Dear Friends,

With just days before the New Year begins, I really want to thank you for your friendship and generosity, and ask you to consider a year-end gift to Identity. You can ease the suffering of neighbors severely impacted by COVID-19, like Juan and his 8-year old daughter Ana.

Juan is a single father.  He fled for his life with his daughter after witnessing a murder in Honduras, and was supporting her here as a dishwasher, renting a basement room in Silver Spring.  But he came down with COVID-19 which led to a flare-up of tuberculosis.  He called Identity after being ill and out of work for months, desperate to feed his daughter. When Case Manager Cynthia G. asked a few more questions, she found things were even more dire.  They were sleeping on a bare floor because of an outbreak of bedbugs, they were about to be evicted, and Juan’s asylum case was in jeopardy because he could no longer afford legal fees.  Juan remained stoic about impending hunger and homelessness, but sobbed when explaining Ana loved school so much she didn’t want to have to leave.  Cynthia sprung into action, delivering food and clothing gift cards within hours, arranging for mattresses and bedding within a couple of days, expediting rental assistance and advocating with his immigration attorney. 

Today, Juan has recovered and is working again.  Ana has been able to continue classes at an “Educational Equity Hub.” They both have warm clothes for the winter, beds to sleep on, and a lawyer working on their immigration case.  These are two of thousands of neighbors helped by your financial support.  

During this pandemic - keep vulnerable students connected to school, older youth to work and parents able to help them with a gift to Identity.  You can donate securely online, or mail a check to Identityh, c/o Nonprofit Village, 15800 Crabbs Branch Way, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20855.

We wish you a happy, healthy New Year, and thank you again. Your continued support means the world to a lot of  young people and their families.

Con mucha gratitud y un fuerte abrazo,

Diego Uriburu
Executive Director

We changed the client names to protect their privacy.