Don't miss Live Jazz Night at the Paradise Community Center on May 6th. The fun starts at 5 pm with a Happy Hour followed by Jazz with special guests Eduardo Rubio, David Lyons and Sandi Lee. Proceeds will be used to provide opportunities for the poorer citizens of Puerto Vallarta.

Paradise Community Center launched this spring as a place intended to offer a varied range of services with the sole purpose of creating strategic alliances and implementing programs that provide opportunities for people living in chronic poverty to transform their own lives.

"Our strategy is to educate, initiate or encourage small businesses, create jobs, improve living conditions and strengthen communities among the poor and marginalized," in the words of Ric Lehman. Together with his wife Joy, he founded and directs this center.

Among the services the Center provides to the community is the Vallarta Mobile Library (Biblioteca Móvil), which offers books on loan in areas where there is no possibility of access to reading.

Another activity is to build and renovate homes in poor condition with the work of their people and volunteers, with no-interest loans on the materials. They grant interest-free loans for single mothers to enable them to start a family business.

With the Rotary Club, they teach English and donate computers even in marginal areas near the garbage dump.

Paradise Community Center has many other activities that need your help. See their website at 4compassion.org and help others less fortunate.

Live Jazz Night is part of this ambitious plan of activities and will begin on May 6th at 5:00 pm with special guests Eduardo Rubio, David Lyons and Sandi Lee. The festivities will start with a Happy Hour from 5-6 pm, where you will be served cocktails and snacks. Available for purchase will be the cuisine of Thay of Jaris and New Orleans-style dishes.

"All the funds we collect at the Community Center will be used to support our work to provide opportunities for the poorer citizens of Puerto Vallarta to make a living through education, small business loans and home improvement," says Ric Lehman.

Paradise Community Center is located at Púlpito 127, Col. Emiliano Zapata on Vallarta's South side. Contact Ric and Joy Lehman at ric(at)4compassion.org, or call (970) 372-1370 (USA) or 044-322-133-7263 in Puerto Vallarta.