The Priceless Heart Fund supports the Priceless Heart Project as well as a scholarship for students with post-secondary education goals, in particular students who may be experiencing homelessness. The Fund was made possible through generous donations and the management of the El Paso Community Foundation.
A homeless child or youth is defined as an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. This includes ‘doubling up’ or multiple families living together in a single family residence, living in a vehicle, motel, trailer park, shelter or other form of non-permanent accommodations and migratory children. Source
A child without a safe, consistent place to live most likely does not have a place to do homework or sleep, sustainable access to food or proper personal hygiene or laundry facilities. Poor nutrition and lack of sleep are known to radically decrease cognitive function and affect academic performance. To put the impact of homelessness in perspective, students experiencing homelessness are consistently academically outscored by their peers, even those who are economically disadvantaged. During the 2016-17 school year, U.S. students experiencing homelessness had a graduation rate of 64 percent — compared to a 77.6 percent graduation rate among other low-income students and a national average of 84.1 percent. Source
In El Paso, there are nearly 200 children living in shelters on any given night. Source
This doesn’t account for children who may be doubling up or living in a vehicle or other non-permanent location. For this reason, we ask that you assist us in continuing Price’s mission and donate to the Fund to support children in El Paso and help them achieve their educational dreams.