Manuelito Children’s Home ready for their biggest fundraiser of the year
The calendar has turned to July and all the signs posted around Gallup can only mean one thing: it is almost time for WildThing Championship Bullriding.
As stated in last week’s issue of the Sun, WildThing has been bringing the thunder for over 30 years. But it also brings more than spectacle and excitement, it brings people together and gives them an opportunity to support Gallup businesses and services.
One of the biggest benefactors, as previously stated, is Manuelito Children’s Home. Located west of Gallup at 12 Theta St., the home runs the concessions and parking for WildThing, and it has long been their biggest fundraiser each year.
Executive Director Jim Christian spoke to the Sun July 9 about how the home is preparing for WildThing.
“We have some friends coming to town from Texas and Arkansas to help us with the labor. We can’t do it all on our own,” Christian said. “We probably have close to 60 people coming to help us, and they’ll all be in town on Thursday ready to work Friday and Saturday.”
The home’s partners will also stay in town after WildThing for some time and help with various tasks around the home including yardwork and maintenance, Christian added. Right now their focus is on preparing for the event.
“We have a busy week ahead of time. We’re making sure we all have our orange vest, our flags, gear and equipment ready, like the machines that we use to do the parking,” he said.
FOR THE KIDS
The social aspect of WildThing is one of the most crucial parts of the show, which Christian said the children at the home look forward to as well.
“Everyone looks forward to it, especially the kids. They like to see their friends who come in from out of town to help us, and get out of here for a couple of days and have something exciting to do. See the bull riding, see the fireworks,” he said.
With their biggest fundraiser of the year in sight, Christian shared some of the home’s plans for how they will use the proceeds from parking and concessions.
“It’s going to be back to school pretty soon, so that’ll help with our efforts. We can make sure the kids are dressed nice,” he continued. “Then it’s going to be wintertime before you know it. We want to get them jackets and everything for that.”
The upcoming months will present other fundraising opportunities for the home, including bake sales around Thanksgiving as well as the general uptick in donations near the Christmas season. Then the home is coming off its Memorial Day 5K held at the end of May. These all bring in funds and support to the home, but Christian also admits that they are not as big and beneficial as WildThing.
“At this point, we consider WildThing to be a partner [of the home]. It’s essential to us being able to take care of kids and help them have a safe place to live and a good school to go to. We’re grateful they do it every year,” he added.
THANKING THE COMMUNITY
With WildThing set for the weekend of July 12-13, Christian wants to thank the community ahead for coming out to the show and helping the home. The public’s support is essential to keeping the home up and running and being able to house children each year.
“If anyone wants to donate, we encourage them to call us as well. They can make sure they give what we need that week because it changes each time,” Christian said.
Manuelito Children’s Home has listed several of their major ongoing projects on their website. These include newer buildings, new cottages to house more children, and more supplies to teach them as well.
For more information on Manuelito Children’s Home, including where you can support the home, visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mnch.gallupnm/ or their website at mnch.org.
By Cody Begaye
Contributing Editor
