The To’Hajiilee Day School, Children Incorporated’s longest-established affiliated project in New Mexico, educates around 317 children and youth annually in grades kindergarten through 12 in a community in which 99% of children come from low income families.

Karen expressed her deepest thanks for our organization. She stressed that not only do the kids love our program, but the parents, grandparents, and guardians are so grateful too,” said Renée.

Our volunteer coordinator is Katrina, a person with a dynamic personality, who has over the years, supported families of children in our sponsorship program as the school’s Family Engagement Coordinator. In that role, she is responsible for all school events and for raising parent participation. She also works with the mobile food bank to provide monthly food distribution. 

Getting to know Katrina

“Katrina is very well-organized, and makes sure that our sponsored children get everything they need on a monthly basis – from food, to clothes to school supplies, she does the best she can to shop for our kids to find the best deals so donations from sponsors go a long way,” explains Renée Kube, our Director of U.S. Programs.

The last time that I met with Katrina in 2019, she gave me a full tour of the school’s buildings and grounds. I also got to meet some of the seniors in our program who were doing very well in school who I thought would make great candidates for our Higher Education Program.”

Children Incorporated is able to offer support to kids at the To’Hajiilee Day School thanks to our amazing sponsors.

“Katrina had also arranged for me to meet with one of the parents of our sponsored children, Karen. Karen is a single mom. She has five children, two of which are in our program. Karen had a job at one time but lost it and has been unemployed. The children’s father is not in the picture, so Karen really struggles to provide for everything the kids need,” said Renée.

Meeting Karen

“During our meeting, Katrina praised Karen as one of her best and most involved parents. She never misses a PTA meeting, teacher conference, or any school event. She is supportive of the children’s studies and has them do their homework and any special projects. Additionally, Karen serves as a volunteer for Katrina’s Family Engagement Center. She helps with a lot of the events. Finally, Karen has been a great helper for Katrina with our sponsorship program. Karen accompanies her on shopping trips and helps with every aspect from purchasing to distributing.”

“In turn, Karen expressed her deepest thanks for our organization. She said the help provided to all the children is so important to them. She stressed that not only do the kids love our program, but the parents, grandparents, and guardians are so grateful too,” said Renée.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the united states?

You can sponsor a child in the United States in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in the United States that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Education, Stories of Hope, New Mexico

written by Shelley Callahan

Shelley is the Director of Development for Children Incorporated. She is also the lead social correspondent, regularly contributing insights through the Stories of Hope blog series. Sign up for Stories of Hope to receive weekly email updates about how your donations are changing the lives of children in need.

» more of Shelley's stories