Regalitos for SF Immigrant Children
Donation protected
Update 9/28/19: Our Regalitos 2019 is kicking off with a new Go Fund Me page!
To help make a joyous first holiday for 200 young newcomers, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regalitos-for-immigrant-children-2019
Start a campaign with your family, your coworkers, your friends to sponsor a class for $2000, or donate $100 and a child will receive a toy, jacket, pair of shoes and gift card. Their hearts will soar!
December 14th will be gift wrapping day and Dec 20th will be the holiday party. More info coming soon.
Hello community,
Update 12/13/18: 10 new students arrived since our last update. The Elves are hard at work to get them a toy, jacket and gift card before our party on Friday. We still need volunteers for Friday, so please consider joining the fun (and mayhem!)...sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd08caCwRBuv8Sn6vl57klM2LUkilJ5uj9pbmv5Fb_C8q6kYQ/viewform
Update 12/7/18: Thank you so much for your incredible generosity in welcoming our youngest newcomers to San Francisco. We have been moved to tears by your generosity and the beauty of the Mission Education Center’s principal, students and teachers. The wish lists from the children for Santa was the most precious thing of all. We hope you can join us on Wrapping Day or the day of the holiday party. See details below.
We have exceeded our holiday fundraising goal of $80 each for the near 100 children at Mission Education Center ($20 gift, $25 jacket, $25 Target gift card for parents, and $10 for the party). We started out with about 60 and it has grown weekly. We anticipate that more and more children will arrive to MEC.
Thus, all proceeds that exceed the current students will be used to create an emergency fund for MEC for future students who arrive throughout the school year. Regalitos (you) will continue past the holidays to serve as comadres to MEC’s parent/teacher association. Unlike other schools, the parents are unable to donate to the school, so we will. I have increased the goal and we will keep the GoFundMe account for Regalitos open as long as we are able to serve the school.
Photos will be forthcoming from the wrapping party and from the holiday party (as allowed by SFUSD).
All of our love, Maria, Tracy and Rosalia (Regalitos’ Madrinas)
Please consider signing up for one or both days at: https://goo.gl/forms/DAHvzXtZrVpldrQj2. Parking is challenging at both sites, so suggest public or Lyft.
1. GIFT WRAPPING DAY: Mon, Dec 10th from 3:30pm to 8pm (or whenever we finish) at Mission Language Vocational School (2929-19th Street, SF...street door to the right when you enter). We will serve you dinner. We are expecting the teachers to join us.
2. SCHOOL HOLIDAY PARTY: Fri, Dec 14th at the Mission Education Center (the school) at 1670 Noe Street, SF:
2:30-3:30 in each classroom (kids open gifts),
3:30-5:00 help set up for family party
5:00-6:30 party/dinner/ parents get gift cards
Background:
WE NEED YOUR HELP. Can you organize your office, your board, your friends, your family - or find a small business - to sponsor one of these children, their family or an entire classroom for the holidays. In lieu of gift exchanging this year, Maria and Tracy are asking our friends and families to - instead - help these families.
Families torn apart by Trump's Zero Tolerance policies who have been lucky enough to be reunited are being forced to relocate to cities not necessarily of their choice. Some of these families have been displaced to San Francisco; they are new, without support, not-yet connected to resources, have no jobs, are doubled-up in single rooms and are seriously traumatized.
Their younger children are enrolled in San Francisco’s Unified School District’s Mission Education Center, a K-5 elementary school for newly-arrived Spanish-speaking immigrant students. This transitional program helps the newcomer students achieve the necessary skills and confidence to succeed in regular schools to which they will transfer at the end of one year.
I (Tracy) served as a substitute teacher at this site for one week and left with a heavy heart. One mother I spoke with said that if it were not for being in school, her children would not eat. With their own very-limited resources, the teachers and staff of MEC are supporting 69 students in indescribable ways and often by emptying their own pockets to buy toiletries, food, supplies, and basic health items.
But their efforts are not enough. There is so much need.
There are nearly 100 children and 8 classrooms who need your help.
Any amount is appreciated. For those of you able to donate $100 or more, Tracy will work with Mission Language Vocational School in San Francisco to get you a tax-deductible receipt.
We know our community has so much capacity to be there for our most vulnerable. We have seen it over and over again. THANK YOU for everything you already do and anything you can do for these families.
Update 10/24/18:
We have received tremendous support from you, our community and are not far from our goal of $8,000. Since we posted our GoFundMe campaign, MEC added a pre-k class with 16 new students. Tracy found a great deal online and ordered 40 winter coats. We will add more to that once we get the sizes from the teachers. They are measuring as we speak! We are also getting the list of toys and age-appropriate gifts from the teachers who are reaching out to the parents. Once we get those lists, we will order the coats and gifts and have them delivered to Mission Language Vocational School in preparation for the gift-wrapping day. We will also buy the Target coupons for the families. For those of you unable to volunteer your time on the gift-wrapping day (date TBD), we will take many photos. Ditto for the holiday party, where the gifts will be distributed. More to come.
Update 10/26/18:
Just to let you know how the money will move from GoFundMe to the children and their families: Your donation will be made to me personally on this GoFundMe campaign, and will be deposited into my checking account. If it is $100 or more, I will send the funds to Mission Vocational Language School and they will deposit in their account and pay expenses. All other funds will remain in my account and I will expend to purchase items. Tracy and I are coordinating all of this together. As was noted before, each child will receive a winter coat ($25), gift ($20), Target card ($25) and $10 will go to the parent volunteers toward the holiday party. The number of students is growing, so we hope to have enough funds to cover them by the time of the party. We are also providing funds for 10 pairs of shoes for the 10 recently arrived students to supplement the gift from a company who bought shoes for all the students for Thanksgiving gifts. If you have any questions about how funds are handled, please don't hesitate to call or write me.
Tracy Brown-Gallardo
Maria X Martinez
Rosalia Valencia-Tow
Campaign will remain open.
Full disclosure: the photo you see here is of a beautiful child in Oaxaca. We are waiting for photos of the school and children (as authorized).
To help make a joyous first holiday for 200 young newcomers, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regalitos-for-immigrant-children-2019
Start a campaign with your family, your coworkers, your friends to sponsor a class for $2000, or donate $100 and a child will receive a toy, jacket, pair of shoes and gift card. Their hearts will soar!
December 14th will be gift wrapping day and Dec 20th will be the holiday party. More info coming soon.
Hello community,
Update 12/13/18: 10 new students arrived since our last update. The Elves are hard at work to get them a toy, jacket and gift card before our party on Friday. We still need volunteers for Friday, so please consider joining the fun (and mayhem!)...sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd08caCwRBuv8Sn6vl57klM2LUkilJ5uj9pbmv5Fb_C8q6kYQ/viewform
Update 12/7/18: Thank you so much for your incredible generosity in welcoming our youngest newcomers to San Francisco. We have been moved to tears by your generosity and the beauty of the Mission Education Center’s principal, students and teachers. The wish lists from the children for Santa was the most precious thing of all. We hope you can join us on Wrapping Day or the day of the holiday party. See details below.
We have exceeded our holiday fundraising goal of $80 each for the near 100 children at Mission Education Center ($20 gift, $25 jacket, $25 Target gift card for parents, and $10 for the party). We started out with about 60 and it has grown weekly. We anticipate that more and more children will arrive to MEC.
Thus, all proceeds that exceed the current students will be used to create an emergency fund for MEC for future students who arrive throughout the school year. Regalitos (you) will continue past the holidays to serve as comadres to MEC’s parent/teacher association. Unlike other schools, the parents are unable to donate to the school, so we will. I have increased the goal and we will keep the GoFundMe account for Regalitos open as long as we are able to serve the school.
Photos will be forthcoming from the wrapping party and from the holiday party (as allowed by SFUSD).
All of our love, Maria, Tracy and Rosalia (Regalitos’ Madrinas)
Please consider signing up for one or both days at: https://goo.gl/forms/DAHvzXtZrVpldrQj2. Parking is challenging at both sites, so suggest public or Lyft.
1. GIFT WRAPPING DAY: Mon, Dec 10th from 3:30pm to 8pm (or whenever we finish) at Mission Language Vocational School (2929-19th Street, SF...street door to the right when you enter). We will serve you dinner. We are expecting the teachers to join us.
2. SCHOOL HOLIDAY PARTY: Fri, Dec 14th at the Mission Education Center (the school) at 1670 Noe Street, SF:
2:30-3:30 in each classroom (kids open gifts),
3:30-5:00 help set up for family party
5:00-6:30 party/dinner/ parents get gift cards
Background:
WE NEED YOUR HELP. Can you organize your office, your board, your friends, your family - or find a small business - to sponsor one of these children, their family or an entire classroom for the holidays. In lieu of gift exchanging this year, Maria and Tracy are asking our friends and families to - instead - help these families.
Families torn apart by Trump's Zero Tolerance policies who have been lucky enough to be reunited are being forced to relocate to cities not necessarily of their choice. Some of these families have been displaced to San Francisco; they are new, without support, not-yet connected to resources, have no jobs, are doubled-up in single rooms and are seriously traumatized.
Their younger children are enrolled in San Francisco’s Unified School District’s Mission Education Center, a K-5 elementary school for newly-arrived Spanish-speaking immigrant students. This transitional program helps the newcomer students achieve the necessary skills and confidence to succeed in regular schools to which they will transfer at the end of one year.
I (Tracy) served as a substitute teacher at this site for one week and left with a heavy heart. One mother I spoke with said that if it were not for being in school, her children would not eat. With their own very-limited resources, the teachers and staff of MEC are supporting 69 students in indescribable ways and often by emptying their own pockets to buy toiletries, food, supplies, and basic health items.
But their efforts are not enough. There is so much need.
There are nearly 100 children and 8 classrooms who need your help.
Any amount is appreciated. For those of you able to donate $100 or more, Tracy will work with Mission Language Vocational School in San Francisco to get you a tax-deductible receipt.
We know our community has so much capacity to be there for our most vulnerable. We have seen it over and over again. THANK YOU for everything you already do and anything you can do for these families.
Update 10/24/18:
We have received tremendous support from you, our community and are not far from our goal of $8,000. Since we posted our GoFundMe campaign, MEC added a pre-k class with 16 new students. Tracy found a great deal online and ordered 40 winter coats. We will add more to that once we get the sizes from the teachers. They are measuring as we speak! We are also getting the list of toys and age-appropriate gifts from the teachers who are reaching out to the parents. Once we get those lists, we will order the coats and gifts and have them delivered to Mission Language Vocational School in preparation for the gift-wrapping day. We will also buy the Target coupons for the families. For those of you unable to volunteer your time on the gift-wrapping day (date TBD), we will take many photos. Ditto for the holiday party, where the gifts will be distributed. More to come.
Update 10/26/18:
Just to let you know how the money will move from GoFundMe to the children and their families: Your donation will be made to me personally on this GoFundMe campaign, and will be deposited into my checking account. If it is $100 or more, I will send the funds to Mission Vocational Language School and they will deposit in their account and pay expenses. All other funds will remain in my account and I will expend to purchase items. Tracy and I are coordinating all of this together. As was noted before, each child will receive a winter coat ($25), gift ($20), Target card ($25) and $10 will go to the parent volunteers toward the holiday party. The number of students is growing, so we hope to have enough funds to cover them by the time of the party. We are also providing funds for 10 pairs of shoes for the 10 recently arrived students to supplement the gift from a company who bought shoes for all the students for Thanksgiving gifts. If you have any questions about how funds are handled, please don't hesitate to call or write me.
Tracy Brown-Gallardo
Maria X Martinez
Rosalia Valencia-Tow
Campaign will remain open.
Full disclosure: the photo you see here is of a beautiful child in Oaxaca. We are waiting for photos of the school and children (as authorized).
Fundraising team (2)
Maria X Martinez
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
Tracy Brown-Gallardo
Team member
