Click to enlarge photos.
Our Ladies of Charity (LOC) chapter is in south Santa Clara County, a region within affluent Silicon Valley. However, sectors within south Santa Clara County suffer disproportionately from poverty. As our chapter learned about the Vincentian model of Systemic Change we struggled with what interventions and strategies we could implement to help poor families in our community achieve self-sufficiency. As a small LOC chapter what could we do?
Nine years ago, it was brought to our attention that many children in south Santa Clara County lacked school supplies. Teachers and school administrators told us of children being teased by other children for not having basic school supplies. These children would not request the supplies because they were embarrassed. Educators shared how feeling ashamed and stressed can prevent children from focusing during school lessons and ultimately negatively impact their ability to learn. LOC Morgan Hill membership know studies show that education is the first step to overcoming poverty. We believe for children of low-income families, having adequate school supplies could be the first step to paving a path for a successful future.
Since the onset of the LOC Readiness Project, several other groups now distribute backpacks with school supplies. However, no group provides backpacks and school supplies specific to the needs of middle and high school students. These backpacks are more expensive to purchase and to fill. To avoid duplication of services, and to provide much-needed assistance to middle and high school students, the group decided to focus on providing backpacks for middle and high school students. However, this year LOC fulfilled requests previously made by community groups for 105 elementary school backpacks. With generous donations from the Morsilli Faily Fund and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society of St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Parish, LOC was able to purchase and fill an additional 200 backpacks for middle and high school students.
The backpacks were distributed as follows:
- 60 middle/high school backpacks to Morgan Hill Unified School District Family and Community Engagement for low-income families.
- 55 middle/high school backpacks to Latino Family Fund Youth Program to be distributed among vulnerable students in the three Gilroy Middle Schools
- 30 elementary school and 40 middle/high school backpacks to Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy and Services (CARAS) in Gilroy to be distributed at a community event targeting Gilroy and Morgan Hill low-income families.
- 45 elementary and 30 middle/ high school backpacks to Lucy Navarro and Patty Pena for special needs low-Income and migrant students within Gilroy Unified School District
- 25 elementary and 15 middle/high school backpacks to St. Vincent de Paul Society, Saint Catherine Parish, Morgan Hill
In addition to school supplies, backpacks included a dental hygiene pack provided by Dr. Jernelle Escobar, a Gilroy dentist. This is an important contribution as children in south Santa Clara County suffer disproportionately from tooth decay and other dental issues.
Lillian Castillo
Chair, Ladies of Charity of Morgan Hill School Readiness Project