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Donations
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SBSC raises funds throughout the year to support sustainable projects that empower the people of COO and other communities in the region.  In turn, these communities give us the gift of appreciation and keep us in their thoughts and prayers.  SBSC also sponsors a delegation to COO each year where participants get a first-hand experience of life in El Salvador and review projects we support.

New Proposals include:

Repair work to the Development Center in El Presidio where children ages 2-6  are served.  Two badly rusted classroom walls need to be re-plastered and re-painted. Two need front porches with improved design and three need new and better doors.

Improving Food Security and Nutrition by training families how to construct their own garden plots. Experienced agronimists will teach families new methods that do not require synthetic fertilizers and toxic agrochemicals.  Youth and children will learn with their parents.
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Fight To End Violence Against Women and Girls.  The Citizen Network of Morazan Women (RCCM) works to reduce the distressing level of gender-based violence in the Department of Morazan, where many families in SBSC's partner community, Communidad Octavio Ortiz, have roots.  Statistics from 2018 show that more than 44 out of 100 women were victims of violence, and underage pregnancy sometimes reaches 10 year old children.  RCCM is expanding its activities with a new center and shelter in the town of Osicala, running a series of trainings for community leaders, and implementing a community action protocol to improve community response and accompany victims.  You can help!

Partnerships for Teachers. Many kids in Communidad Octavio Ortiz attend school in nearby Amanda Lopez.  A partnership is growing between them and the teachers at the Carlos Rosario School in Washington DC.  Improving teachers' skills and growing such partnerships are important goals.  This gift will support a trip by some of the teachers from Amando Lopez to visit the Carlos Rosario School for a week.  

Emergency Fund For Migrant Needs:  SBSC's ​Bay Area partner, The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, assists immigrants and asylees in California with emergency housing, legal help, and posting bonds.  This gift will assist those impacted by detention and deportation, and those seeking asylum.  You can help!

Previous Proposals Include:
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Environmental Education in Comunidad Amando López:  In 2013, our partner community’s nearest neighbor won protection for a 120 acre forest bordering the Lempa River, partly with help from Voices On The Border.  At the same time it launched a solid waste management system to improve the health of both the community and the forest.  Educating residents about these interconnected systems and how they can help by managing their garbage is an ongoing effort.  This gift will fund a series of workshops, a festival to boost awareness, and perimeter fence repairs for the forest.   You can help!
 
Women’s Anti-Violence Project in Morazán:  El Salvador is a dangerous place for women, with nearly 500 femicides and 2000 sexual assaults reported in 2017.  This gift will help the Citizen Network of Women in Morazán expand and strengthen its role in advocating, educating for, and accompanying women in 16 communities in Morazán.  You can help!
 
Emergency Fund For Migrant Needs:  SBSC’s Bay Area partner, The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, assists immigrants with emergency housing, legal help, and posting bonds. This gift will assist those impacted by detention and deportation, and those seeking asylum.  You can help!
 
Support for the Anniversary Celebration of Comunidad Octavio Ortiz.  COO was founded in 1992, following the peace accords that formally ended the Civil War.  This event marks the many accomplishments of the community, which perseveres despite many challenges – both natural and man-made.  You can help!
 
ONGOING COMMITMENTS:
 
$ 900/mo. Voices on the Border.  Partial support for VOTB Director, José Acosta, assisted by Ebony Pleasants, to ensure our donations are used effectively, to keep us informed about the needs and the people, provide training and support for Salvadorans who administer our projects, and to lead delegations.
 

​Tax-deductible gifts may be made to​:
U. Lutheran/SBSC and mailed to
SBSC c/o St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
3290 Middlefield Road,
Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA

SBSC is an auxiliary of University Lutheran Church of Palo Alto, CA, a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization, Federal ID #94-1631842.  All donations to University Lutheran/SBSC are tax-deductible.  In compliance with IRS reporting we acknowledge that “No gifts or services were received by the donor in exchange for this gift.”


ESTATE PLANNING:  MAKE A BEQUEST
With a simple statement in your will or a donation of tax-free securities, you can make helping the people of
​El Salvador part of your legacy! 
Contact the SBSC Steering Committee at
3290 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
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