How You Can Help
Help fulfill the holiday dreams of thousands
of children and families in need
Living in poverty
Suddenly, Daniela was not doing well in school, and her parents worried that she would fall behind. 18.5% of Latino children in Santa Clara County live in poverty. Education is the key for them to avoid life-long poverty. So when school isn’t going well, it is a life-threatening crisis.
Daniela loved being the class clown. As a fifth grader, struggling with school, she liked the attention and quickly found the older kids were more interesting than class or homework. At home, she wasn’t talking to her parents. The arrival of a new baby sister created turmoil, and brought new responsibilities for Daniela. Her father was injured, so she had to help care for both her sisters.
The odds of her success were slowly diminishing.
In Sacred Heart’s Homework Club, staff took action to stop the rapidly falling grades. Daniela’s homework was checked every day by her parents, Homework Club stuff and her teachers. Everyone had to sign-off on each assignment. Daniela’s parents attended our parenting classes and Familias Unidas; our program helping parents work with the public school system.
Change can take time, and the lure of the older kids at school was very tempting, but everyone stuck with the plan for that year and the next. Slowly, Daniela’s performance at school improved, and with that came her own belief that she would succeed in school.
As one of the success stories, Daniela is doing well in school now and ready for her transition to High School. She has a brighter future now than the more than 50,000 children living in poverty in Santa Clara County. Please help children like Daniela by supporting Sacred Heart Community Service.