far exceeded the initial need!

They traveled to the town, near Colonia Juarez, in December, to visit family and bring their donations to Solo Por Ayudar, the local charity there. “We just wanted to take whatever we could to the center,” Elena said. “Whatever they could” ended up filling two trucks! They ended up with quite a few medical supplies, including gauze and other first aid needs, which they donated to the hospital in Nuevo Casas Grandes. They had clothing for women and children that they brought to the local pantry, in addition to cases of food they were able to purchase with money friends here in Texas had donated.

“We have a tradition of working together in our family to serve other families in need. It’s just what we do,” Ulibarri explained. Each summer, she and her sisters gather their kids to work at GRACE, in Grapevine, usually helping with their Feed our Kids program. At Christmas, they help with the Christmas Cottage, and the family is always among the first to volunteer or donate to charitable initiatives through their church congregation, as well. Ulibarri says her family’s fluency in Spanish is an asset and they always feel good when they’ve been able to help. “I never get over what a difference service can make in my life and in my family’s life. It comes naturally to us because my parents were always giving and serving others when we were growing up. A lot of times, we were the recipients of the donations from a place like Solo Por Ayudar. It means so much to be involved in helping a place where we come from. I wouldn’t trade my family’s experience serving our friends in Mexico for anything.”

Elena and her sisters are always gathering goods and funds for their next trip to Nuevo Casas Grandes. If you would like to donate or be involved, please email Elena at [email protected].