By Megan Ma
 Matthew and Kaitlyn work on craft projects while their parents attend a monthly meeting at Help One Child, in this photo from 2003. Kristi Clarke, a professional respite caregiver, offers guidance as needed. |
Town Crier Holiday Fund donors have pledged $80,000 in matching funds to encourage more to contribute. As of Monday afternoon, fund totals had reached $121,500.
A challenge grant, where each dollar is doubled, is graciously provided by the following: Steve and Michele Kirsch Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Skoll Community Fund, Rambus Inc., Charles and Nan Geschke Foundation, William and Gay Krause Foundation, Los Altos resident Ed Dowd, the Kathleen and Romesh Wadhwani Foundation, and the Everlasting Private Foundation.
This week, the Town Crier profiles four Holiday Fund recipients, local non-profit agencies that provide support and hope to at-risk youth in the form of permanent homes, counseling and after-school homework help.
Help One Child
“It feels wonderful to impact children’s lives and give them a chance to have great parents,” said Beth Walker, spokeswoman for the group.
While Help One Child does not license foster parents, they recruit and support married or single adults wishing to provide a home for foster children.
“We play a big supporting role - advising people, providing babysitting and help each step of the way. We let people know that being a foster parent is challenging but extremely rewarding, too,” Walker said.
The shortage of foster homes is extremely dire at the moment, she added. Currently the Santa Clara and San Mateo communities need about 500 more foster homes in order to keep siblings together and prevent overcrowding.
Help One Child is a nondenominational ministry that seeks support through local churches.
Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC)
CHAC programs are designed to prevent drug use and addiction and to protect young people from engaging in risky behavior.
Qualified counselors staff school campuses to help students deal with emotional issues and crisis situations. Teachers, peers and other counselors often identify and refer students who need help to CHAC.
“Our role is to strengthen students’ assets by being present on campus,” said Paul Schutz, associate director of development.
Prevention programs start as early as kindergarten, when staff visit campuses to educate children about substance abuse. The goal is to encourage healthy, safe lifestyles, Schutz said.
In addition to its drug prevention programs, CHAC provides parental counseling and conflict resolution, and enlists outside speakers for community awareness.
Bayshore Christian Ministries
Executive director Andrew Hartwell said, “It’s rewarding to see a really significant impact on these kids’ lives.”
Hartwell spoke of two recent success stories. A high school sophomore getting into serious trouble at school joined the after-school program reading significantly below grade level. After working with a dedicated tutor for a few months, he is now earning some of his best grades. After-school program volunteers found that another child, who struggled to finish his daily homework, would happily complete it when he had the incentive to tutor the younger kids. “His biggest motivation, we discovered, was tutoring the first- and second-graders,” Hartwell said, adding that the discovery changed the boy’s academic outlook.
“One of the major things we can give these kids is a different vision for the future,” he said. “Two recent alumni of our program are in college now. They came into the program not believing they could do it.”
As part of the program, the ministry often organizes tours of local colleges to instill hope in struggling students that higher education is within their reach.
CSA Dental
The program’s goal is to remove barriers to access and give children a link to Healthy Families and Healthy Kids dental insurance plans. Dentists see a large number of patients each day. Many of the children already suffer from tooth decay and have never received preventive care or maintenance.
Other Town Crier Holiday Fund recipients include Community Homeless Alliance Ministry, Mother Branch-East Palo Alto, Career Closet, Truck of Love, Sunday Friends, Hidden Villa camperships, Challenge Learning Center and Downtown College Prep.
The value of each donation is increased by the Town Crier, which absorbs all overhead and administrative costs. One hundred percent of each donation goes into the fund for disbursement to the organizations.
The Community Foundation Silicon Valley is the fiscal agent for the Town Crier Holiday Fund. It provides the tax-deductible status. Each contribution to the Town Crier Holiday Fund will be acknowledged as a 501(c)(3) gift.
Make checks payable to the Town Crier Holiday Fund and send to 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022. Credit card contributions can be handled by phone. Call Leverne at 948-9000.
