(PLACERVILLE, CA) – Homeless children in El Dorado County will soon be the beneficiaries of nearly $45,000 thanks to the efforts of the County’s Child Support Services staff and the state association of Child Support directors.
“Each year, the Child Support Directors Association of California (CSDA) raises funds to help support a non-profit charity selected by the CSDA president,” said current CSDA president and El Dorado County Director of Child Support Services, Don Semon. “For this one-time opportunity to select the charity, we chose to fundraise for El Dorado County students identified as homeless by the McKinney-Vento Act.”
In partnership with the El Dorado Community Foundation, CSDA established the Homeless Children Matter Fund and set a goal of raising $30,000 by May 2, 2018.
The fundraising efforts began in early September with raffles, a crab feed in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters in March, donations from individuals and businesses, and a finale raffle with gift baskets donated by local child support agencies throughout California at the CSDA annual training conference earlier this month.
The efforts paid off in grand fashion, smashing the goal by almost $15,000. The funds will help the nearly 1,000 homeless children in the County receive all school programs and services for which they are eligible, including academic support, school nutrition and transportation. All the money raised will remain in El Dorado County and will be distributed to the Office of Education by the Community Foundation.
“The selflessness of everyone involved in this effort during the last eight months to make a positive impact in the lives of homeless children who call school their home, where they see the same faces, sit in the same seat and can put their personal challenges aside for the day, has been remarkable,” said Semon. “We created this fund to help make a difference in our county as well as to raise awareness of the homeless student population throughout the state. I’m humbled that we accomplished what we set out to do and that we are a part of making life better and brighter for these children.”
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