A New Possibility for the Home
The El Cardonal Children’s Home has continued to be a place of outreach, connection, and support for vulnerable children and families in Baja California Sur, while the Board carefully evaluates how the facility itself can best meet the needs of the community and reach its full potential.
Over the past several months, the home’s Directors have continued the work already underway: meeting with families, staying connected with hospitals and social workers, visiting vulnerable communities, managing the facility during visits and short-term use, and building relationships with government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
The original mission of the home was to provide temporary care for children while a parent or caregiver was receiving medical treatment. That mission still matters. But what we have learned is that need alone is not enough.
Families need to feel safe, informed, respected, and able to trust the people offering to look after their children.
For a parent facing crisis, illness, poverty, or fear of authority, placing a child in someone else’s care is not a small decision. Even when the help is needed, and even when the home is safe, trust cannot be assumed.
That is why the Board has been looking carefully at how the home can be used in a way that is needed, sustainable, and TRUSTED.
One possible future use of the facility now being explored is a collaboration with a respected women’s institute in Baja California Sur.
The institute has proposed the possible use of the El Cardonal property as a Casa de Medio Camino, or halfway house, for women and their children who have experienced violence.
This would not be an emergency shelter. Instead, it would be a transitional place for women and children after the immediate crisis stage, offering time, safety, and support as they work toward stability and independence.
The proposed model could include temporary housing, psychological support, legal guidance, social-work support, job training, life-skills development, and help accessing health and education services.
No decision has been made to change the use of the home. This is one example of the kind of possibility the Board is exploring: a way to meet a real need while also addressing the trust barrier we have identified. The idea became more concrete after the home recently cared for a mother and her young son who were seeking safety from domestic violence.
In this model, mothers would remain with their children. The home would not be asking families to separate from their children during a crisis. It would also involve collaboration with an established public institution that already serves women and families in situations of violence. Together, those two pieces help address one of the biggest issues we have identified: families need support they can trust, from people and institutions they are comfortable working with.
The Directors of the home have also continued their broader outreach work. They have followed up with hospital social-work departments in La Paz and Los Cabos, visited communities in Los Cabos, delivered clothing to families, participated in hurricane-season preparedness discussions, and attended a statewide gathering of civil society organizations in Baja California Sur.
All of this work is helping the Board better understand the needs that exist, the services already available, the gaps that remain, and the partnerships that would be necessary for the home to serve families responsibly.
The future use of the El Cardonal Children’s Home has not been decided. But the process is moving forward with care.
The home was built because people believed children and families in Baja California Sur deserve safety, dignity, and support. That belief has not changed. What we are doing now is taking the time to understand how the home can serve in the most responsible, useful, and trusted way possible.
We’re proud to be part of a growing community of partners who are making a difference. Keep reading below for updates from our partners.
fff
PARTNER UPDATES
El Cardonal Children’s Home
The El Cardonal Children’s Home (formerly John Gullo Home for Children) provides temporary shelter for children in BCS whose families are experiencing medical crises. Read the latest update below:
The Directors of the El Cardonal Children’s Home recently participated in the 5th State Meeting of Civil Society Organizations of Baja California Sur, a gathering created to strengthen nonprofit organizations, encourage collaboration, and build connections across the state.
The event included conferences, panels, working groups, and opportunities to learn from other organizations serving communities in Baja California Sur.
For the home, this was an opportunity to continue building relationships with organizations, institutions, and community leaders who may be important partners in the future. As the Board continues evaluating the best path forward for the facility, these connections help the home stay engaged in the broader network of people working to support vulnerable children and families.
New Creation Kids (NCK) Children’s Home
New Creation Kids is a children’s home just south of La Paz providing safe, stable shelter for children whose families are facing serious challenges such as addiction and homelessness. Read about our involvement with the home below:
As many of you know, NCK has been with us since the very beginning and continues to hold a special place in our journey. Operated by Roberto and Alma Osuna, this independent, registered Mexican nonprofit provides a safe and stable home for up to 30 children at a time.
Children whose parents are unable or unfit to care for them due to circumstances such as addiction, violence, or homelessness.
While Leaders2Give does not oversee NCK’s operations, we help fund essential daily needs like food, electricity, education, fuel, and water. Our involvement also includes stepping in for urgent capital improvements such as cisterns to help address water shortages installed in 2021.
Thanks to your generosity, we currently have enough funding to cover their basic needs for the year. That said, the needs at NCK are ongoing and often unpredictable. If you’d like to help cover the cost of essentials like water deliveries or meals, please consider making a donation. Just $25 can support one child for ten days.
The East Cape Health Center
The East Cape Health Center is a nonprofit clinic in Los Barriles offering full medical and dental services with discounted or free care for families in need.
SNAP - Spay, Neuter, and Prevention
SNAP offers free spay/neuter services for the local community in and around Los Barriles, BCS and promotes youth leadership through animal welfare education. Read their latest update below:
Thank You, Leaders2Give
This is a bittersweet newsletter to write and one of the most important we've ever sent.
Back in 2022, SNAP joined Leaders2Give as a partner organization. Before that, we were a grassroots effort in the truest sense: when we took over leadership of this program, we started with a Ziploc baggie holding $5,000. It didn't take long to realize that wasn't going to take us very far.
When we first approached Leaders2Give, we understood the hesitation.
On paper, a spay and neuter organization is a strange fit for a mission built around vulnerable children and families. But a handful of board members saw what we saw — that animal welfare work on the ground doesn't happen in isolation. It touches the same families, the same neighborhoods, and the same children that Leaders2Give has always fought for. Ultimately, we're all working with the same people, toward the same greater good.
We will be forever grateful that Leaders2Give took a chance on us and welcomed us in to grow alongside them.
Becoming a partner was always meant to be a chapter, not the whole story. We knew from the start that someday we'd leave the nest. But what a chapter it's been.
As partners with Leaders2Give, we have:
Doubled the number of animals we help each year
Expanded our presence in local schools and summer camps, teaching the next generation about responsible pet ownership
Launched a mobile OR unit and trailer, so we can bring our services directly to the areas with the highest need and the most obstacles to access
Developed an outreach leadership program, building capacity within our community to carry this work forward
None of this would have been possible without the platform, trust, and support Leaders2Give gave us from day one.
We're proud to share that SNAP has now formed our own U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit: Friends of SNAP.
Same mission. Same values. Same hard work on the ground every day.
This next step allows us to keep growing the work that Leaders2Give first believed in, all those years ago. Donations can now be made directly through our website:
To everyone at Leaders2Give and donors, thank you for seeing what SNAP could become before we could fully prove it. This partnership changed the trajectory of our organization, and by extension, the lives of thousands of animals and the families who love them.
We don't say goodbye so much as thank you — and see you around the community, still working toward the same greater good.
A Message From Leaders2Give
We couldn’t be happier for SNAP as they take this next step.
When SNAP joined us in 2022, we knew their work was about much more than spaying and neutering animals. Over the past four years, we’ve watched them grow their programs, reach more communities, educate children, and find new ways to make life better for animals and the families who care for them.
We’re incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished and grateful for the years we’ve spent working together. While SNAP may no longer need Leaders2Give as its U.S. nonprofit home, we’re certainly not going our separate ways. We’ll still be here in the same community, supporting many of the same families and working toward many of the same goals.
Congratulations to everyone at SNAP and Friends of SNAP. We can’t wait to see what you do next!
Crescent Moon Project - Art for Children
Crescent Moon Project offers free arts-based classes that spark creativity and help children grow into compassionate, community-focused leaders. Read their latest update below:
From Campers to Mentors:
Our Teens Give Back
Our mission includes developing leaders as one of our goals:
“Crescent Moon Project provides free classes in the arts to children … Through hands-on work, we aspire to create the next generation of compassionate and empathetic leaders.”
One of the most special parts of Crescent Moon Project’s participation in our summer camp, Curso de Verano, has been watching our older students step into leadership roles.
Our teen volunteers were incredible mentors, helping prepare art materials and working alongside younger campers throughout the art days at camp. They encouraged, assisted, created alongside them, and offered a helping hand whenever it was needed. Their kindness, patience, and enthusiasm helped make the art activities welcoming and inspiring for everyone.
Two of our teen leaders, Melanie and Alondra, volunteered through the Social Service program at EMSaD (Escuela de Media Superior a Distancia) No. 16 in Los Barriles. They were dedicated and always approached their work with a positive attitude. We were grateful to partner with the local high school and give students an opportunity to serve their community while developing their leadership skills.
There’s something especially meaningful about seeing several of our other teens in these leadership roles: many of them were once campers themselves. They know what it feels like to walk into an art activity with excitement, curiosity, and maybe a little uncertainty. Now they’re the ones encouraging younger children, sharing their creativity, and helping them discover what they can do.
This is exactly the kind of growth we hope to nurture through the Crescent Moon Project. Art isn’t just about making something beautiful—it’s about building confidence, learning to work together, caring for others, and finding your own way to contribute to your community.
Watching our former campers grow into confident, caring young leaders—and give their time and energy back to the next generation—is incredibly rewarding. They’re not just helping at camp; they’re becoming the role models that younger children will remember.
Thank you, Isabela, Paola, Paulina, Melanie, Alondra, Hirome, Fabian, and Elias.
Wonderland for Kids Sponsorship Program
Wonderland for Kids is a bilingual Montessori and childcare center in Los Barriles offering a Sponsorship Program to help low income families access affordable childcare. Read their latest update below:
Creating Opportunity Through Childcare
We are incredibly grateful for our partnership with Leaders2Give, which allows Wonderland for Kids to help make quality childcare and early education more accessible to single, low-income working mothers in our community.
At Wonderland, we believe that childcare is more than simply a place for children to spend the day.
We provide a safe, nurturing environment where children ages 18 months to five years can learn, grow, build friendships, and develop the skills they need for their next chapter.
We are currently in the final month of our summer program, filled with hands-on activities, creativity, exploration, and plenty of fun. In October, we will transition back into our Montessori educational program, continuing our commitment to meaningful early childhood learning.
Our sponsorship program creates a ripple effect: when a mother has dependable childcare, she has the opportunity to work, provide for her family, and build a more secure future for her children.
A contribution of $500 per month helps provide childcare Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, helping ease the financial burden of childcare while supporting a child’s early education.
Please consider contributing to our sponsorship program and helping us continue this important mission.
To learn about the different ways to donate to Leaders2Give and any of our Partners, visit our Donate page.