WESLACO - All week, Valley residents have dropped off donations in Weslaco for Teach The Children, a nonprofit that provides school supplies to students in need.

The need is great, and Dina Escamilla, the Lyford Elementary School principal, knows that. She's seen it all during her 20 years in a classroom.

"As the state changes all these funding requirements for school districts, there are many cuts. Now we're putting a bigger burden on the parents," she said.

"With Teach The Children, every first-grader gets a box full of supplies."

Theses supplies are possible thanks to our generous community.

South Texas College student David Rubio said, "At STC, we're participating in bringing out a bunch of school supplies, and we hope everybody else continues to participate. The more, the merrier!"

Rubio was one of dozens of STC EMT students who stopped by the KRGV Weslaco studio with an ambulance full of supplies.

"We're in a profession that requires you to have a good and decent heart, to where you're ready to help your fellow man. Essentially we're here to help children," said student Cynthia Salazar.

Rosa and Charles Clark also joined in the giving. Rosa Clark said they were inspired by an earlier story about a teacher who helped her students with supplies and jackets.

"We talked about it. ‘Hey, we gotta do something for this teacher.' So we came out today and bought some backpacks, everything we could crayons, markers, ring binders... And we brought some coats, because she said kids were cold, so we brought some coats also," said Rosa Clark.

KRGV also received a donation with a very special letter from Jack Crabtree. The 82-year-old wrote that he grew up during the Great Depression and knew what it was like not to have school supplies. He explained he didn't have much, but the children needed the money more than he did. He donated $100.

The donation drive continues Friday and the Teach The Children telethon is scheduled for Saturday. Visit the Teach The Children page for more information.

 

 

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MERCEDES - A Mercedes mother dreams big for her eight children. Edith Palomo's dreams for Eduardo, Estepania, Edgar, Elias, Elisabeth, Esmerelda, Enola and Esme start with an "E" - education.

A few books keep her youngest children busy at home. She hopes their love of reading sticks.

Her 6-year-old son, Edgar-Sean, will start first grade this year. Every year, the school supply lists get longer. Palomo's budget, like so many other families across the Rio Grande Valley, only stretches so far.

"I don't want them to miss anything... I don't want them to say, ‘I don't have a pencil to write it down,'" Palomo told us.

She said the extra help from Teach The Children won't just ease her mind, but it will prepare Edgar and other needy first graders across the Valley for the years ahead.

The program provides school supplies to students in need. CHANNEL 5 NEWS is accepting donations for the program. The station will also be holding a telethon on Saturday. For more information, visit the Teach The Children page.

 

 

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RIO HONDO - Residents in the small community of Rio Hondo speak of Jessica Cavazos' caring nature.

The Rio Hondo Elementary School kindergarten teacher strives to make sure her students' needs are met, even if it means taking money out of her own pocket.

"They do not have school supplies," said Cavazos of some the 700 students that attend the school.
Cavazos said that need for school supplies compels her to dig into her own finances.

"It comes naturally. Everyone is used to it ... my husband is used to it," she said.

"(When) it's time to go shopping, we shop for our kiddos and we shop for my kiddos at the school," said Cavazos, a mother of three children.

Cavazos rarely takes a break during her summer vacation. She spends a lot of time making sure her classroom is in tip-top shape and getting ready for the upcoming school year.

On a recent summer day she spent time taking inventory to find out what her students will need to start the school year.

"We need crayons, glue sticks, pencils, markers, paper, construction paper, supply boxes ... pretty much, everything," she said.

Cavazos' students are grateful for her kindness. She proudly displays a humble gift with the words: "Teachers are a gift. They touch our hearts forever."

"It's awesome. It's the best thing you can ever have," she said of her altruistic work. "Everyone wants to have new crayons at the beginning of the school year - no one wants to have broken crayons - and sometimes they bring them and they're proud. But when you give them that brand new package of crayons or markers, they are ecstatic. It's like you gave them the best thing in the world."

"Our babies are little sponges and they are going to absorb everything that you give them," she said. "The more you give them, the more you feed them the more they are going to give you back."

Cavazos said that each student needs at least $30 in school supplies. She spends more than $300 a year to furnish supplies for about half of her 22 students.
But school supplies are not the only thing her students need. Many of the residents in the small town of about 2,000 people live in poverty, and children often go without

"They will come in with shoes that are wide open ... no socks ... no undies," she said. "Sometimes their shirts, you know, some of them have big old holes ... It's a rag, not a shirt."

Some students even show up without a jacket on cold days, she said. She keeps extra jackets in her classroom for those students and the children get to keep them. She also provides backpacks and shoes for her students.

Cavazos will often goes to students' homes to give them school supplies. She recently visited the Vasquez. Three of the family's children were her students, and they are grateful for everything she has done for them.

"(We've gotten) supplies, like pencils, paper and the last day of school they came with prizes - toys," Jose Vasquez said. "She has given us shoes from her kids ... boots, pants and all that."

Flor Vasquez, the children's mother, said she is grateful for everything Cavazos has done.

"In my sister's birthday, she gave her $40 and a birthday cake," she said.

Cavazos' generosity has given Candy Vasquez a huge goal in life - the desire to become a teacher.

Luis Manuel Cavazos said his mother is a very caring person.

"At work, she cares about everything that she does. And at home, she does the same thing with me and my other two brothers," he said.

"Everyone is special in their own way," Jessica Cavazos said. "Everyone has their own quality. Everyone has their own need, so we just meet them."

The Vasquez children said it's important to teach the children and to give to Teach The Children, a charity that provides needy students in the Rio Grande Valley with school supplies.

KRGV's Teach The Children Telethon is scheduled for Saturday, starting at 6:30 p.m. The station has been conducting the school supply collection campaign for almost 30 years.

For more information on Teach The Children, click here.

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PORT ISABEL - The former principal of Garriga Elementary in Port Isabel knows first-hand the power of Teach The Children. The charity helps needy school children all over the Rio Grande Valley get school supplies.

Nancy Gonzalez left the school after 16 years as principal, but she said the impact the program had left a lasting impression.

"Underprivileged families, they wouldn't have the supplies. They wouldn't have the clothes. And thank God, we had Teach The Children with the vouchers and the school supplies at that time," said the former principal.

She told us people in the Valley have a misconception of the Laguna Madre area. She says most people think it's a rich area, because of its proximity to South Padre Island. Gonzalez said it's the exact opposite.

Ninety percent of the children going to school are consider poor by national standards.
Gonzalez said she's seen the way Teach The Children has changed lives.

"They feel real bad, because the students around them have the supplies. Once we give them the supplies, they feel right at home. They feel comfortable; they're happier. They'll come to school. They have the new clothes to wear, the new shoes to wear. Their self-esteem is raised. Their attendance gets better," she explained.

Gonzalez said providing children the tools to succeed is the best thing we can do for them.

 

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