About Our Organization
Our Heart. Our Passion.
Our nonprofit story began in 2016 when we heard about a news reporter who had unsuccessfully tried to raise funds to purchase shoes for needy school children in her area.
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In the Summer of 2016, we made the decision to raise funds for the underprivileged public-school children in the Soledad area of California. After several months we were able to raise enough funds to purchase just under 500 pairs of shoes which we distributed to schools in the Salinas, Soledad area. Prior to the distribution, the school Liaison Officers, Principals, and teachers worked with us to create request lists for children who needed winter shoes. Lee and I and our distribution team of volunteers were all incredibly happy to be able to personally fit the shoes on the children and to see their happy and excited faces.
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In 2017 we were asked to return, but by this time we had several other schools that requested to be added. We worked with the Liaison Officers to determine which children had the most need for shoes in each of the schools. In the Fall of 2017, we distributed shoes to 9 schools. There were 9 schools in Huron and Coalinga and 2 in Salinas, making that a total of 11 schools.
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2019, after 3 years, we applied to be a registered nonprofit and began a new charity to meet the immense need for shoes among school children attending public schools.
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Each year we have added more schools. Currently, 2020, we service 19 public schools. The need is far greater than we anticipated. We realize me must find more ways to raise funds for these beautiful children.
Our Vision
The Vision is to enable every underprivileged student, regardless of creed or color, attending one of the public schools support to have the necessary items needed so they can study with confidence and not feel ashamed of their appearance or lack of study materials.
“The Caring For Our Own” corporation was established for the sole purpose of meeting the need of public-school children in the great State of California.
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The Goal is to provide every disadvantaged child in California’s public schools with shoes, socks, backpacks, and academic school supplies as well as other items deemed essential that will enable them to achieve their academic potential with a sense of self-worth.
Our Letter to You
Dear Friends and Family,
We would like to welcome you to our website. As we continue to grow, we will be adding new features. We would like to have a blog, and a place for your comments, and even suggestions. We want it to be a fun place that our family, friends, guests, and volunteers enjoy following.
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Prior to 2016, we had been involved, for 10 years, on a weekly basis, in providing bread and baked goods to immigrant families mostly in the Sacramento area. We also included several rehab homes in various locations.
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In the Summer of 2016, we were in Soledad, California when we learned that there was a great need among the children of immigrant farmworkers who attend public school. We were told that some children could not start pre-school or kindergarten because they did not have shoes. We went back to our hotel in the afternoon and watched television for a while. On the PBS channel, there was a documentary that told about the plight of migrant farmworkers and their families and how hard it was for them and their children to escape working in the fields and graduate to better-paying jobs.
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On the way home as we drove North to the Sacramento area and beyond, I asked my husband what he thought about taking on another project. I really thought his answer would be, “No”, instead he said, “I don’t know, what is it?”
We discussed the possibility of doing a one-time distribution in the Fall of 2016 to provide shoes for the underprivileged kids in public schools.
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To our surprise, we were able to raise approximately $3,000.00 in less than three months and so we began buying shoes. We had a connection in the area who contacted the schools to obtain names and sizes for children needing shoes and backpacks. In October, November, and December, we did shoe distributions in the Soledad and Salinas area schools. It was so rewarding to see the excitement on the kid's faces when they realized they were getting new shoes and backpacks. From then on, we returned to each school in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and every year we have added more recipient schools to the Fall schedule. However, because our financial outlay was growing rapidly and more and more schools wanted us to service them as well, in March of 2019 we decided to apply for and received approval from the State of California to become a 501-c3. We officially became “Caring For Our Own” an incorporated nonprofit
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Since we started in 2016, the cost of the shoes has more than doubled. They are an expensive item for a family with three or four kids, and they outgrow them rapidly. Children want to fit in and be accepted by their friends. When children do not have the necessary products, like shoes, socks, backpacks, schools-supplies, they begin to lose themself. This can affect self-esteem, their confidence, and their grades, and eventually their future.
Working with our non-profit has been exciting in many ways, challenging and fulfilling. We love our volunteers, donors, corporations with heart, the schools, teachers, and liaison officers. Most of all the kids we serve.
