We are seven months into one of the most historic years in history! We continue to be nimble and effective as we have transitioned to being an essential needs organization for families. Four months of shelter in place…we are living in an unprecedented time when families are beginning to return to work after months of lost wages. We continue to empower families by providing food, encouragement, teaching, and financial support. Adjusting to the new “normal” has taken a toll on our community leaving many questions unanswered. Will work continue? Should we stay? Do we choose between watching our children or going back to work? Thank you for staying the course as we launch into Summer Camp 2020 RESPIRA – BREATHE. We welcome your prayers and financial support more than ever. Take a moment to check the July edition of CLIMATE magazine. We are grateful for the acknowledgement and of course support of Peninsula Covenant Church location. Please sign up here to work with a child 1/1 or in small groups as we head into the critical time of return to school.
COVID-19 Webpage Update
Food Distribution at PCC
June marked the start of a new food distribution location. We have been so blessed to have the continued support of Peninsula Covenant Church (PCC) as we have transitioned there to do our weekly food distribution. We continue to receive deliveries from the Facebook Community Mobile Market through a partnership with Good Roots . 125 families receive fresh organic food weekly. This sustains them for this long haul of figuring out how to budget in the midst of caring for their families needs.
With the changes in group gatherings and in an abundance of caution, we have shifted our plans for our summer STEAM camp. Since our students are still in great need of academic and social support, we are planning to have camps in smaller group settings while still adhering to recommended guidelines. Campers will participate in academic activities, art projects, sports, and more! There are many ways that you can partner with us, including giving towards a camper’s tuition for camp. $350 is the cost per camper weekly and our goal is to provide camp for 144 students in East Redwood City! This means we need just over $50,000 to support this camp. Can you help?
Be a good neighbor – Support a Camper
With a new summer camp model in partnership with Redwood City Parks and Recreation, we have had to scale back the size and schedule of our camp to 12 campers per session and half-day camp offerings in order to serve more families. We are in need of volunteers to sponsor, prepare and serve lunch (to be supervised by parents), and more. Click below for more information and to sign up.
Beginning March 15, GU pivoted our work to ensure we met the felt needs and essential needs of families. Our staff transitioned swiftly to create a beautiful model of love. We are in partnership with 
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Julia Dugan for allowing us to transform the American Academy of Dance into our emergency relief hub since March when we made this shift. We are forever grateful for this time and how quickly we could set things in motion! Our hard-working staff – Cynthia Nava, Andrew Cruz, Candice Bún, Benita Hopkins, and Crystal Tapelu have stepped up to serve and transition during this wild ride! We are so grateful for their hearts, their expertise and their love as they’ve done so much in these past few months and have not missed a beat!
We held 2 distinct summer camps in Redwood City. One was held at an existing location: Schaberg/Roosevelt with 18 students, while a brand new endeavor took place with our newest church partner, Redeemer Lutheran. Redeemer has a successful private school and a longstanding local church. Pastor Paul Schult has been in
The opposition to our plans was intense. We had planned to use the church’s bus which broke down a month before we launched. Three days before we launched we lost our lead teacher. God totally used this opportunity to allow us to trust Him! It was remarkable as a few weeks before I distinctly knew I was to send for my daughter (Crystal), a veteran missionary leader and children’s minister to come out to help lead an aspect of the camp. She literally saved the day! I know we couldn’t have done this camp without her. She sacrificed being home with her husband, and my grand-daughter Tishy was the youngest student and mascot for the camp. The team that Redeemer put together was stellar. I could tell endless stories of how each of the individuals made this local mission trip an incredible adventure. It was miraculous what happened on so many levels.
Thank you for your incredible hearts, love and sacrifice. We welcome you to continue journeying with us to serve children and families. This school year we will launch our after school programming to 100+ children for our 7th year . We will remain on the former Fair Oaks campus working with KIPP Excellencia with 850 students. Our expectation is to serve a few hundred, as well continue on the 2 existing campuses we work with. This will require lots of prayer, local missionaries, volunteers and mentors on local school campuses. Will you join us? We covet your prayers, your finances, your time, and your talent. Would you consider becoming a monthly financial donor? With our expansion we will need more staff. This is a big request as the unemployment rate is low and most organizations serving families are vying for the same people.