TUCSON, Ariz. - The Sunnyside Foundation is helping families within the Sunnyside Unified School District who are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.
The Foundation was created nearly 30 years ago to help pay for field trips, college campus visits, and classroom necessities. However, that changed this year.
“This year we took a major pivot with COVID," said Kerri Lopez-Howell, the executive director for the Sunnyside Foundation.
Lopez-Howell told KGUN9 the foundation is now helping Sunnyside Unified School District families pay for critical needs through its Emergency Relief Fund.
The fund helps pay for rent and utilities, according to Lopez-Howell.
“We are paying backlogged bills into February and March right now," she said.
In order to help families who in most in need first, Lopez-Howell said the foundation received help from staff at Sunnyside schools.
“We went through our school counselors at SUSD, we worked directly with our title 1 program directors to identify the students and the families most in crisis," she said.
Andrea Leon Foster is a Title 1 Coordinator within the Sunnyside Unified School District. She regularly makes contact with families in need.
“I have a grandmother who called me today who was requesting assistance with her electric bill and it’s over 600 dollars," she said.
So far, the foundation has paid more than $40,000 in rent and utilities. It's helped more than 30 families and 100 students, according to Lopez-Howell.
If you have a student within the Sunnyside Unified School District and need assistance from the foundation, click here.
If you'd like to make a contribution to the foundation, click here.
