Each month, Pat Parris of KGUN9 features a Southern Arizona nonprofit making a difference and invites the community to give what they can. Even small gifts of $5 or $10 help support people and programs across our region.
To help extend that impact, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona matches the first $500 in donations each month. If you are not able to give, sharing the campaign is another meaningful way to support local nonprofits and the work they do every day.
Once again, for the month of June, our collaborative effort with KGUN 9 and Pat Parris has tapped Honor Flight Southern Arizona as our Giving Project recipient. Honor Flight’s mission is to celebrate Southern Arizona’s veterans by inviting them to share in a day of honor at our nation’s memorials.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,876 was raised for Make Way for Books.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — KGUN 9 and the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona are teaming up for a new campaign: The Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
Each month, KGUN will spotlight one local non-profit making a positive impact on the community.
Up first for the Giving Project is Make Way for Books, an organization that focuses on childhood literacy, which is an important cause for both KGUN 9 and parent company E.W. Scripps.
Make Way for Books serves the community "so that young children never fall behind," said CEO Jenny Volpe. "That's our mission...we want to give all children the chance to read and succeed."
Part of that mission starts very early. Make Way for Books recognizes the importance of reading to your young child.
"We're working with babies, infants, toddlers, preschoolers. We know that if we can get to a child and really boost their language skills at three, it impacts their comprehension skills in 10th grade," Volpe said.
A major success for Make Way for Books is a community-based program called Story School.
Story School reaches thousands of kids who don't have access to preschool, with a weekly literacy school.
Each child receives 20 free books and guidance from family literacy specialists.
"They work with children and families in small cohorts," according to Volpe. "If we're able to have a child participate, 75 percent of them go on to score at or above benchmark in reading in kinder through third grade."
Families also get access to the free Make Way for Books app. The app fills a need the nonprofit saw four years ago.
Make Way for Books Digital Director Fernando González said, "we started creating these high quality bilingual books that we could make available on the app for free, for anybody."
We make sure to integrate it into the programs that we offer to families.
Because it's an app, because it's software, we can just make it available widely.
In fact, we made the app available nationally and then later internationally.
We are seeing usage even in other countries.
Which is amazing.
Make Way for Books Digital Director Fernando González
González says since the start of the pandemic, they've seen a huge uptick in app usage.
He's currently working on a new version of the app, that will use a timeline for a child's first five years.
According to González, "we have enough content for somebody to really start using it at zero and take it all the way through five years. In doing so, coaching the parent in how to share books effectively at each age and each developmental stage."
While the future is bright for Make Way for Books, they need the community's support to continue their mission to give all children the chance to read and succeed.
[Make Way for Books] is 100% free, free of charge for families.
Again, these are families that often can't afford preschool, some can't afford books.
In many cases we're giving them their first library.
We've had families break down in tears when they get the books.
Make Way for Books CEO Jenny Volpe
We invite you to consider making a donation to Make Way for Books. Even $5 or $10 will make a difference.
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, our partner in the Giving Project, is matching the first $500 in donations this May.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,523 was raised for the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — KGUN 9 spotlights a different local non-profit on the first Wednesday of every month. With Wildfires so prevalent in our region, this month we're focusing on the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation.
It's the latest installment of The Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
The Foundation exists to support the needs of the firefighting community, providing firefighters and their families with health and wellness services.
Mike McKendrick, a retired 30-year veteran of the Tucson Fire Department, has been the chair of the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation for the past decade. He knows first hand about the struggles of firefighters and helps the foundation fulfill its mission.
McKendrick says the Foundation works to "explore the gaps and work to fill the gaps in firefighter health and wellness. Specifically cardiac, cancer and mental health. The three main killers of firefighters. Then we have fitness and wellness in there, and they're all tied together."
"Thank you for being crazy enough to run into a fire when everybody else is running out. The foundation is an opportunity for the community to say thank you."
~ Mike McKendrick, Greater Tucson Fire Foundation Chair
Part of that mission of filling gaps includes helping with things like co-pays and also providing resources to the 1,850 firefighters they serve throughout the Tucson region.
"When you have a healthy firefighter, you have someone who is able to better serve the community."
~ Rorie Johnston, Greater Tucson Fire Foundation Executive Director
Executive Director Rorie Johnston says their biggest challenge is getting the firefighters to reach out for help, especially when it comes to mental health services.
"Having the ability to say 'I need to speak with someone,' comfortably...that is a stigma we want to break down," said Johnston. "That's a barrier we want to breakdown."
"How does the hero say he needs help?"
~ Jen Isom, Sequoia Springs Trauma Healing Center Therapist
Jen Isom, a therapist with the non-profit Sequoia Springs Trauma Healing Center, works with the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. She offers her services to firefighters and their families, an area of emphasis for the Fire foundation.
"Sleep debt, difficulties with parenting and co-parenting when your person's gone half the month, coming back into the home. That's what I see a lot of initially, are people just having a hard time with their relationship" said Isom.
Helping to pay for these services is where the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation comes in: With an all-volunteer staff, over 90 % of every dollar they raise goes directly to programming.
The Foundation's main source of fundraising comes from a once-a-month estate sale at their Safe Shift store, at 2801 E. Grant Rd., next to Fire Station No. 5. The store is only open the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each month. This month, the sale dates are June 2 - 4, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
"Quality items, estate items, collectibles, things that you use in your home," said Johnston of the store's merchandise. "If it's in your home and you're able to use it, chances are you'll find it in our store and available for sale."
We invite you to consider making a donation to the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. Even $5 or $10 will made a difference.
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, our partner in the Giving Project, is matching the first $500 in donations this June.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $3,375 was raised for Smiles for Veterans.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month, KGUN 9 takes an in-depth look a different local non-profit organization whose work is the focus of the Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
This July, we're featuring a local group helping to change the lives of our veterans—one smile at a time.
Smiles for Veterans provides dental care to any veteran who needs it, and according to the organization the need is great.
"All of us need to realize how much these people sacrifice to protect our freedoms," said Mark Lamberton, Smiles for Veterans Secretary and Treasurer
It was his appreciation of veterans and their service that led Lamberton to help start Smiles for Veterans. The nonprofit recognized only about 8% of veterans are eligible for dental care from the V.A.
That leaves 92% of veterans in jeopardy of not getting proper dental care.
"We are trying to fill the gap," said Kristen Sevic, President of Smiles for Veterans, who joined when the charity was formed in late 2016.
She also owns Sevic Orthodontic Laboratory, and makes many of the dentures and partials for the veterans.
"We don't charge them anything. We just make what we make for free."
They then partner with area dentists to help around 100 veterans each year in Arizona.
One of those individuals is U.S. Navy Veteran Dan Martell.
After a fall, Martell lost teeth. But he didn't qualify for dental care through the VA.
Smiles for Veterans stepped in to help. It's one of many success stories.
Dr. Ava Miller of Graham Family Dental has worked with about two dozen veterans.
"Through us improving their oral health and giving them smiles, then they can be confident. They're going back out in the world and getting jobs that they wanted, and it just gives them the confidence to move forward with their lives," said Miller. "It's really neat to be a part of that."
Graham Family Dental is one of several practices taking part in the Smiles for Veterans program.
"Most veterans are extremely grateful the second they sit down in the chair because that someone helped them find a place where they can seek care, and provide them funding,"
said Dr. Felipe Bauer of Graham Family Dental.
Smiles for Veterans has a long list of vets awaiting dental care.
But the goal of the nonprofit is to one day become obsolete: The group hopes to convince Washington that veterans need full dental care through the V.A.
"Our goal is to make, is to prove to the powers that be that this program works, and is sustainable, and hand it off to them. That's the goal," said Lamberton.
We invite you to consider making a donation to the Smiles for Veterans. Even $5 or $10 will made a difference.
Our partner in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is matching the first $500 in donations again this month.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $5,128 was raised for the Live Theatre Workshop.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month, KGUN 9 features a different local non-profit organization as part of our Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
In August, as kids start heading back to school, we take an in-depth look at an organization that's introducing young people to live theatre.
It's another summer camp day at Live Theatre Workshop.
In one theatre, kids are singing and dancing.
In another theatre, more kids rehearsing their song.
Live Theatre Workshop has been providing adults, kids and families the opportunity to experience live theatre since 1996.
"This place is bustling. At any given moment, you will see kids singing in one room and actors rehearsing in another room and costumers putting costumes together," said Executive Director Michael Martinez.
"All of that was impossible before the community really rallied behind our cause and our vision."
That vision was a brand new Live Theatre Workshop campus on Fort Lowell near Country Club.
They're now in the new space which houses multiple theatres, and allows them to build sets and create costumes.
Most importantly, it allows Live Theatre Workshop to expand its theatre programs for kids.
"The benefits in theatre, of theatre in the community is really amazing.
It does so much for our kids, it does so much for the economy and it really makes Tucson a vibrant community.”
~Live Theatre Workshop Executive Director Michael Martinez
Amanda Gremel, Director of Children's Programs, knows first hand about taking advantage of Live Theatre Workshop.
She describes her younger self: "I was a pretty shy kid in high school."
While attending Palo Verde High School, Gremel kept a promise to her dad that she would try theatre.
After taking part in Live Theatre Workshop's education program, she's never left.
"It has just become my second home," said Gremel.
Twenty years later, she oversees an education program that reaches more than 20 schools throughout Tucson.
She's able to make a strong connection with those students trying theatre for the first time.
"'Oh, I used to be you, that came in really shy, not wanting to participate',” said Gremel, relating her own experience to that of new students.
“Being able to talk to them on their level and making them feel comfortable in a place where they can take risks. Sometimes they surprise themselves," she said.
Part of Live Theatre Workshop's education program is to go into area high schools and make a positive impression on students who may not have thought about acting or performing.
"At Live Theatre Workshop our mission is to create a space that is welcoming for everyone.
We really lean into that in our teaching approach."
~Amanda Gremel, Director of Children's Programs
We invite you to consider making a donation to Live Theatre Workshop. Even $5 or $10 will make a difference.
Our partner in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is matching the first $500 in donations again this month.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,050 was raised for If You Give a Child a Book.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $6,500 was raised for Beads of Courage.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month, KGUN 9 provides an in-depth look at a local non-profit organization, whose work becomes the focus of the Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
Our October Giving Projects shines the spotlight on a highly successful non-profit based here in Tucson—one that now has a worldwide reach.
"By giving beads to kids, that helps them record, tell and own their story of courage."
~ Jean Gribbons, Beads of Courage Executive Director and Founder.
In 2003, Jean Gribbon came up with the idea of giving pediatric cancer patients beads to mark their journey of treatment. That idea would eventually grow into Beads of Courage.
At the time, Gribbon was working on her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Arizona.
"The average length of treatment for a child going through treatment for cancer can be anywhere from two to three years long," said Gribbon. "So, you become very intimately involved with these kids and these families."
"The fact that we can bring joy and happiness in the midst of something that's very serious and challenging, is pretty powerful," said Executive Director and Founder Jean Gribbon
She began thinking about giving these young patients beads after seeing how much kids enjoyed the activity at camps.
"I thought how can we recreate some of the things kids can do at camp in the hospital setting, where they're held hostage for days on end," Gribbon said.
Along with other nurses, she developed a color-coded chart to help the young patients visually show their courageous journey.
White is for chemotherapy, red is for a blood transfusion and a yellow bead is for any time they are away from home.
Gribbon says the young patients all have the same reaction to their strand of beads.
"The beads just make me happy. That's really powerful because happy is an emotion. It's an emotional response. So, the fact that we can bring joy and happiness in the midst of something that's very serious and challenging, is pretty powerful," said Gribbon.
The growth of Beads of Courage has also been powerful.
It has expanded to a level Gribbon could have never imagined 19 years ago.
Empowering young cancer patients on their journeys of recovery
Each month, KGUN 9 provides an in-depth look a local non-profit organization, whose work becomes the focus of the Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
In 2003, Jean Gribbon came up with the idea of giving pediatric cancer patients beads to mark their journey of treatment. That idea would eventually grow into Beads of Courage.
At the time, Gribbon was working on her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Arizona.
"The average length of treatment for a child going through treatment for cancer can be anywhere from two to three years long," said Gribbon. "So, you become very intimately involved with these kids and these families."
Beads of Courage
"The fact that we can bring joy and happiness in the midst of something that's very serious and challenging, is pretty powerful," said Executive Director and Founder Jean Gribbon
She began thinking about giving these young patients beads after seeing how much kids enjoyed the activity at camps.
"I thought how can we recreate some of the things kids can do at camp in the hospital setting, where they're held hostage for days on end," Gribbon said.
Along with other nurses, she developed a color-coded chart to help the young patients visually show their courageous journey.
White is for chemotherapy, red is for a blood transfusion and a yellow bead is for any time they are away from home.
Gribbon says the young patients all have the same reaction to their strand of beads.
"The beads just make me happy. That's really powerful because happy is an emotion. It's an emotional response. So, the fact that we can bring joy and happiness in the midst of something that's very serious and challenging, is pretty powerful," said Gribbon.
The growth of Beads of Courage has also been powerful.
It has expanded to a level Gribbon could have never imagined 19 years ago.
Tucson non-profit Beads of Courage has grown to have a global reach.
"Annually our organization distributes 14 million beads to kids in 400 children's hospitals in nine countries. That's a lot of beads. And you know we're based here in Tucson—Tucson grown and loved. Now making a global impact," said Gribbon.
Beads of Courage relies heavily on local volunteers.
"Of those 14 million beads, roughly 2 million are individually packaged through a labor of love, that we get out to all of the children's hospitals that implement Beads of Courage" Gribbon said.
Those beads come from amazing artists around the country—and they're honored in the hall of fame at the Beads of Courage headquarters in Tucson.
A building that the non-profit has outgrown.
A capital campaign is underway to purchase a larger building for the Beads of Courage international headquarters.
We invite you to make a donation to Beads of Courage by using the QR code in the video, or by heading to the Giving Project section of our website. Even $5 or $10 will make a difference.
Our partner in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is matching the first $500 in donations again this month.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $3,006 was raised for IMPACT of Southern Arizona.
CATALINA, Ariz. (KGUN) — KGUN 9 is proud to support a local non-profit organization each month through our Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good, a campaign that helps raise funds for important causes in Southern Arizona.
This November, it's a non-profit serving several regional communities including near-by Catalina and Marana, and reaching into eastern and central Arizona: IMPACT of Southern Arizona serves as a one-stop shop for those needing a little extra help.
"It's very personally rewarding to be able to help people in need. Especially in these difficult times."
~ Arthur Posner, IMPACT of Southern Arizona volunteer
Arthur Posner is one of many volunteers that keeps IMPACT of Southern Arizona going.
"I wanted to give back to the community after I retired."
He's been helping out at the non-profit for 13 years, volunteering in both IMPACT's food bank and clothing banks.
Posner is one of dozens of volunteers helping IMPACT of Southern Arizona reach their stated goal of "Moving people forward."
It started nearly 23 years ago as a little food bank in Catalina.
Impact has since expanded its footprint and scope.
It now serves youth, families and older people in need across much of Southern Arizona.
"Our service area covers 52 zip codes from Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, San Manuel, all the way up to Globe, and then to Marana and down on the southside to South Tucson and Sahuarita," said Development Coordinator Diana Charbonneau.
IMPACT's food bank, located in Catalina, serves over 600 families a month.
The clothing bank looks more like an actual retail store, and serves hundreds of families a month.
That includes a family we spoke to, who wanted to remain anonymous:
"Things are a lot more expensive, it's a lot harder to get by nowadays."
Pat: "And that's where IMPACT comes in for you and your family."
"Absolutely, they've been such a blessing for us."
To meet the growing need, IMPACT of Southern Arizona is about to begin an expansion of its food bank in Catalina.
Another important step in fulfilling their ultimate goal.
"Change the landscape of poverty. Not just in our area, but all across Southern Arizona, which is not an easy task," Charbonneau said. "So we need all the support that we can get."
We invite you to make a donation to IMPACT of Southern Arizona at our Giving Project page.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $6,500 was raised for Project Action for Veterans.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This December, our Giving Project is featuring a program that offers help to those who served our country.
With homelessness—or fear of being homeless—a growing issue in our community, Project Action for Veterans provides housing for veterans in need.
"The situation was very unexpected, and they came in and they helped me through.
They helped me get back on my feet."
~ Army Veteran Gabriel Lopez
Gabriel Lopez is one of the hundreds of success stories for Project Action for Veterans.
Lopez moved back to Tucson after retiring from the Army, only to get laid off from his new job when the pandemic hit.
He was unsure if he could stay in his new apartment.
"They were able to pay three months in advance for this apartment," said Lopez. "That's how they also offered me, if I needed a mattress, what else do I need," said Lopez.
Just in the last year, Project Action for Veterans has helped more than 300 veterans who were homeless or, like Gabriel Lopez, veterans with families who were concerned they soon would be homeless.
"We prevent that from happening," said Denise Lopez, the program manager for Project Action for Veterans.
She says they work closely with the VA to help veterans in need of housing.
They also work with landlords as rents continue to rise across Tucson.
"Working with them on decreasing those rents, because that's the biggest thing right now, is rent reasonable?" she said. "That's where we're having a hard time housing our veterans because of the increased rent."
Project Action for Veterans is a program of the Primavera Foundation in Tucson.
"Our mission is pathways out of poverty through safe, affordable housing, workforce development, and neighborhood revitalization," said Tamara Prime, Primavera Foundation COO.
Primavera takes great pride in their program helping veterans facing homelessness.
"There's need and success stories," Prime said. "The combination keep us committed."
Success stories like Gabriel Lopez. He now has a job with Pima County.
His advice for fellow veterans:
"You're not alone. There is help.
Primavera's a great example.
Seek for it and they will help you."
We invite you to make a donation to Project Action for Veterans by using the QR code in the video, or by heading to the Giving Project section of our website. Even $5 or $10 will make a difference.
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, our partners in the Giving Project, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $7,535 was raised for the African American Museum of Southern Arizona.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — KGUN 9's Giving Project campaign is starting the new year off with our January recipient, a new museum that's long overdue here in Tucson.
The African American Museum of Southern Arizona is now open on the University of Arizona campus, where it moved from concept to reality over the course of the pandemic.
"It all started because of a seven-year-old's question," said Beverely Elliott, Executive Director of the African American Museum.
Beverely and Bob Elliott's grandson, Jody, was researching African American heroes for a first grade assignment when he asked them:
"Where's the museum here where I can find people that are like me?"
That inspired Beverely and Bob to start a non-profit and open the African American Museum of Southern Arizona—first online, and now inside the Student Union at the University of Arizona.
"We're a movement, not just a museum," said Bob Elliott, African American Museum Board Chair.
And Bob Elliott knows all about being part of a movement.
He's best known as the star of Arizona Basketball in the 1970s under Fred Snowden, the first African American head coach at a major university.
"When coach Snowden recruited me here, his pitch was let's go out west and make history," said Bob. "He was the first black (head) coach in Division I, major school, major conference. He knew the microscope would be on us."
Despite being subjected to several incidents of racism, he and Snowden had great success at Arizona in the '70s.
You'll find a section of the museum dedicated to Fred Snowden, as well as an area remembering the great Buffalo Soldiers of Southern Arizona.
"People need to know the history, the stories, and so we can memorialize them, have them where people can come listen to them," said Bob. "That's some of what I know our charge is."
"We want to make sure that younger people, like our grandson, when they turn 50 they can still come to the museum and find out what happened 50 years ago," Beverely said. "And we also want to move into the digital age. We want to make sure young people are enthused and inspired to want to come and learn about themselves."
The museum will have an official opening event Saturday, Jan. 14 as part of MLK weekend.
We invite you to make a donation to the African American Museum of Southern Arizona. Even $5 or $10 will make a difference.
Our partner in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is matching the first $500 in donations again this month.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,260 was raised for Bag It.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Every month KGUN 9 features a local nonprofit for our Giving Project. Bag it is our charity for the month of February.
Bag It helps those diagnosed with cancer navigate through a very difficult time. It's a Tucson nonprofit with a footprint at the state and national levels.
"I had no control."
Ingrid Jacobs is describing the feeling she had while undergoing treatment in 2010 for colon cancer.
Bag It helped give her a sense of control.
"When I was able to use my bag to help me organize things and to refer to things that I needed, it made me feel like I was a part of my treatment," said Jacobs. "I was able to determine how I was going to respond to this."
In her 'Bag It' bag were several brochures and one very important binder, for Jacobs to organize her course of treatment.
That one binder grew into three—all the tools she needed to organize the business cards of her many doctors.
"I was so excited about it, because they're all here and they're all here," Jacobs said.
She could also keep track of all of her lab results during chemotherapy treatments.
"The doctor and I could go over it."
Thirteen years later, Jacobs remains cancer-free. She credits Bag It for helping her navigate the uncertainty of her treatments.
"Knowledge is power, right. We don't know how to do that if we don't have the tools to do it."
Mindy Griffith is the executive director of Bag It.
The 20-year-old Tucson nonprofit got its start when cancer survivor Sherri Romanoski was compiling information she wanted to know about during her own breast cancer treatments.
That's when she came up with the idea of the binder.
"Sherri was an elementary school teacher and used to do take-home packets for the kids for the weekend," said Griffith. "The idea came up of just putting it in a bag and so let's just 'bag it'."
In the time since it was founded in 2003, Bag It has grown from its Tucson operation to statewide—and now it has gone national.
They distribute the bags in either English or Spanish, mainly through health care providers who offer them to newly-diagnosed cancer patients.
You can also order a bag off the Bag It website.
They have a small office at the Community Foundation Campus in midtown where they oversee the distribution of 5,000 to 6,000 bags a year.
That number is certain to go up with help from volunteers like Jacobs:
"It's been a very rewarding experience to help out."
We invite you to make a donation to Bag It at our Giving Project page.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $3,500 was raised for Tucson Wildlife Center.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we showcase a local nonprofit for our KGUN 9 Giving Project—Doing Well by Doing Good.
This March, we look at the Tucson Wildlife Center.
One of the best-kept secrets in Tucson, it's a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and returning wildlife to the wild.
"When you can bring something back and get it rehabilitated and then be able to release it again, there's just no feeling in the world like that."
~Kathy Carter, Wildlife Care Specialist
Kathy Carter is a Wildlife Care Specialist and an Arizona Master Naturalist at the Tucson Wildlife Center.
She oversees many of the baby bunnies and birds who come into Southern Arizona's only wildlife rescue center.
Carter also helps reunite baby bobcats and javelinas who've been separated from their mothers.
She did that with a newborn javelina last month—within hours of it being brought into the center.
"Those moments are extremely special when you've reconnected something so small, and delicate, and in need with the right thing, which is the parent."
Hubert Parker is responsible for raising funds for the Tucson Wildlife Center.
"Our mission is rescue, rehab and most importantly release," said Parker, the center's development coordinator. "Our object is to get 'em back into the environment in their natural habitat."
It runs on donations and grants, with no government help.
Started a quarter century ago by Lisa Bates and her husband, the wildlife center now takes care of nearly 5,000 wild animals a year.
"We're the only wildlife rescue hospital in Tucson and all of Southern Arizona," Parker said. "We will go wherever—to Bisbee, Patagonia—to pick up injured owl, bobcat, javelina, whatever.
They not only rely on donations, they relay on more than 150 volunteers to help care for the wildlife.
With spring approaching, the center is preparing for their annual busy season.
"In one day, we took in about 24 neonate bunnies. It was, I mean—it's like mayhem, you know, when that happens," said Carter.
Located on Speedway near the Tanque Verde Ranch, the Tucson Wildlife Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month.
Pat: "That's a big milestone, 25 years."
Hubert: "It is. We're real proud of it, we're proud of the work we do and think we're a big asset to the community."
We invite you to make a donation to Tucson Wildlife Center at our Giving Project page.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $4,395 was raised for The Autism Society of Southern Arizona.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we focus on a local non-profit with our Giving Project: Doing Well by Doing Good.
This April—a month designated as Autism Acceptance Month—we're shining the spotlight on the Autism Society of Southern Arizona.
The Autism Society's vision: Create a world where everyone in the autism community is connected to the support they need, when they need it.
Kate Elliott is a mother of two kids with autism. She's also the executive director of the Autism Society of Southern Arizona.
"You've met one autistic person, because there's really no look of autism," Elliott says. "My children are complete opposites in every possible way, but they're both autistic."
The non-profit is a life-changing resource for parents to connect with the autism community.
Sara: "It makes all of the difference. You can have all of the information about the things or the places or the other organizations but having a group of parents..."
Bodhi: "...That you can confide in is very important."
Sara: "It is."
Sara Selby's son Bodhi is well aware of the Autism Society and the help it provides for his mom.
Bodhi was diagnosed about a year ago.
"I wasn't particularly surprised by the diagnosis, but realized very quickly that I didn't know all of the things that I felt like I should," says Selby.
She turned to the Autism Society of Southern Arizona, finding strength with the monthly Parent Peer Support Group.
"We'll share the practical things but then just all of our experiences—it's invaluable," Selby says.
The Autism Society also offers several programs for young people like Bodhi, including a once-monthly Teen Meet Up.
Selby says, "It's just a place he can be his unique self."
Elliott is new to her job as executive director of the Autism Society. But her unique perspective as a mother of two children with autism helps her understand the direction she hopes to take the nonprofit.
Elliott wants the Autism Society to be an ally and an advocate:
"That we can be a hub for finding community and connection and that we can really make Southern Arizona and Tucson a place where it's like the best place to be autistic ever."
We invite you to make a donation to the Autism Society of Southern Arizona on our Giving Project page.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
You can also support the Autism Society by attending their April fundraising event, All in for Autism Day on Saturday, April 15.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $580 was raised for Tucson Values Teachers.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The first Wednesday of every month we introduce you to our new Giving Project nonprofit recipient.
School is winding down this time of year, making May 8 - 12 the perfect time for Teacher Appreciation Week.
Fittingly, May's Giving Project focuses on the local organization Tucson Values Teachers.
"If you have a great teacher in the classroom, you're going to have successful students, and then you're going to have a prosperous community."
- Andy Heinemann, Tucson Values Teachers CEO
Founded in 2008, Tucson Values Teachers is an education initiative of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council.
The council is a business organization with over 140 members and one goal:
"Our entire mission is all about inspiring support of pre-K through 12th grade teachers," says Andy Heinemann, CEO of Tucson Values Teachers. "We do that through community collaborations to attract teachers to the profession, help them stay in the profession and then we want to celebrate teacher excellence."
"Tucson Values Teachers is a gem for the Tucson community and its teachers because they're reliable and they support us," says Robyn Yewell, who teaches 5th grade at Harelson Elementary.
"They're always looking out for our best interests as educators. That's such a great feeling," says Yewell.
Pat Parris: "You must feel supported as well from some pretty important members of the business community who back this."
Robyn Yewell: "Absolutely, and it's beneficial for not only the business side but also the education side as well, because our students are the ones that are going to be employed one day by these businesses."
Those business leaders come speak to classes like Yewell's, helping students see what the future might look like.
Yewell also feels valued as a past winner of the monthly 'Excellence Award' presented by Tucson Values Teachers.
Plus, she's been able to take advantage of their start of the school year gift cards for supplies.
"It's just really helpful because every dollar counts, and just to have that support, and knowing what we're doing in the classrooms is so valued that we have the support in the community," Yewell tells me.
We invite you to make a donation to Tucson Values Teachers using our new texting feature.
Simply text givingproject to 50155 to make a donation, or visit the Giving Project section of our website to learn more.
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is our partner in the Giving Project. They will again match the first $500 received in donations this month.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,164.49 was raised for We Care Tucson.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we focus on a Southern Arizona nonprofit with our Giving Project: Doing Well by Doing Good.
For June, we're featuring We Care Tucson, a nonprofit filling several needs in our community—providing free medical equipment, bridging the digital divide and even reducing e-waste within the community.
This month, we're making it even easier to support our Giving Project recipients with KGUN 9's new texting feature. Simply text: givingproject to 50155 to donate.
Ramon Laborin has been helped by We Care Tucson, and now he's helping as a volunteer for the nonprofit himself.
Laborin was once in need of a wheelchair, while he waited for insurance to pay for a new one. He turned to We Care Tucson, and they loaned him one.
Now, Laborin gives back with his time and his knowledge about refurbishing computers—it's a cycle, in which he can help someone, just like We Care Tucson helped him.
"Because you're helping someone else out make a future," says Laborin. "So it does feel good."
The computers he and many other volunteers refurbish are then sold at very reasonable prices in the We Care Tucson store on Stone Avenue just north of Glenn.
"What we sell helps fund all of this," says We Care Tucson's executive director MeMe Aguila.
The all of this Aguila is referring to? Much-needed medical equipment and supplies.
So, We Care Tucson helps the community in two ways—with medical supplies and technology.
"People think they don't go hand in hand but they actually really do. People that are coming in here for the medical also can't afford the technology," says Aguila.
That two-pronged approach means people needing computers or reusable medical devices and supplies have a place to go.
The medical devices are loaned out to the people who need them—they hand out the supplies, which are either donated or purchased with money from the sale of the computers.
We Care Tucson is especially low on items like adult incontinence products. To help them keep their supply stocked, Aguila says the organization can always use monetary donations, as well as donations of medical devices and supplies, and computers.
"We're always helping somebody and making a difference. They really appreciate it. It's very rewarding," Aguila tells me.
In mid-June, they're hosting a tech camp for middle school-aged youth—plus they offer computer and tech classes for older adults.
We invite you to make a donation to We Care Tucson with our new texting feature.
Simply text: givingproject to 50155 to donate.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,760 was raised for Therapeutic Riding of Tucson.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we focus on a Southern Arizona nonprofit with our "Giving Project—Doing Well by Doing Good."
This July, KGUN 9 is shining the spotlight on TROT: Therapeutic Riding of Tucson.
For nearly 50 years, TROT has been helping enrich the lives of people with special needs by partnering them with horses.
"It's a peaceful respite for those who need that."
Jeff Copfer is the Executive Director of TROT. He's describing the 18-acre horse property off Tanque Verde on Tucson's northeast side.
The facility has nearly 20 horses and several certified instructors.
TROT caters its programs to anyone four-years-old and up. That includes a weekly program called 'Heroes on Horses,' offered free of charge to veterans, first responders and their families.
Another unique programs is called Equine-Assisted Counseling.
"Consider traditional counseling in an office, but here you're outside," says Copfer. "Because horses are an excellent mirror of your own emotions and your own mindset, they call you on your emotions very quickly. If you come in too hot with a horse, the horse will let you know. So it's just a very calming experience."
Started in 1974, Therapeutic Riding of Tucson has been an innovator.
"We're one of the first facilities in the United States to innovate the use of horses as a treatment modality."
Margaux DeConcini is TROT's development director. She oversees the half dozen programs including those for kids with special needs.
"For an individual with Autism who is always searching for external stimulation, we'll partner them with a horse that has shorter, quicker, faster steps" DeConcini tells me.
"Those quicker, faster steps provide deeper input and stimulation through the horse into the individual's body who's on top of the horse, helping the child be able to focus on the task at hand. And you can see so much self esteem and confidence building," she says.
TROT also relies on volunteers like Jack Hess to take care of the horses. He says working at TROT is very rewarding, especially with young riders with special needs.
"You can see the improvement, and it's like at the end of the day, you know that hour has been the best hour for the week," Hess says.
RELATED: Children living with disabilities learn horsemanship at TROT summer camp
We invite you to make a donation to TROT by using our texting feature.
100% of the money raised will go directly to the organization. You can also donate directly through our website.
Our partners in the giving project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in this July.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,175 was raised for the Educational Enrichment Foundation.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we focus on a Southern Arizona non-profit with our Giving Project—Doing Well by Doing Good.
For August, we're taking a look at how the Educational Enrichment Foundation (EEF) has been helping Tucson Unified School District's students succeed since 1983.
"We're so glad to have them as a partner, because when you have the volume of students that we have—and the diverse needs of students that are out there—we just need someone like EEF to help meet those individualized needs for families and kids."
~Kamren Taravati, TUSD Sr. Director of EDI
Originally started by Tucson community and business leaders, EEF has been helping TUSD students for 40 years now.
Today, with over 47,000 students in 89 schools, EEF is going strong, making sure students' basic needs don't fall through the cracks.
"We do things from basic needs for the students—head-to-toe basic needs, I call them," says EEF Executive Director Dawn Bell.
"Then we also do other programs that are educational. We have put in a STEM lab, a beautiful interactive STEM lab in Maldonado Elementary. We've put in... an ESports lab at Utterback Middle School," Bell says.
EEF is the oldest foundation of its kind in the state and relies on corporate and individual donors.
They have several programs to help students and their families, including a vision program to get students fitted for glasses.
EEF also takes students on a bus trip shoe shopping.
"They walk in and they're looking around because they hadn't been there before. They say 'this is my first time at Sketchers' and they're so excited," EEF Program Manager Drisana Ross says. "Sometimes they'll run up and give you hugs afterwards."
Programs like EEF's shoe shopping events aren't just a treat for the kids, Tremain Ravenell, EFF's Community Outreach and Development Manager tells me.
"The top two I would say is the shoe shopping for sure, because it's Christmas morning in whatever month it is; and then definitely interscholastics, because I played sports in TUSD. So, I definitely have a personal connection there," says Ravenell.
Last year, EEF helped 13,0000 TUSD students with with things like those fees for extracurricular activities.
"For fine arts it'd be $50. For sports $65. When you have several kiddos in a family playing sports, or even one kiddo playing multiple sports, those add up. Kids who qualify for free or reduced lunch qualify for our programs," Ross says.
Even though EEF has been around since 1983, they're still trying to get the word out that they're here to help kids in need in TUSD.
"It's organizations like EEF that do just amazing things for kids. Gosh, we need more and more organizations like them," Taravati says.
To make a donation to the Education Enrichment Foundation, text: givingproject to 50155.
All of the money raised goes directly to EEF.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $17,153 was raised for If You Give a Child a Book.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we spotlight a local non-profit with our Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
This September we're raising funds for a campaign near and dear to our hearts: Each year, KGUN 9 participates in the Scripps Howard Fund's If You Give a Child a Book campaign.
For a second straight year, students from Nash Elementary in the Amphi District will benefit from our "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign—the money raised will go directly to purchasing books for the students to take home.
Julie Gates has been passing along that love of reading for 32 years as a teacher at Nash Elementary.
"Oh my goodness, reading opens the world to kids. I love reading and I try to pass that love of reading on to the children every single day," says Gates.
KGUN 9 and our parent company, E.W. Scripps, hope to pass along the love for reading.
Scripps has identified a gap in literacy programs, which typically stop once the child enters kindergarten. So Scripps created the "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign through its philanthropic fund.
"The number of books in a child's home is actually one of the greatest predictors of a child's success," says Meredith Delaney, Scripps Director of Philanthropic Strategies.
Now in its 8th year, we turn to our KGUN 9 viewers to help with this annual campaign.
The money raised will bring a free Scholastic Books book fair for students at Amphi's Nash Elementary School, located in a low-income neighborhood.
Last year, the 300 students at Nash picked out 6 books apiece. This year, our goal is to raise enough for 10 books each, helping the young scholars build their home libraries.
There are a few simple ways for you to donate to our "If you give a child a book" campaign.
You can donate a number of ways: text givingproject to 50155, visit the Giving Project section of our website, or simply use the form below.
All of the money raised goes directly to the If You Give a Child a Book campaign to purchase books for the kids at Nash Elementary.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $500 was raised for Santa Theresa Tile Works.
Each month we spotlight a local non-profit with our Giving Project—Doing Well, by Doing Good.
For the month of October we're spotlighting a new non-profit in Southern Arizona that focuses on creating beauty and building community.
Angie Torres enjoys the hands-on art classes at Santa Theresa Tile Works.
She's a 5th grade student at Imago Dei Middle School, a tuition-free private school in Downtown Tucson.
Torres and her classmates take art classes at the school's sister non-profit Santa Theresa Tile Works.
Santa Theresa was started in 1986 by Tucson artist Susan Gamble.
Susan has now retired from the Tile Works and Imago Dei has stepped in.
"We hatched a wild plan for the school to take over Santa Theresa," said Cameron Taylor, head of Imago Dei. "We did that. We reincorporated it as a non-profit, under our umbrella of programming. Imago Dei Middle School, you can see, our kids are here taking classes."
With reductions in school budgets for art, Santa Theresa also offers these ceramics classes to other schools in the area who can't afford it.
"Especially ceramics and this type of art is something that most schools no longer have access to and most kids no longer have access to," Taylor said. "So in addition to providing the education around that, Santa Theresa's also out in the community doing neighborhood art and big mural pieces all over town."
You'll likely recognize mosaics around Tucson done by artists or students from the Santa Theresa Tile Works.
That includes the USS Arizona mosaic sculpture by the U of A student union, currently being repaired at Santa Theresa's.
"I think it's really fun to come to an active art studio," said Holly Hancock von Guilleaume, director of Santa Theresa Tile Works. "I mean, we're also going on tours with them and showing them the projects. They're working with real artists that are actively creating either pieces for our showroom or doing some huge installation pieces for other non-profits in town. I think that is a real opportunity."
All the money raised goes directly to Santa Theresa Tile Works. Our partners in The Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,770 was raised for Community Gardens of Tucson.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month we focus on a Southern Arizona nonprofit with our Giving Project, helping raise awareness and funds in support of their work.
This November, as families prepare to sit down around the Thanksgiving table we're shining our spotlight on Community Gardens of Tucson, a local organization that addresses both neighborhood resiliency and food insecurity with 17 community gardens throughout the metro area.
"We truly believe that we're better together and we can learn from each other generation to generation."
~Community Gardens of Tucson Board President Gillian Paine-Murrieta
Community Gardens of Tucson is creating a stronger community, according to Gillian Paine- Murrieta.
As board president, she sees firsthand the impact Community Gardens of Tucson is having through its 17 community gardens in the metro area—many of which are located in under-served areas.
She says there's nothing like growing your own food.
"It tastes better, it's mentally healthful to us to be in the garden, have green spaces, take time, exercise," Paine- Murrieta tells me. "There's so many numerous benefits."
Armando Sotelo is the site coordinator for the Blue Moon Garden near the Tucson House on Oracle. He tells me he's observed those benefits first hand.
"They're happy, and enjoy that there's a space for them to work in and get their hands dirty," he says.
Sotelo helps coordinate the numerous garden plots, which measure 3 feet by 20 feet.
"Gives them an outlet to come out and enjoy nature, whether it be walking the garden or getting a plot and managing a plot throughout the seasons."
There is a monthly fee to rent a plot at one of the community gardens, but as a non-profit, the Community Gardens of Tucson can help reduce or eliminate that fee based on need. That helps fulfill one of the non-profit's core values: To help reduce food insecurity.
"So that's bringing different people in to the garden so they learn, educate them, how they can grow food themselves," says Paine-Murrieta.
Community Gardens of Tucson also has more than 300 elementary and high school students, and their teachers, involved in their Kids in Gardens program. They have plots designated to the students so they can learn how to grow food and take that knowledge home with them.
"They're going to be our future gardeners," says Paine-Murrieta. "Also the environment, with environmental sustainability, food resiliency as different things happen in our society."
If you'd like to help support the efforts of the Community Gardens of Tucson with a small donation, text givingproject to 50155, or use the form below this story.
All of the money raised will go directly to the Community Gardens. Our Giving Project partners, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $5,540 was raised for Miracle En El Barrio.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With a new month comes a new Giving Project. For December, it's Miracle En El Barrio, a long-time toy drive that's given Christmas toys to nearly 40,000 Tucson kids on the Southside over the past two decades.
Now in its 21st year, Miracle En El Barrio is still collecting and distributing toys to thousands of kids yearly who may not otherwise get one at Christmas.
It's a cause that hits close to home for co-founders Steve Nunez and Jon Volpe.
"We both know what it's like to wake up Christmas morning and not have a toy," says Steve Nunez, co-founder of Miracle En El Barrio.
Despite their own success, these two Tucsonans haven't forgotten their roots. Now Nova Home Loans executives recognized a need on the Southside 21 years ago.
"Let's not, you know, let these kids go without a toy at Christmastime, cause both Steve and I know what that means," Volpe tells me.
In 2002, they got together and developed a plan.
Nunez, once a KGUN 9 reporter himself, played the role of Santa Claus that first year, handing out donated toys.
"500 toys. Well, 700 kids showed up," Nunez recollected. "We're out of toys."
The fix? They quickly ran to a nearby store and cleared out the toy shelves.
"We made sure that every kid received a gift at Christmastime that year," says Volpe.
Now 21 years later, they've upgraded the Santa.
"We have the real Santa from the North Pole come down," Volpe says.
And he now delivers more than 2,000 toys. This is last year's Miracle En El Barrio Christmas toy giveaway party. Kids lines up hours ahead of time to wait their turn:
For Gionni Viera-Rodriguez the wait last year was worth it for his new bike.
"It was his reason to come in the morning, to ask Santa Claus for a bike," Gionni's mom told KGUN 9 at the 2022 giveaway.
For Nunez, it's those smiles that let him know they're making miracles happen.
"It's just so gratifying. It's so rewarding because we're making a difference. But at the same time, we realize it's not enough. So we work harder every year," Nunez tells me.
This year's Miracle En El Barrio Toy Giveaway Party will take place Friday, Dec. 22 at St. John's Church, 602 W. Ajo Way from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
You can support this year's toy drive by donating directly to Miracle En El Barrio online here. Donations should be made prior to Thursday, Dec. 21.
Tucsonans can also or drop toys for the giveaway. Miracle En El Barrio gives toys for kids up to age 14, so gifts for a variety of age ranges are all welcome at the following drop-op locations:
Any NOVA Home Loans Branch:
Any Pyramid Federal Credit Union Branch:
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $5,350 was raised for Spreading Threads.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Time to introduce you to this month's KGUN 9 Giving Project non-profit, Spreading Threads.
As I found out, Spreading Threads is more than a clothing bank —it's a way to help ease the financial burden on foster parents, while building confidence in foster kids.
"Let's just start a clothing bank. It seemed like this really easy, simple thing to do. Which I quickly found out it's not."
~ Michele Wright, Spreading Threads Executive Director and Co-founder
That was 15 years ago.
Now, Michele Wright, her wife and volunteers run Spreading Threads Clothing Bank. The idea came from Wright's own struggles with meeting the needs of her foster kids—who she later adopted.
"If you get a foster kiddo you will get a one time payment of $150 for socks, shoes, underwear, hats, boots, you name it. It's just not enough," Wright tells me.
That's where Spreading Threads comes in.
Eleven years ago, Anyah Maldonado's family grew from four to seven, with the addition of three foster kids.
"It's just so near and dear to my heart," Maldonado says. "We really didn't have the means to provide for three more kids overnight. Even to this day I still come to the monthly clothing exchanges."
Those monthly events allow Spreading Threads to help clothe around 4,000 kids in Southern Arizona.
In the last two years, they've moved into and remodeled a 5,000 square foot building on the Northside.
They use monetary donations to buy new socks, shoes and underwear for kids. And they provide gently used clothes as well.
Wright is a firm believer that helping kids look good helps with their confidence.
"You don't want to look different," Wright says. "You don't want to have clothes that don't fit, aren't cool, look worn. It just says 'I'm a foster kid'. That's not a cool label for kids."
As tax time approaches, a reminder that your donation to Spreading Threads qualifies for the Arizona Foster Care Charitable Tax Credit.
"Which is great because it doesn't cost anything. Without that, we just wouldn't be here," says Wright.
We invite you to make a donation to Spreading Threads directly at their website, which will allow you to take advantage of that tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $4,087 was raised for the Native American Advancement Foundation.
TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION (KGUN) — It's time to introduce you to KGUN 9's Giving Project nonprofit for the month of February: the Native American Advancement Foundation.
It's an organization formed 14 years ago by members of the Tohono O'odham Nation. From the classroom to its garden, the foundation helps strengthen the native community through a variety of programs on tribal lands.
Selina Jesus was born and raised in the GuVo community on the Tohono O'odham Nation.
"I know the hardships that our people face, the barriers that are there, and as a nonprofit organization we want to break those barriers," Jesus tells me. "We want to provide the service for our people."
Jesus is currently the Senior Director of Programs at the Native American Advancement Foundation (NAAF). She helped start the nonprofit in 2011.
Program offerings through NAAF are broad—ranging from a farm site in the village of Ali Chugk that grows traditional crops, to health planning and diabetes prevention—Jesus emphasizes the organization's focus on education.
"Education is always number one," reflects Jesus.
"Education is Always Number One"
In a very remote part of the Tohono O'odham Nation, the foundation offers a wide range of educational programs to members who can't make the long drive to Sells.
That includes a highly successful GED program.
"We do have adult students who, or teenage people, that have dropped out of high school that do want to be successful in getting their GED," says Jesus.
Florine Ortega is one of NAAF's success stories, completing the GED program several years ago.
"My family, they were so proud of me," Ortega shares with me. Now, her 5-year-old daughter is taking part in NAAF's early education program, learning the basics of the O'odham language.
Pat Parris: "It must make you feel good that that continues on and it's important to have that continue on."
Florine Ortega: "Yes, it is. O'odham language, it is there. I hear her, I talk to her, we discuss it, we go over numbers and basic commands."
Coming Full Circle
Ortega has now come full circle, Ortega is currently working as an after school program coordinator with NAAF, coming full circle in her education journey.
"Because it benefited me so much and I want that same for everyone else," says Ortega.
We invite you to make a donation to the Native American Advancement Foundation by visiting their website and clicking the 'Give Today' button in the upper righthand corner of the page.
As a reminder, your donation will qualify for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $4,500 was raised for Sister José Women’s Center.
For the month of March, KGUN 9’s Giving Project is focusing on the Sister José Women's Center, a Tucson-based nonprofit dedicated to helping women who are experiencing homelessness.
The center opened in 2009 and is now undergoing renovations to keep up with the rising number of unhoused women in Tucson.
For resident Sheri and her 5-year-old dog Peanut, the center has been a lifeline.
Sheri credits Sister José Women’s Center for helping her get off the streets and getting her life turned around, all while having Peanut by her side.
“I’m grateful for this place,” Sheri said. “I’m grateful for the staff, the donors that allow me to stay here and be able to work on myself, but still have my pet...have my Peanut.”
Nicola Hartmann, CEO of the center, said they look at each woman, where she is and what they can do to help her move forward.
It’s part of the center’s mission to provide a safe space where they can connect women with the resources they need to create a sustainable future.
“Ultimately, the goal is housing, but that can take a long time,” Hartmann said.
Hartmann said the demand for beds at Sister José has risen steadily in recent years.
The facility currently houses 42 women each night. But an expansion project is underway.
“We are converting what was our donation center into more safe spaces to sleep,” Hartmann said.
The expansion will allow them to bring 10-15 more women off the street and into the center, alongside Sheri and Peanut.
“Knowing that I have clothes, and food, and a place to lay my head with my little precious Peanut is worth it all,” Sheri said.
We invite you to make a donation to the Sister José Women's Center by visiting their website and clicking the “Ways to Give” button in the upper righthand corner of the page.
As a reminder, your donation will qualify for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,055 was raised for Friends of the Pima County Public Library.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — KGUN 9 and our parent company E.W. Scripps believe reading is the foundation for success for young people.
That's why reading and literacy charities are often the focus of our monthly Giving Project. For the month of April, we turn our spotlight to Friends of the Pima County Public Library.
This nonprofit, along with its 250 volunteers, supports the nearly 30 libraries located throughout Pima County.
As one of those volunteers, Gerry Murano sees firsthand the continued popularity of books.
"I do remember when people were talking about, 'books are going to go away'," Murano tells me. "But heavens no."
She helps organize the thousands of donated books for the Friends of the Pima County Public Library monthly book sale.
The funds raised from the book sale go toward supporting programs at all the county's libraries—28 libraries, altogether.
"They get money from the county to pay the staff and buy the books, but we help fund the things that get outreach to the community," says Friends of the Pima County Library Executive Director Libby Stone.
One of the most important of those outreach programs is the Pima County Library's summer reading program.
This fiscal year, Friends of the Pima County Public Library will provide $240,000 in funding to the county libraries.
"It's sort of what my old principal would call a win-win situation," says volunteer Glenda Leader.
For Leader, that first win is getting to organize and sell the used books.
The second win is supporting programs at the Pima County Libraries.
You can help the Friends of Pima Library in several ways. One simple yet significant way to support their works is by donating books at their dropoff location on Country Club near Grant, 2230 N. Country Club.
"Encourage everyone to bring in their books, and also we accept audio and video materials," Stone tells me.
They also feature a very popular section of vinyl records.
You can also support the nonprofit by buying the records and books at their monthly sale—this month, that'll be Friday, April 26 through Monday, April 29—or you can make a monetary donation.
This all helps promote a safe place for young people to gather and learn at our county libraries.
"Libraries are just inviting, and welcoming and they serve a lot more purposes than just reading," Murano says.
We invite you to make a donation to the Friends of the Pima County Public Library by donating directly at their website. Their website also contains information on the types of books and other media they accept as donations—that includes books, comics, DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and even jigsaw puzzles.
As a reminder, your donation will qualify for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $666.48 was raised for BICAS.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This month's Giving Project nonprofit is BICAS—the Bicycle Inter-Community Art & Salvage.
The organization helps people acquire a bicycle, many of whom need transportation to and from work. One of those people is current BICAS board member Matt Harmon, who tells me the nonprofit is in the business of something bigger than bikes alone.
"Commuting by bike really changed my life. My doctor would tell you that it saved my life," Harmon says.
Thirteen years ago, Harmon says he was at an unhealthy weight with dangerously high cholesterol. He got the idea of biking the 12 miles round-trip to work for his health.
But after discovering a new bike would be far too expensive, Harmon bought a bike in parts from a U of A surplus auction.
That's when Harmon found BICAS—and organization where he was able to reassemble those surplus parts into functioning bicycle.
The discount transportation bike became a big part of his return to good health.
"I was able to bring my weight down to a more healthy level and reduce my cholesterol levels without medication."
With routine trips Harmon was making to BICAS, he was asked to become a board member 10 years ago.
"I was really honored by the offer, because it really did change my life."
Harmon then became an avid cyclist, riding in the last eight El Tour De Tucson events.
Pat Parris: In a lot of ways you're trying to pay it forward a little bit. What BICAS did for you, you're trying to do for others?
Matt Harmon: That's my hope.
Harmon points out there are ways for people with a low income to get a bike they may need for transportation.
"You can come to BICAS. You can work in the shop through our work-trade program. You can walk out with a bike so you can get to and from work. You don't have to have cash."
There are two ways to help support BICAS through our Giving Project: by either donating used bikes and bike parts, or by giving a monetary donation directly through their online donor portal.
For more information on how to donate bike, bike parts or tools, visit bicas.org/donate.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
And don't forget, your Giving Project donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donation.
BICAS, located at 2001 N. 7th Avenue, is open Tuesday - Sunday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., with classes at various times throughout the month.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $10,945 was raised for Honor Flight Southern Arizona.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With our monthly KGUN 9 Giving Project, we bring you stories of Southern Arizona nonprofits that change lives for the better—but are in need of community support in order to continue their work of giving back.
That's the case with this month's nonprofit, the Honor Flight Southern Arizona, a group that flies U.S. military veterans to Washington D.C. to visit memorials dedicated to their service. For some, it's their first time at the national memorials. For others, the trips bring closure, and a sense of peace.
The Honor Flight is in need of both volunteers and donations at this time, having already canceled this month's planned flight to Washington D.C. due to a lack of funds.
We first told you the story of funding issues for Honor Flight Southern Arizona two weeks ago. The organization had to cancel not only the June trip this year, but another as well—keeping them from fulfilling their mission.
"We honor them by taking them back and spending a day going around to the memorials that were built in their honor," says Ed Dunlap, a retired Marine and member of the board of Honor Flight Southern Arizona.
He says with costs covered by grants and by donations, veterans don't pay a thing for the Honor Flight.
"When we charter a flight it's about $220,000," Dunlap tells me. "But everything's covered—flight, hotels, meals—while we're gone, the buses to take us into D.C."
Gate Briseno turns 93 this month. He took the Honor Flight a couple years back.
"I was one of the lucky ones. I survived it all without a mark," says Briseno, recalling his time in the midst of some of the fiercest fighting in the Korean War.
"Many of my friends, and some of the guys I led, didn't."
Briseno came home from Korea and after that never talked about his time in the Army. That changed in recent years, after joining a Korean War veterans group and taking his Honor Flight in March of 2022.
He recalls seeing the Korean War Memorial in the nation's capital:
"When I first saw it I just couldn't help it. Every one of their names and every one of my buddies who lived and died were there.
"The hair on the back of my neck stood up and tears started running down. I could not help it."
Briseno calls the Honor Flight a cathartic experience for him and other veterans who make the trip. He's adamant about continuing the Honor Flights out of Tucson, with so many veterans living right here in Southern Arizona.
"A great organization to donate to," Briseno tells me. "Even I donate because that's how important it was to me. It helped me get over something that had been welling up in me for 70 years."
They're now planning for their next trip in November around Veterans Day.
If you'd like to help get Honor Flight Southern Arizona back in the air, the group is accepting donations here on their website.
Your Giving Project donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donation.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,745 was raised for Friends of Aphasia.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It's a disorder many have never heard of, but 2 million Americans are living with aphasia—6,000 of whom live here in Pima County, according to the Tucson area nonprofit Friends of Aphasia.
This month's Giving Project nonprofit is making it their mission to help those living with the disorder, and to help educate the rest of our community.
Andy Ortiz suffered a stroke nearly four years ago.
"When I had my stroke I couldn't talk, I couldn't do anything."
He now lives with Aphasia—the loss of the ability to speak, understand, read and/or write due to a stroke or other injury to the brain.
"It's not a loss of intellect. It's a loss of some communication skills," explains Katie Ares CEO of Friends of Aphasia.
The organization, based in midtown Tucson, is dedicated to helping change the lives of individuals and families living with aphasia. They offer high-quality, patient-centered aphasia services, including a comprehensive aphasia group program.
Ortiz credits these group programs with his improved ability to communicate.
"And just little by little I started doing it," Ortiz tells me. "You've got to have people with us that just, one after another, it's just doing that. That's why I love it."
About 85% of those with aphasia have suffered a stroke.
It can also be caused by a traumatic brain injury, like the one Gabby Giffords suffered during the Tucson mass shooting on January 8, 2011.
"I never heard the word 'Aphasia'," said Joni Jones, a Friends of Aphasia board member.
Jones was the office manager for Gabby Giffords before and after the shooting. She tells me about how she saw the effects of aphasia firsthand.
"The only word she could say is 'chicken'," Jones said.
Jones also witnessed the dramatic improvement in Giffords' ability to communicate and credits her speech pathologist Fabiane Hirsch Kruse.
"I have had a firsthand view of what good therapy and clinical help can do for somebody who has aphasia," said Jones.
Gabby Giffords and Fabiane Hirsch Kruse founded Friends of Aphasia here in Tucson in 2018 to help others living with the disorder.
In addition to sitting on the board, Jones also serves as a group leader at Friends of Aphasia.
Pat: "It's pretty amazing that out of such a tragedy with Gabby, could come something so beneficial to our community."
Joni: "Exactly."
If you'd like to help Friends of Aphasia continue their remarkable work, you can make a donation directly through their website.
Your Giving Project donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the giving project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $67,037 was raised for GAP Ministries.
It's the final push for our August Giving Project nonprofit GAP Ministries: Construction continues on their kitchen, and once completed that upgrade is expected to more than double their capacity to serve meals to Tucsonans in need.
But GAP Ministries needs your help funding the new much-needed kitchen. Board Member Demetrius Miles knows the impact the organization has had on the Tucson community over the last 25 years.
"We're touching so many different elements of the community, but we're touching the citizens, we're touching the people that are most hurting," Miles said.
And it's through the kitchen that northside-based GAP Ministries touches most of those individuals. Tom Bell is the principal at Southern Arizona Community Academy, a tuition-free charter school near Grant and Tucson.
"They've been a blessing for us because they provide snacks and take-home meals for a lot of our kids and their families," said Bell.
GAP Ministries distributes those meals and snacks to Tucson students and families during summer programs and throughout the school year.
"It's a great benefit to our youth and our families that otherwise may have not been able to make that lunch at home or prepare, during the school year, that dinner to go," said Cerina Quiroz of Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center.
To handle the growing need, and the growing number of meals they need to prepare each day, GAP Ministries is building a much larger kitchen facility on their Campus of Hope on the northside, near Prince and I-10.
"We're just ecstatic, we're super excited that their going to get a permanent home and get back to serving at the larger number and levels," Miles tells me.
The new kitchen will expand the number of meals they prepare from 100,000 each year to between 200 and 300,000.
"We're really excited to get in here, to be able to up our production and serve even more kids, to reach even farther. Kind of 'cast a larger net,' so to speak," said GAP Ministries Sous Chef Joel Boyer.
You can help GAP Ministries with the construction of their new kitchen by donating directly to their website here.
Your Giving Project donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $17,753 was raised for If You Give A Child A Book.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This month's Giving Project campaign is well underway, and we're still looking for your help to raise enough money for each student at the Amphi District's Nash Elementary School to take home ten free books.
For the third year in a row, our If You Give a Child a Book fundraiser is helping make sure the students at this Title I School have a home library that grows with them.
Jessica Jarrett is the principal at Nash Elementary on the northside. She sees the reaction her students have when they discover their love for reading.
"All of our families absolutely value education and literacy.," Jarrett shared with me.
A Title I School, some of her students come from homes where parents are struggling to make ends meet.
"To be able to have the luxury of books is not something that everyone has the opportunity to afford," said Jarrett
KGUN 9's If You Give A Child A Book campaign helps every student at Nash build a home library of their own. Last year, we were able to provide eight free books for every student at Nash.
"They come into the library and it's transformed into a bookstore basically," said Jarrett, describing book fairs from previous years.
Last school year we held two events at Nash, with each student choosing four books in the fall and four books in the spring—growing their home libraries at a pace in tandem with their reading curricula.
"As their reading development grew and their interest evolved, they now had another opportunity to get books that grew with them," said Jarrett
And Jarrett says many of the Nash Elementary students aren't just getting books for themselves.
"I get emotional. They also make sure that they pick a book for their little sister or a book for their mom, that they intentionally chose to be able to also continue that gift of giving," she said.
To donate to our If You Give a Child a Book campaign, you can text KGUN to 50155, or visit our donation page at kgun9.com/giveabook.
All of the money raised goes directly to the campaign to purchase books for the kids at Nash Elementary. Our goal this year is to give out 10 books per student.
If You Give a Child A Book is a nationwide campaign spearheaded by our our parent company's foundation, the Scripps Howard Fund.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $3,200 was raised for Santa Cruz Catholic Church.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Santa Cruz Roman Catholic Church is a historic landmark in Tucson, now in urgent need of repairs and upgrades.
The 105-year-old church, located on the edge of South Tucson, has served as a cornerstone for the community for over a century. Now, KGUN 9's Giving Project is helping raise funds to keep this "heart of the Southside" beating.
Known for its towering 90-foot bell tower, the church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and holds the distinction of being the largest adobe structure ever built in Arizona.
Last week, KGUN 9's Reyna Preciado reported on the church’s efforts to raise funds for critical renovations, including repairing the roof and updating the building's original wiring—essential for the safety of the parish and its visitors.
"This church has been the heart of the Southside for years," says Fr. Marcos Velasquez, who sees the church as a beacon of hope. "No matter what's going on, the Lord is here in the middle of us all."
Director of Maintenance Fermin Rivera marvels at the beauty inside the church, especially the altar—but he knows firsthand the difficulties of maintaining a 105-year-old building. Santa Cruz Parish has plans to repair the roof of the church and—most importantly—replace the original electrical wiring in the church, which will come and no small cost.
Rivera shared the challenges of maintaining a building as old as Santa Cruz
"This is the only church in the neighborhood that has kept the community together," Rivera said, explaining that upgrading the church's outdated electrical system is a top priority.
Pat Parris: "That's dangerous isn't it?"
Fermin Rivera: "Absolutely, yes."
Pat Parris: "So, your goal is to obviously redo the wiring."
Fermin Rivera: "Redo the wiring, and that is definitely going to cost a lot of money."
The church has been a vital part of the Tucson community, hosting countless baptisms, weddings, and funerals over the years. Now, it’s relying on the generosity of the community to preserve its legacy for future generations.
The KGUN 9 Giving Project, in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is stepping in to assist. The foundation will match the first $500 in donations.
You can help Santa Cruz Catholic Church with the ongoing restoration and upkeep of this historic structure by donating directly to their website here, at santacruzchurchtucson.com. Just look for the green 'Donate Now' button on their page.
Staff will be tracking donations to ensure that 100% of Giving Project proceeds go into repairs and upkeep.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $3,028 was raised for South Tucson Community Outreach.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With Thanksgiving and the holiday upon us, it's time to introduce you to our KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit for the month of November, South Tucson Community Outreach.
Talk about your grassroots organization: South Tucson Community Outreach grew out of the pandemic, and out of a real need in one of our communities.
"When the pandemic hit is when I really saw the need in the community I grew up in," says Desirée Guerrero, the organization's executive director.
She grew up on Tucson's south side. In March of 2020, she saw an increasing number of community members there, as well as in the city of South Tucson, in need of basics supplies like groceries.
"I needed to do something to help my neighbors and people in the community make sure they have essential items because we were unsure what was going to happen during the pandemic."
Guerrero quickly got to work.
"It started off as us buying groceries for neighbors and just community members. Then it just grew from there," she tells me.
Today, Guerrero and her volunteers help nearly 2,000 people on the southside and in South Tucson. They provide weekly food boxes to community members in need, plus they hold monthly dinners for those living in South Tucson Housing. Their community Thanksgiving dinner is coming up at the end of the month.
All the group's work is done through donations, and with the help of volunteers.
"A lot of people in this community wanted to help out and were excited to help out, and they also knew the need that is here in the community," says Guerrero. "So, it's amazing how far we've come."
You can help support South Tucson Community Outreach by donating directly to their website here. The website also include volunteer sign-ups.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $5,500 was raised for Miracle En El Barrio.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Miracle En El Barrio has become a Tucson holiday tradition for more than two decades now, operating an annual toy drive that makes sure kids on the Southside receive at least one Christmas present.
For the second December in a row, our KGUN 9 monthly Giving Project is featuring this homegrown nonprofit to help organizers meet that need again.
Steve Nunez began Miracle En El Barrio after seeing firsthand a need on the Southside of Tucson.
"Over the years we've given toys to more than 42,000 kids—many who otherwise may not have received a toy for Christmas," Nunez tells me.
Last year's drive served an estimated 2,000 children, despite rain at the annual giveaway at St. John's on Ajo Way and South 12th Avenue.
A KGUN 9 reporter at the time, Nunez found his inspiration for Miracle En El Barrio covering another Christmas toy giveaway—Miracle on 31st Street—put on by the late Ramon Gonzalez.
"He would open up his house to collect toys and by some miracle, usually after our news coverage, the community would come together and donate toys. He would open up his house, block off the street, and give toys to all the kids in the area," Nunez recalled.
"That just inspired me because, I can't say every Christmas was like that, but I know the feeling," he said.
That feeling for Nunez led to the first Miracle En El Barrio toy giveaway in 2002. That first year, Nunez played the role of Santa, handing out toys to about 500 kids.
Last year, despite the rain and cold, more than 2,000 kids received presents from an upgraded Santa Claus.
"If they didn't give up, we weren't going to give up. We were soaking wet. But you know what? We made sure every child in line got a toy."
As Nunez collects toys and monetary donations ahead of the December 21 toy giveaway, he tells me the goal of Miracle En El Barrio remains the same.
"The most important part is just making sure we put a smile on their face. That's what we're counting. The reward of giving them something: Not just a toy, but hope."
This year's Miracle En El Barrio Toy Giveaway will take place the morning of Saturday, Dec. 21 at St. John's, 602 W. Ajo Way.
Toy donations can be dropped off at any Pyramid Federal Credit Union or Nova Home Loan branch.
Pyramid Federal Credit Union locations are open Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
If you'd like to make a monetary donation to this year's Miracle En El Barrio, the nonprofit is accepting donations through Venmo. In the Venmo platform, search for @MiracleEnElBarrio, or follow the instructions in the flier below.
Your Giving Project donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,681 was raised for Moksha Sanctuary.
PEARCE, Ariz. (KGUN) — For this month's KGUN 9 Giving Project, we're spotlighting a nonprofit in Cochise County dedicated to saving wild horses in our state.
Moksha Sanctuary is committed to rescuing and protecting wild horses, whose numbers have been on the decline across the southwest.
"Moksha Sanctuary, it's Sanskrit for 'freedom'. What we're doing, is we're giving wild horses back their freedom," said Crystal Field, executive director of Moksha Sanctuary.
That freedom comes on Field's 36-acre ranch near Pearce in southeast Arizona.
Crystal Field, Moksha Sanctuary Executive Director on her ranch with the rescued wild horses.
Moksha Sanctuary is now home to 23 wild horses. These mustangs, an iconic symbol of Arizona and the southwest, have been on the decline in recent years, as wild horses are caught in a constant back-and-forth with ranchers.
"Forest Service deciding that the horses are competing too much with the grazing rights, so, they rounded them up," Field tells me. "Well, who's going to take unhandled horses?"
Photographer Matt Daley is one of a handful of Moksha Sanctuary's volunteers.
"You find out that there's roundups going on across America and right here in our state of Arizona. It's really sad," Daley said.
Daley is an accomplished wild horse photographer, known for his amazing photos of mustangs along the Salt River and in Monument Valley.
He's now lending his support to helping take care of the wild horses at Moksha Sanctuary. Through his salt_river_sunsets Instagram account, Daley gives canvases of his photos away, asking only that people donate to a rescue like Moksha.
"Grateful that this rescue is here and she can give all the help she can to make these horses feel at home and loved and safe," Daley said.
Daley is now taking photos of the wild horses of Moksha, trying to help Field raise funds to add to the number of mustangs at the sanctuary.
"It's addicting, it's therapeutic, it makes your heart happy. I don't want to leave," he said.
You can donate to Moksha Sanctuary through its website or Instagram account, @moksha_sanctuary.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,996.45 was raised for The Dunbar Coalition.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A new month brings a new KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit. For the month of February, it's the Dunbar Pavilion.
Through the Dunbar Coalition, the nonprofit has revitalized the former home of the segregated Dunbar School into an African American art and culture center.
"This is the cornerstone of the black community in Tucson," said Dunbar Coalition Executive Director Freda Marshall, referencing the history of the Dunbar, and the revitalized Dunbar Pavilion.
Opened in 1912, the Paul Lawrence Dunbar School was a segregated school, teaching only African American children.
"When it was a segregated school it wasn't just a black mark on Tucson," Marshall said. "It was a place the children felt welcome; they felt safe, they felt loved and they were pushed to do the very best that they could do."
By 1951, Tucson schools voluntarily agreed to dismantle the segregated school system. Dunbar School was integrated in 1952 and renamed John Spring.
But Marshall says as desegregation happened, it dispersed the black community throughout Tucson.
"The black families lost that connection and that sense of community. So now the Dunbar serves as that hub for community engagement, empowerment and family connection."
In 1995, the nonprofit Dunbar Coalition purchased the school for $25. Over the past 30 years, it has gone from a dilapidated eyesore to a thriving community hub just north of downtown.
As a nonprofit, Dunbar Pavilion leases out space to businesses and organizations. There's an independent K-5 school and a new workforce readiness room equipped with a tech lab.
But the work isn't done. The Dunbar Pavilion still has a half dozen classrooms that need to be renovated for future growth.
In addition, they're about to build a new business empowerment center.
"We want to be a place where people can be innovative and creative," said Marshall.
You can donate to the Dunbar through its website.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,600 was raised for Tucson Indian Center.
We often hear about services on tribal lands.
But what about those Native Americans living within Tucson city limits?
The Tucson Indian Center has been serving the Native community living in the city since 1963. KGUN 9 is showcasing the nonprofit this month as part of its Giving Project series.
The center sprung up from a large migration of Native Americans to Tucson post World War II, in search of employment and healthcare, among other opportunities, said Jacob Bernal, its executive director.
"When they came to Tucson, they were removed from traditional services provided on reservations," Bernal said, describing access to social, health and wellness services for Native Americans at the time. "So, definitely they saw the need."
Formed in 1957, the Native American Club became the nonprofit Tucson Indian Center in 1963.
Bernal has been involved in operating the center for 27 years.
He said one of the longest-running programs at the center is through the Department of Labor.
"That helps Native Americans find quality employment, with livable wages," Bernal said. "So, it really promotes self-sufficiency."
Today, the Tucson Indian Center serves 15,000 people each year. And they continue to add new services based on feedback.
One of those services is the Rodney Palimo Clinic, which opened 14 months ago.
The clinic offers behavioral health services and primary care, both needed in Tucson's Native community.
Phoebe A. Cager, health services director, says Native Americans live with the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the country, and the clinic is helping.
"We've noticed that it's making a big difference in improving their health and lowering their A1Cs for example," Cager said.
Now, the Tucson Indian Center is hoping to expand the clinic to provide pediatric care.
Through grants and donations, it's free to Native Americans, who may not be able to afford primary care and behavioral health services otherwise.
"We're seeing that we're definitely making a difference in being able to improve their health by coming home," Cager said.
You can help the Tucson Indian Center continue to grow by donating to the Tucson Indian Center.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,148 was raised for the Autism Society of Southern Arizona.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Each month, we focus on a Tucson-area nonprofit with our KGUN 9 Giving Project.
This April, for Autism Awareness Month, we've chosen to shine the spotlight on the Autism Society of Southern Arizona.
As executive director of the Autism Society of Southern Arizona, Kate Elliott knows firsthand about the growing number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who are now adults.
"One hundred percent of autistic kids become autistic adults," Elliott said. "So we have to be prepared to support them as well."
Whether it's providing connections with peers through their midtown office, or hosting large-scale events like their annual All In For Autism—coming up on Sat. April 19—the Autism Society knows building a support system is important.
"We want everybody to have a space where they know they can be welcome and meet other people like them who understand what they're going through," Elliott said.
Autism Society of Southern Arizona serves some 7,000 people each year from their office at 2302 E. Speedway Blvd.
Ercilia Allen is the mother of two kids with ASD. She tells me the society is "a good resource to have."
Her son Noah is 11. He loves 5th grade and loves sports and video games, and told me when we met that he was a regular KGUN 9 viewer. His older brother David is 23, and much more of an introvert.
Allen says the Autism Society has been an important resource not only for her two sons, but for the whole family.
"You know he started getting older and we had to look into guardianship and all the challenges that come with having an adult child with autism. So, they've been a good wealth of knowledge," said Allen.
The Autism Society of Southern Arizona has also been a big help to Ercilia personally. Her husband just retired from the Air Force. Last year, he was deployed overseas.
Through this nonprofit, she was able to connect with other parents who have children with autism.
"Once a month I just got to talk to people who knew what I was feeling when it came to the kids.
You can help the Autism Society of Southern Arizona with its mission of creating connections and empowering members of the autism community with resources by donating directly to the society's website.
The Autism Society's annual fundraising event, All in for Autism, will be taking place later this month.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,133.18 was raised for Pima Council on Aging.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pima Council on Aging has been providing services to our older population since 1967.
The recipient of KGUN 9's May Giving Project, this Southern Arizona nonprofit has hundreds of resources and programs available today. Some of those programs are focused on supporting the growing number of people caring for their loved ones in their homes.
"Pima County is one of the fastest growing older adult populations in the country," Deb Seng, Director of Caregiving and Community Initiatives for the Pima Council on Aging, tells me.
"The needs here are growing exponentially, and we are struggling to keep up with those needs."
With the goal of "aging well for life," PCOA impacts nearly 20,000 people each year through a variety of programs.
Seng represents the family caregivers' support program, providing information and resources to family caregivers. She says 20% of people living in our community are caring for a family member. Among those, 80% are looking after an older adult, aged 60 and up.
"Aging in place is really important to most people in our community," Seng said. "Providing information and assistance to do so well, safely, intentionally and proactively is important for the older adult, as well as for their caregivers."
RELATED COVERAGE | Green Valley community learns about crucial support for aging adults
To keep up with the growing demand and the threat of potentially losing some federal funding, Pima Council on Aging could use your help.
"Knowing that individuals in the community can donate to have impact specifically on local older adults and their caregivers is imperative."
The work done by the Pima Council on Aging is made possible with the support of donors and volunteers.
Please consider making a small donation by donating directly to the PCOA website.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $13,913 was raised for Honor Flight Southern Arizona.
In November of 2024, Vietnam Veteran John Rhodes I and his son walked through Tucson International Airport surrounded by an American flag-waving crowd, all gathered to welcome them home after their Honor Flight visit to the war memorials of Washington, D.C.
It was the hero's welcome the former Marine, like many others, never received after service in Vietnam.
Just like last November, this year's Honor Flight will conclude with a hero's welcome home at the airport. The nonprofit Honor Flight Southern Arizona is hoping to raise enough funds through our KGUN 9 Giving Project to charter a flight for 75 veterans—50 more than usual.
The need is great, they say, as the wait list has grown to 350, and includes two World War II veterans and 16 veterans of the Korean War.
"I'm not an emotional person, but that was more emotion than I've ever had, I think," Rhodes said of the hero's welcome he received following his return from last year's Honor Flight.
Rhodes is a retired Marine who did two tours in Vietnam.
He went on last November's Honor Flight with his son, John Rhodes II, who served as his Guardian on the flight.
Like many veterans of war, Rhodes never opened up about being wounded in combat, until this trip.
The younger Rhodes said of his father's experience, saying, "This trip really did open up a lot more of the stories of what he went through and his time in the service."
The trip included a stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and a chance to find the names of fellow Marines who didn't make it through the war.
"It was a moving experience because I was able to point out a couple of names of people that I knew," Rhodes told me.
Both say the experience of returning to Tucson International Airport, with a hero's welcome awaiting them, was one of the trip's most memorable and special moments.
"It was closure. Because we certainly didn't, we didn't get that kind of a recognition when we came home the first and second times," Rhodes said.
John Rhodes II says witnessing the 'welcome home' for his father and other veterans at the airport even had a profound effect on him.
"To see those emotions building on him was just, and looking around and seeing the other veterans that went on this flight, seeing the emotions that they had, brought emotion to me too."
Honor Flight Southern Arizona is hoping to give more deserving veterans that same experience.
So far in our Giving Project this month, KGUN 9 has raised more than $7,000 in support of these veterans' Honor Flights. If you're looking for a reason to give, Rhodes says that these trips help fill a void for many Vietnam Vets.
"You're going to give to them the opportunity to come back and feel what they missed when they came back the other time," Rhodes said. "Because they're holding that in their hearts, and they've held it there for over 50 years."
Honor Flight Southern Arizona currently has 350 veterans on its waiting list, and they hope to raise enough money to take 75 veterans to Washington this November—a much larger group than they've taken on past Honor Flights.
If you'd like to help Honor Flight Southern Arizona take 75 veterans to Washington this November, you can do so directly through their website, honorflightsaz.org.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,325 was raised for Amado Youth Center.
AMADO, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Amado Youth Center opened just two years ago, but in that short span of time, it has already become a critical resource for young people ages 8 to 18 in this part of Southern Arizona.
However, recent funding cuts mean the center needs community help with fundraising to keep the it staffed and busy with programs for rural youth.
Alondra Melendez, 18, says she feels a real sense of community at the Amado Youth Center.
"Everyone loves each other here. We all support each other here," Melendez said.
Amado Youth Center Director Amy Bass has a long history in service to Amado-area youth. The Portable Practical Educational Preparation, Inc. (PPEP) Rural Institute has been around since 1967, and has been serving Amado since 1974.
"This is just kind of like that gem in the desert," Bass said.
Though services for youth have been available for decades, the new youth center has opened up many more opportunities in the past two years.
"Between what we can do, and what the community can help us to do, together we can make a real difference in this community," Bass said.
Besides activities at the center and weekly field trips, Bass says their main focus is keeping the youth of Amado on the right track.
"Healthy, successful kids that graduate, that do not start drinking or using drugs or engaging in other risky behaviors that could put their life off course," Bass said.
With recent federal funding cuts, the Amado Youth Center now must rely on donations, and on fundraising through their November Amado Chili Cook-Off.
Proceeds will go toward additional staffing for the center.
"Once we are fully staffed, we will be able to provide so many more programs for the youth and change more lives," Bass said.
If you'd like to help support rural youth programs at the Amado Youth Center, you can donate directly through their website.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $12,407 was raised for Ability Dogs of Arizona.
This month's KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit is unique not only to Southern Arizona, but to the country.
Ability Dogs of Arizona helps owners train their own service dogs.
It's a highly successful program that's now being emulated nationwide.
And it has been a lifeline for Southern Arizonans like Heidi Fritz.
Heidi and her service dog Tommy have been working together for the past three-and-a-half years.
They were paired together when Tommy was a puppy.
"We matched perfectly," Heidi said.
After completing Ability Dogs' one-of-a-kind training with accredited trainers, Tommy is now a multi-purpose dog.
"The biggest thing is he is my medical alert," Heidi said. "If I am having an issue, he'll bump me or he'll make some kind of behavior to get my attention, so I will go to a quiet place and sit down."
Tommy is also a mobility dog and can brace Heidi as she stands up.
He can also pick things up for her.
Through continuing education at Ability Dogs, Tommy is now learning how to hit a help button.
"I live rural," Heidi said. "I can send him to go get help. He'll hit the button and the button will go to a phone that will call a girlfriend."
Ability Dogs is one of only two programs in Arizona accredited by Assistance Dogs International.
The nonprofit uses a pay-as-you-can model, using donations to help offset costs.
"It is a great organization that allows owners to learn the dog's language and the dog to learn your language," Heidi said.
Ability Dogs of Arizona's owner-involved model fosters a unique bond between the dog and handler.
"It's all so positive training, that they want to work with you," Fritz said. "They're excited to do whatever they can to help."
If you'd like to help support Ability Dogs of Arizona, you can donate directly through their website.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $9,882 was raised for If You Give A Child A Book.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This month's Giving Project campaign is well underway, and we're still looking for your help to raise enough money for each student at the Amphi District's Nash Elementary School to take home ten free books.
For the third year in a row, our If You Give a Child a Book fundraiser is helping make sure the students at this Title I School have a home library that grows with them.
Jessica Jarrett is the principal at Nash Elementary on the northside. She sees the reaction her students have when they discover their love for reading.
"All of our families absolutely value education and literacy.," Jarrett shared with me.
A Title I School, some of her students come from homes where parents are struggling to make ends meet.
"To be able to have the luxury of books is not something that everyone has the opportunity to afford," said Jarrett
KGUN 9's If You Give A Child A Book campaign helps every student at Nash build a home library of their own. Last year, we were able to provide eight free books for every student at Nash.
"They come into the library and it's transformed into a bookstore basically," said Jarrett, describing book fairs from previous years.
Last school year we held two events at Nash, with each student choosing four books in the fall and four books in the spring—growing their home libraries at a pace in tandem with their reading curricula.
"As their reading development grew and their interest evolved, they now had another opportunity to get books that grew with them," said Jarrett
And Jarrett says many of the Nash Elementary students aren't just getting books for themselves.
"I get emotional. They also make sure that they pick a book for their little sister or a book for their mom, that they intentionally chose to be able to also continue that gift of giving," she said.
To donate to our If You Give a Child a Book campaign, you can text KGUN to 50155, or visit our donation page at kgun9.com/giveabook.
All of the money raised goes directly to the campaign to purchase books for the kids at Nash Elementary. Our goal this year is to give out 10 books per student.
If You Give a Child A Book is a nationwide campaign spearheaded by our our parent company's foundation, the Scripps Howard Fund.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,9103 was raised for SAAVI Services for the Blind.
A new month brings a new KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit: Saavi Services for the Blind.
Saavi started in Tucson in 1964, but it now covers the entire state of Arizona and beyond.
"We were actually founded by two blind sisters," said Saavi president Amy Porterfield.
Porterfield knows well the history of the Saavi.
The sisters formed it as a social club.
"They developed a place where people could come together," Porterfield said.
61 years later, Saavi Services for the Blind has grown into one of the nation's premier nonprofits serving blind children, adults, and older adults.
"Over the years, we've added lots of different training opportunities," Porterfield said. "Now, we are primarily a training center, and we have a center here in Tucson and one in Phoenix. We serve people all over the country."
Saavi has been pioneering a comprehensive, real-world training for the blind.
"We focus on non-visual skills, and we believe that by retraining your brain, retraining your body, you know that you can do anything non-visually that you can visually," Porterfield said. "It's just people have been programmed to do things completely visually. We feel like it makes people stronger and more confident in their skills."
People like Sirena Carroll, a student at Saavi just a year ago, who has now moved on to teaching Braille to students enrolled in the program.
"Saavi taught me that not only can I learn these skills, but how to be confident, how to be proud of who I am," Sirena said.
We're going to learn more about Sirena's remarkable journey later in the month.
If you'd like to help support Saavi Services for the Blind, you can donate directly through their website.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $4,126 was raised for Smiles for Veterans.
Navy veteran Robert Moore hadn't seen a dentist in 21 years.
Now he is all smiles, thanks to a nonprofit that has been making a positive impact on veterans in the Tucson area for nearly a decade.
Robert recently received new dentures, free of charge, courtesy of Smiles for Veterans.
The organization arranges free dental care for any veteran who needs it.
Robert is part of the 92% of veterans who fail to qualify for VA dental care.
"We are trying to fill the gap and get the veterans the help they need," said Kristen Sevic, president of Smiles for Veterans.
As a dental technician, Kristen makes dentures for a lot of veterans.
"It's just amazing to see the transformation and how happy (they are)," Kristen said.
For Robert, it will make a significant difference in his life.
"God bless you," he said to the dental crew who helped him.
"Just keep helping those veterans because dental care never goes out of style," Kristen said. "There's always a need for it. As long as they are in need, we are here."
Smiles for Veterans is funded by grants and donations, which help pay for the dental work for the veterans.
You can help Smiles for Veterans carry out its mission by giving a small donation.
If you'd like to show your support, you can donate directly through the website.
Our partners in The Giving Project, The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $3,050 was raised for Miracle En El Barrio.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Miracle En El Barrio has become a Tucson holiday tradition for more than two decades now, operating an annual toy drive that makes sure kids on the Southside receive at least one Christmas present.
For the second December in a row, our KGUN 9 monthly Giving Project is featuring this homegrown nonprofit to help organizers meet that need again.
Steve Nunez began Miracle En El Barrio after seeing firsthand a need on the Southside of Tucson.
"Over the years we've given toys to more than 42,000 kids—many who otherwise may not have received a toy for Christmas," Nunez tells me.
Last year's drive served an estimated 2,000 children, despite rain at the annual giveaway at St. John's on Ajo Way and South 12th Avenue.
A KGUN 9 reporter at the time, Nunez found his inspiration for Miracle En El Barrio covering another Christmas toy giveaway—Miracle on 31st Street—put on by the late Ramon Gonzalez.
"He would open up his house to collect toys and by some miracle, usually after our news coverage, the community would come together and donate toys. He would open up his house, block off the street, and give toys to all the kids in the area," Nunez recalled.
"That just inspired me because, I can't say every Christmas was like that, but I know the feeling," he said.
That feeling for Nunez led to the first Miracle En El Barrio toy giveaway in 2002. That first year, Nunez played the role of Santa, handing out toys to about 500 kids.
Last year, despite the rain and cold, more than 2,000 kids received presents from an upgraded Santa Claus.
"If they didn't give up, we weren't going to give up. We were soaking wet. But you know what? We made sure every child in line got a toy."
As Nunez collects toys and monetary donations ahead of the December 21 toy giveaway, he tells me the goal of Miracle En El Barrio remains the same.
"The most important part is just making sure we put a smile on their face. That's what we're counting. The reward of giving them something: Not just a toy, but hope."
This year's Miracle En El Barrio Toy Giveaway will take place the morning of Saturday, Dec. 21 at St. John's, 602 W. Ajo Way.
Toy donations can be dropped off at any Pyramid Federal Credit Union or Nova Home Loan branch.
Pyramid Federal Credit Union locations are open Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
If you'd like to make a monetary donation to this year's Miracle En El Barrio, the nonprofit is accepting donations through Venmo. In the Venmo platform, search for @MiracleEnElBarrio, or follow the instructions in the flier below.
Your Giving Project donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will again match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $7,100 was raised for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
This month’s KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit is the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, an organization that has been supporting local families and individuals facing hunger for nearly five decades.
Founded in 1976, the Community Food Bank works to address food insecurity across Southern Arizona through a wide range of programs and services.
Its mission goes beyond emergency relief, focusing on both feeding people today and building a healthier, hunger-free future for the region.
The Food Bank provides emergency food assistance to individuals and families in need, while also supporting child nutrition programs to help ensure kids have reliable access to healthy meals.
Through its farm and community garden initiatives, the organization grows fresh produce locally, increasing access to nutritious food and supporting sustainable food systems.
Additional programs include local food initiatives and health and nutrition education.
A farmers’ market operated by the Food Bank also helps connect residents with affordable, fresh food options.
Right after the holidays can be a particularly challenging time for donations, even as the need for food assistance remains high.
The Community Food Bank says monetary donations go a long way, noting that every dollar donated can help provide approximately three meals.
As part of the KGUN 9 Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will match the first $500 in donations, doubling the impact of community support.
Head to their website to donate.
Those interested in helping can make a difference by donating or learning more about the Food Bank’s programs and services, which continue to play a vital role in supporting Southern Arizona communities.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $17,900 was raised for Hearts That Purr.
A final reminder for this month’s KGUN 9 "The Giving Project" highlights a unique nonprofit on the Northwest Side called Hearts That Purr.
The organization, which started in 2013, is a sanctuary dedicated to taking care of senior and terminally ill cats.
Jeanmarie Schiller-McGinnis, the president and founder of Hearts That Purr, founded the organization 13 years ago with her husband. While showing the work done by the mostly volunteer staff, she introduced one of the sanctuary's long-term residents.
"She's about 17 or 18 years old now," Schiller-McGinnis said.
Hearts That Purr cares for approximately 30 cats in their Northwest Side sanctuary, but the specialized mission requires significant funding. Feline Wellness Director Becky Davis said the medical requirements for these specific animals are the primary driver of their costs.
"These cats that are often not adoptable, they have many medical needs, and our veterinary expense is our biggest expense in our budget," Davis said.
The nonprofit does more than just house cats on-site. They also offer a Feline Guardian Program, which allows pet owners to ensure their companions are cared for if the owner passes away first.
"We have a program called the Feline Guardian Program, where people can actually make arrangements in advance for us to take their cat should their cat outlive them," Schiller-McGinnis said.
Additionally, the organization manages a foster program titled Senior Citizens and Senior Kittizens. The initiative matches healthy older cats with older adults who may be hesitant to adopt a pet. Schiller-McGinnis said the program allows the animals to live in a traditional home environment.
"I call it living off campus where they actually go into live with a foster in their home. Then we're here. They call us if they need us. We check in to make sure the cats ok," she said.
Hearts That Purr covers the costs of taking care of the foster cats, including all veterinary bills. Because the organization relies entirely on donations to operate these programs, Davis said community support is essential for their continued care.
"When you donate to Hearts That Purr, you're helping these cats have quality of life, for the end of their lives," Davis said.
Those who would like to help can donate here. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, a partner in the Giving Project, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $2,860 was raised for The Haven.
Natasha Polito has been in the 90-day residential program at The Haven for 60 days.
The Haven is a women's only drug and alcohol treatment center, which was appealing to her.
So was the Intensive Outpatient Program (I.O.P.) she'll transition to after her 90 days are up.
"I heard a lot of positive things about here, that a lot of girls can go into I.O.P. after they get out of here, and they have an extension of the program," Natasha said. "That's what I needed. I didn't need short-term care. I needed a higher level of care."
Natasha says The Haven, which launched in 1970, offers a lot of support, not only from a qualified staff, but from other women who are going through the same struggles with addiction.
"Some of them are further along in what they're doing than I am," she said. "I didn't know what to expect. I was scared coming here, thinking they were going to judge me for my past. No, they've been very helpful."
Aimee Graves, CEO of The Haven, describes her staff of 80 professionals dedicated to helping these women through their recovery as "amazing people."
"People come with a passion and a real care to make a difference in women's lives," she said.
Natasha's motivation is her 2-month-old son.
"I want to get myself better so I can be the mom he needs," she said.
Natasha feels strongly that The Haven is the place to accomplish her goal.
"If I can set a positive foundation for him, then I'm doing something right," Natasha said. "I want to be around for many years to see him grow."
If you'd like to help with "The Haven's Mission," you can donate directly by clicking this link.
KGUN 9's partners in The Giving Project, The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $38,244 was raised for Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault.
In Southern Arizona, victims of sexual assault can find support they need through SACASA.
The Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault provides crisis services, advocacy, and therapy for survivors.
"Nationwide, we know statistically it's every minute somebody in the United States is sexual assaulted," said Katlyn Monje, SACASA director. "Only a fraction of them are actually being connected to care. So, every chance we get to connect with somebody in the hospital or through the crisis line is a big win for us."
Unfortunately, hospital response numbers and calls into their crisis line continue to increase.
"What we're not sure of is whether or not that means more assaults are happening," Monje said. "Or are we doing better as a community by raising awareness and creating safe spaces and allowing survivors to come forward for the help that they deserve."
SACASA provides support to nearly 400 people each month.
"We prioritize providing victim advocacy to any survivor or person in our community who's been impacted by sexual trauma.," Monje said. "We are the provider of medical forensic exams, commonly called a rape kit, and then we do therapy services: individual, family and group therapy. Everything we do is completely free of charge."
That is where your help is needed. Donations to SACASA go directly to supporting volunteers.
"Anyone can be impacted by sexual assault, and to make a difference, we all have to step up and support survivors and call for an end to sexual violence," Monje said.
You can donate to SACASA directly through this link.
KGUN 9's partners in The Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $1,270 was raised for NAMISA.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the KGUN 9/CFSA collaborative project with Pat Parris, The Giving Project, turns its nonprofit spotlight to National Alliance of Mental Illness, Southern Arizona (NAMISA), which provides no-cost mental health advocacy, education and support to all affected by mental illness.
David Delawder, Executive Director of NAMISA, said it is not uncommon for a family to call the nonprofit with concerns. “Their loved one maybe isn’t going to work or there (are) problems in school and they just don’t know where to turn to,” Delawder said. NAMISA doesn’t ask for insurance, helping to alleviate cost as a factor in seeking help.
“You can come to us for our services at no cost and we are just here for the community in general,” Delawder said. “I think people take advantage of that because it’s such a resource. It’s really hard to navigate the medical system.”
That’s where NAMISA comes in. Mental health problems are very common. One in five American adults and youth are affected. Delawder said NAMISA acts as resource management.
Thank you to our generous viewers for supporting the Giving Project. A total of $ was raised for Honor Flight Southern Arizona.
While 23 veterans just recently returned to Tucson from Washington D.C. on the 36th Honor Flight, nearly 300 veterans in Southern Arizona are still waiting for their trip to our nation's capital.
"Our mission was accomplished," said Ed Dunlap, who heads up Honor Flight Southern Arizona.
The flight returned on June 3.
"It's hard to put into words. It's just such an honor to be able to do this and to give them the recognition and the homecoming they deserve."
The 23 veterans, including 97-year-old Korean War veteran John Carlstrom, returned from Washington D.C. after touring the different war memorials.
"I wouldn't pass this up for anything," Carlstrom said. "This is a wonderful experience. Did honor to those who gave everything."
The trip was emotional for Carlstrom and for Vietnam veteran Bill Bowers.
"I struggled with my service," Bowers said. "I didn't know how to feel about it and I'm feeling good about it."
Dunlap said donations help get these veterans on the Honor Flight.
"They are everything to us," Dunlap said. "That's how we fund this. Donations, grants, mostly donations."
Dunlap has been especially appreciative of KGUN 9's viewers, who have donated more than $26,000 in the last two years to Honor Flight Southern Arizona.
New donations will help get some of the 300 veterans waiting for their Honor Flights off the ground.
That list will grow quickly next year, when Gulf War veterans will become eligible to take an Honor Flight.
"It's important to know, we've got to clear all of the Vietnam veterans before we start taking Gulf War veterans," Dunlap said.
Viewers can help Honor Flight Southern Arizona send more veterans to Washington D.C. by making a donation through the website.
KGUN's partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.