Current Giving Focus : El Centro

How You Can Help Make A Difference At Catholic Charities’ El Centro Program: A Comprehensive Resource Center for Mercer County’s Latino Community

El Centro is designed to provide social, mental health, and health services to children and their families. El Centro offers:

• Youth activity programs to help keep youngsters safe, out of gangs, and away from drugs
  
• ESL and basic education classes
  
• Computer training
  
• Vocational training
  
• Support groups, empowerment services
  
• Community outreach with other agencies to bring their services on site

Like many Catholic Charities programs, the need for services is growing, but our resources have not kept pace.  El Centro strives to address the need of the over 1800 individuals who come to El Centro each year, however due to the lack of staff resources and funding, many individuals are being turned away.  Thus we are undergoing a capacity building campaign to better meet the needs of this community.

Here are some ways that businesses and corporations can help El Centro build program capacity to meet the growing need for its servies, and help the Latino community achieve self-sufficiency.

Program Giving Opportunities

$350,000 – El Centro Program Sponsor (Twelve Months)
Support all programs and services for El Centro for one year.

$175,000 – El Centro Program Sponsor (Six Months)
Support all programs and services for El Centro for six months.

$75,000 – Mental Health Program with Masters Degree Therapist
Outreach to individuals and families experiencing trauma as a result of violence.

$50,000 – Gang Violence Prevention, Advocacy, and Outreach
Hire Gang prevention specialist -- expand home visiting and advocacy program from secondary schools to elementary level schools.

$50,000 – Children’s Futures
Expand the Intensive Stabilizing Program to remain at the current level covering 75 – 80 mothers with nutrition and child care education, to cover the cost of a home visitation program.

$45,000 – Twelve Passenger Van
Cost to purchase a twelve passenger van to safely transport adults and children back and forth to support groups and other programs.

$45,000—Healthy Marriages Initiative Outreach
The Healthy Marriage Initiative does not pay for the outreach component. This sponsorship would allow the program to provide outreach to more couples to include home visits, and would cover the cost of food, materials, and transportation.

$40,000 – Youth Mentoring Program (Twelve Months)
Program for high risk youth who have demonstrated problems in the community. Sponsorship would provide for program management, transportation of youth, snacks, program materials and cost of leasing a gym for physical fitness activities. This curriculum also includes homework help, and involvement in the community service program.
($20,000 – Sponsor opportunity to cover the cost of this program for six months)

$40,000 – Men’s Anger Management Program (Twelve Months)
Continue and expand this program for high risk men who have demonstrated problems. Participants discuss issues they are facing and learn how to problem solve these issues non-violently. Sponsorship provides program management, professional counselor/group leader, transportation of participants, snacks, and program materials. This is the only program in Mercer County of this kind for men.
($20,000 – Sponsor opportunity to cover the cost of this program for six months)

$40,000 – Adult Basic Education Program (Twelve Months)
Twelve-month basic education program for adults. Includes program management, certified adult education teacher, transportation of participants, snacks, and program materials.
($20,000 – Sponsor opportunity to cover the cost of this program for six months)

$25,000 – Twelve Month Health Education Program and Community Health Fair
Sponsorship provides the planning, educational outreach, and implementation of an annual community health fair with one hundred providers for prevention and detection of heart disease, breast cancer, and other diseases.

$15,000 -- ESL Instructor (Part-Time)
A part-time certified instructor to teach English as a second language.

$10,000 – Family Counseling Sponsor
Provides counseling for five families for one year one hour per week, four sessions per month.

$10,000 – Support Group for Women
Support group meets for three hours, once a week year round. Includes program supplies for arts and crafts materials. Participants discuss their issues while they create craft items to raise money for their families.

$10,000 – Computer Classes
Class meets twice per week, for two hours, for six months. Includes Spanish translator, online fees, cost of computers, cost of computer maintenance, and utilities to support volunteer computer instructors.

$7,500 – Full Day Summer Mentoring Program
Provides for an activity program for twelve youth (ages 13 – 17 years of age) a full day (seven hours), five days per week. Covers transportation, general operations expense, snacks, lunch, and two teen counselors – a contribution of $500 for each youth is deposited into their scholarship fund.

$5,000 -- Counseling Sponsor
Provides 80 hours of counseling to two individuals or a family (1 1/2 hours per week for one year).

$5,000 -- After School Mentoring Program Sponsor
Provides one child the opportunity to join the after school mentoring program for one academic year. (Cost covers the cost of snacks, gas for transportation, utilities, staff overhead.)

Benefactors who contribute at leadership levels will make it possible for El Centro to step up to a new level of service that will strengthen the community and its families and turn despair into hope.