Los Angeles’ Kids Still Need Your Help

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Dear Friends,

Now more than ever, LA’s kids need your help.

The pandemic will have lasting effects on our children. 

This year, three major pediatric organizations declared a national emergency in youth mental health, citing the devastating impact of COVID-19 and ongoing structural inequities. The communities CII serves were hit hardest: the CDC estimates that 1 of every 310 Black children and 1 of every 412 Hispanic children experienced the death of a caregiver. In Los Angeles alone, that’s thousands of families left without a partner, a parent, grandparent or other caring adult they loved dearly.

Children’s Institute has been a lifeline for so many—providing more than $2 million in food and other basic necessities, along with virtual learning and telehealth to more than 30,000 children and their families during the pandemic. Yet families struggle to rebound from the economic, academic and emotional losses of the past 18 months, and they continue to need your support. 

Children’s Institute not only provides critical resources and services to those living in underserved communities, but also hope for a better future. Our youngest children were thrilled to return to CII’s bright and welcoming Head Start centers this fall. Youth ageing out of foster care are being supported to graduate from high school and go on to college and careers. Project Fatherhood is helping dads build meaningful relationships with their children. No matter how families connect to CII, we do whatever it takes to set them on pathways to success.

We are one LA community, and together, we can make the season brighter for children and families across our city.

We appreciate your generous support.

With best wishes for a Happy New Year,


Martine Singer
President & CEO

 

Together, we can make the season brighter for children and families.

G I V E   T O D A Y

‘Tis the Season! Winter Festival 2021 Toy Drive-Thrus

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In December 2021, Children’s Institute held  four Winter Festival Toy Drive-Thru & Walk Ups for the second year in a row. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CII staff are still finding ways to safely make the season bright for our children and families across Los Angeles.

Thanks to our incredible sponsors—The Colleagues, Partnership for Families, Shelter Partnership, Good Plus Foundation, UCLA Latino Alumni Association, UCSB’s Chican@/Latinx Alumni Network, Film Craft LA, Film Tools, South LA Café, and countless individual donors—CII was able to distribute thousands of toys and baby items, and hundreds of grocery bags.

6,893 TOYS

570 GROCERY BAGS

1,687 BABY ITEMS 

Hundreds of families drove through 4 different CII locations—in Echo Park, Watts, Long Beach, and Wilmington—to pick up gifts, enjoy festive music and even catch a glimpse of Olaf (from Disney’s Frozen).

We’d like to thank our sponsors and community partners who made these events possible; our staff and volunteers who spent hours preparing, distributing, and cleaning up; and we’d especially like to thank the families who came out to celebrate with us.

Happy holidays to our entire CII community!

Together, we can change lives

Written by

 

Dear CII Supporters,

My name is Cynthia Barboza, and I’m the parent of a Head Start student at Children’s Institute.

I’m also the oldest daughter of three in a Mexican family and had a great amount of responsibility growing up—from school to working several jobs at a time and being a caretaker for my father who passed away three years ago.  I did not have much of a childhood, but I told myself, “If I ever have kids, I’m going to make sure that they go to a great school but also have fun, do arts and crafts, and go to events in the community.”

When I became a mom, I struggled with how expensive quality childcare could be. Then one day walking through my neighborhood, I saw another mom go inside this cute little building. I followed her inside, and the Head Start site supervisor, Ms. Shorts, immediately greeted me and spoke to me as if she already knew me. I felt the love! When she told me how parents could get involved, that was my sign that this school was the right one for my children.

I quickly realized that anything you wanted, CII would try to help you reach your goal. If you need a job, they help with resumes, cover letters, and how to get connected to employers. If you need assistance financially or with food, they will help. If you just need someone to talk to, they could do that too. Other schools don’t provide anything like that. At CII, you just put your kid in school, and you’re pretty much hooked in to all the resources they provide. CII is a service to and for the community.

Now I’m a member of the Parent Policy Council—a group of dedicated parents who help make decisions about CII’s Head Start program—and I share my experience to motivate other parents to get involved. I carry flyers in my car about CII’s services and tell new parents that if they need a car seat, formula or diapers, CII is the place to go. That is what families really need at that time in their lives, and it’s a gateway for them to get to know CII and all it has to offer.

It will change their lives. I know, because it changed mine.

We all want a better future for our kids, and providing them with an early head start in education, love and care are the most important things we can do to put them on that path. CII helps us guide children, for the kids, for ourselves, for our families and for our community.

Together, we can change the lives of so many more.

Happy Holidays,

Cynthia Barboza

 

Together, we can make the season brighter for children and families.

G I V E   T O D A Y