“They got me to where I'm at now and they helped me, they impacted me a lot they helped me change the way I think the way I treat my kid the way I treat other kids and growing up, I always said the kids are the future and I heard you can't teach new tricks to old dogs and that's where I'm at now is trying to influence dads to be like you know what I was once a street hoodlum or I didn't graduate high school I don't have education this is I'm starting over again so wherever my son goes I'm going with him.”—Michael Balderas enrolled his son in Westside Head Start and found inspiration for his family’s future.
The number of children living in poverty in Arizona is staggering at 394,000. Seventy-two percent of children living in poverty are not in school. When children live in poverty they are less likely to be healthy or reach their full developmental potential.
That is why Westside Head Start provides a comprehensive early childhood education program to low income families for free.
Our trained and compassionate teachers use a holistic approach to work with the whole family. Children aged 0-3 are placed in the Early Head Start program. Teachers focus on teaching parents how to care for their children and early childhood development. Children aged 3-5 are placed in a preschool enrichment program to prepare them for school.
You can help prepare children living in poverty to get a great start to their education through a one-time or monthly gift. Your gift will provides more than supplies, it provides hope to families living in poverty.
You’ll be a part of a growing community committed to supporting children achieve academic success and helping parents to understand the important role they play in being their child’s first educator.
Catholic Charities started helping children who were homeless in 1933, right as the Great Depression was ending. Since that time, Catholic Charities has grown its efforts to educate children. Presently, through gifts from people like you, we run Westside Head Start programs in the west half of Maricopa County in central Arizona. Be a part of this exciting work today!
