Sunday, April 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Pulidor Foundation grows from family tradition of giving

Organization focuses on needs of children, the homeless, working poor, and those with terminal illness

Technically speaking, the Pulidor Foundation Spirit of the Nations has been a charity for about 34 years.

However, the origins of the foundation -- which offers a variety of programs aimed at helping children and young people, the homeless and the terminally ill -- actually go back much longer than that, said Patricia Martinelli-Price, the organization's executive director.

Pulidor Gurule was born in Santa Fe, N.M., in 1888 and became a successful farmer and businessman, said Martinelli-Price, Gurule's granddaughter.

Gurule also was a tailor, and it was that skill that brought him and his wife, Domitila, to Las Vegas in 1962, Martinelli-Price said.

The couple "did alterations for clothing and made clothing for major people in the gaming industry," she added.

But, throughout their lives, the couple made it a point to use some of their earnings to help people who weren't as well off as they. Gurule, Martinelli-Price said, "saw a need to help people -- the working poor and the handicapped and the terminally ill."

Pulidor Gurule died about 20 years ago and his wife died about 22 years ago, Martinelli-Price said. After their deaths, and to honor their long-standing dedication to others, their family created the Pulidor Foundation Spirit of the Nations.

The foundation funds a variety of community-based programs in Las Vegas, as well as in New Mexico and California, Martinelli-Price said, primarily through monetary or in-kind donations.

"We work with the homeless, the terminally ill, the handicapped and disadvantaged youth," Martinelli-Price said, through such things as mentoring programs, sports and recreational opportunities, nutrition programs, after-school activities and arts programs.

In addition, the foundation -- which is affiliated with the Nevada Youth Alliance -- conducts a variety of programs for youths.

For example, Martinelli-Price said, the foundation each year takes several busloads of children from Las Vegas, California and New Mexico on vacations in Southern California.

This year's trip, scheduled for July, will include stops at Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland, she said.

In addition, the foundation's schedule of events for this year includes a Christmas party, a Fourth of July picnic and, during the past few weeks, Easter egg hunts.

The foundation operates through a trust run and funded in part by family members, Martinelli-Price said. Other funding, she said, comes from a network of corporate and private donors.

Donations always are welcome, Martinelli-Price said, as are volunteers who can help staff the foundation's events and programs.

For more information, call 365-5686.