Jessica Estevan, 17, has been an artist since she can remember. That's why when the people from Warehouse 21 contacted her to paint a matchbox for Presbyterian Medical Services Foundation's upcoming MatchBox Collection fundraiser, she jumped on the opportunity.

Estevan painted her box on behalf of Mayor David Coss, so she thought it would be appropriate for the theme of her box to be "more of a community thing," she said. "I did what our traditions are — luminarias and culture."

Estevan's box includes an adobe wall, sunset and a lady and little girl sitting wrapped in a blanket, admiring the luminarias.

"To me, culture is art," Estevan said. "Everything we do — whether it's making ristras or going out and painting."

The matchboxes were distributed to local artists and celebrities who live in Santa Fe to be painted. They will be auctioned off to benefit the nonprofit organization on Nov. 20. On Dec. 12, the highest bidders will be notified.

"I just wanted to get that humble feel," Estevan said about her box. "But I also wanted it to stand out and say, 'This is our culture and this is what we're proud of.' "

The fundraiser is a takeoff of the organization's annual Light Up a Life New Year's Eve event, where PMS sells farolitos to families who then honor their loved ones by writing their name on the bag, said Joseph Ptacek, the foundation's executive director. A list of names is read while all the farolitos are being lit.

"Last August 2008, I was really inspired by (Light Up a Life)," Ptacek said. "I thought, 'There has got to be a way to really expand on that program.' "

Then when he was attended a conference, a woman noted a fundraiser she had where artists painted cigar boxes and a light went off in Ptacek's head.

"You need a match to light a farolito," he said. So instead of cigar boxes, he opted to distribute matchboxes to local artists and celebrities. The matchboxes themselves were made and manufactured by developmentally disabled employees of the group's Shield Industries program in Farmington.

"The purpose of the MatchBox (fundraiser) is to raise money for the hospice, but it's also to generate some awareness about what PMS does here in Santa Fe," Ptacek said. He noted that oftentimes people think PMS is an extension of Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, when in reality they have nothing to do with one another. They don't just provide hospice care, either. "We are a large organization, and we serve people in need all over the state."

PMS also has regular health care centers in 34 communities throughout New Mexico. "Some of these places are so remote," Ptacek said. "We take people who are in need."

Ptacek noted that PMS also has established 22 Head Start programs for children in the state.

"Our mission is to take care of people in need, regardless of their ability to pay," Ptacek said. Even though Ptacek hopes to educate the public about the other services PMS offers, the MatchBox fundraiser will specifically benefit The Hospice Center. "Many of the patients that we serve at The Hospice Center are not financially able to pay for their services."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Presbyterian Medical Services Foundation presents a MatchBox Collection fundraiser

When: Matchboxes will be on display at the Gerald Peters Gallery, Sanbusco Mall, and Collected Works from Thursday to Dec. 11. Silent auction bids will be taken while the boxes are on display at both locations. The highest bidders will be notified on Dec. 12.