Corazon De Vida Foundation

Corazon de Vida (CDV) is a 20+ year US 501c3 non-profit organization providing life-changing support for orphaned and abandoned children in Baja, Mexico by funding local orphanages, providing quality of life improvement services and investing in the children's future by funding higher education.

Through our life-sustaining program we provide monthly funding for the orphanages under our care. These orphanages give abandoned children security, nutrition, shelter and access to a reliable education. We also fund scholarships for teens aging out of the orphanage system to continue their education. We provide consistent, monthly support to 10+ orphanages, housing over 500 children. Our university program currently has 45+ past orphanage residents in college or technical school, and serving as role models to their younger 'siblings'.

SUSTAIN
This program's focus is on sustaining life and ensuring the basics of life – shelter, nutrition, security. Through this program, we provide regular monthly funding to each orphanage to cover food, shelter, water and utilities. Funds are transferred monthly through a debit-card system connected to our bank account in the U.S. This system ensures accountability and helps us in responding quickly to specific needs.

IMPROVE
We partner with individuals, groups, clubs, churches and organizations to provide project based funding to improve the quality of life for the children. This includes construction, repairs, and overall facilities improvement. This program also includes improvements to the overall wellbeing of the children – funding for medical, dental and psychological needs, organizing medical and dental missions, and supporting staff development activities.

EDUCATE
Support for primary and secondary education consists on funding uniforms, backpacks, transportation costs and graduation costs. All Baja public schools require uniforms, which is good because orphanage students do not look different than any other students. Our continuing education program provides scholarship based funding for teens aging out of the orphanage system and it includes funding for inscriptions, tuitions, housing, living expenses and transportation, all depending on each student's situation.

Stated simply, one of the biggest problems Mexico faces is a lack of social programs. Mexico does not have social programs that we have in the U.S., no foster care programs, no welfare system, so the only way to care and support children in need is through a network of private orphanages, funded entirely through individual and corporate donations.

We carry the solution– the ability to help fund these orphanages. Through the simple act of funding orphanages, we will be able to care for orphaned and abandoned children for years to come.

Corazon de Vida's continuing education program was created to provide opportunities for higher education/technical education for teens aging out of the 10 orphanages that Corazon de Vida supports. Our belief is that education is the key to helping these teens/young adults to break the cycle of poverty and abandonment that had them end up in an orphanage. Our goal is to provide scholarship based funding for inscriptions, tuition, housing, living expenses and transportation, all
depending on each student's situation. Supporting continuing education for teens aging out of the orphanage system is an important program for CDV, as it provides them with the opportunity to create a better future for themselves, their families and their community.

We measure our 'prgress' success by the number of students that stay in the program and by the number that achieve an 8.0 (out of 10) or higher GPA each semester.

Each semester, students must submit their grades before we commit to supporting them for the upcoming semester. So far, about 90% of our students have met the 8.0GPA requirement each semester. For those that did not meet the reuired 8.0 GPA, we worked with them to ensure they receive the support they need to increase their GPA – special classes, tutoring, study material, etc. Our ultimate success is the graduation rate and successful employment of our students! Graduation rate is at 100% for those that made it past the 2nd year of schooling. All graduates have been able to find well-paid employment within 3 months after graduation.