MAMA HILL'S HELP, Inc.
Mission Statement
To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To free the prisoners,
To rebuild nations, To bring peace among brothers, To make music in the heart.
-Howard Thurman-
HOW YOU CAN HELP MAMA HILL'S HELP
Hello Friends!
In January, 2000, Mama Hill's Help, Inc. was founded to provide tutoring for neighborhood youth in South Los Angeles. However, as time progressed, it became apparent that there were many obstacles standing in the way of student achievement.
All of Mama Hill's kids were under-achievers and all of them carried personal heavy burdens, stifling their ability to learn.
Many of Mama Hill's students have been victims of violence__either at home or at the hands of errant neighborhood gang members__turning their anger in on themselves or outward, towards others.
Most come from single-parent households, more often than not, living in poverty.
Many have one or both parents incarcerated or deceased; and others have family members battling drug dependency.
As if this weren't enough for a pre-teenager to endure, several of Mama Hill's kids suffer from ADD, chronic asthma and other ailments that impede their learning.
As a result of these obstacles and more, and in an effort to find a common panacea, Mama Hill's Help, Inc. expanded its services to meet the needs of each student and "A Soft Place" was born to address each student's individual needs.
Today the components of Mama Hill's Help, Inc. include:
Tutoring
Each student receives individual non-judgmental instruction, learning how to learn at their own pace and in their own style of processing information.
Gang Intervention and Prevention
Hands-on mentoring by former rehabilitated gang members, field trips, after school activities, and tutoring in all subjects helps to empower students to make life-saving choices. Many students are chosen for the unique Leadership Program, which develops their speaking skills and engages them in off-site seminars and community forums.
Anger Management
Mama Hill's Help, Inc. collaborates with several well-established community-based organizations to implement proven anger management activities and classes.
Grief and Psychological Counseling
Due to the tremendous loss of life through gang violence, many youth need and receive a support system from Mama Hill's Help, Inc.
Deterrence of Violence and Molestation
Working with community institutions, Mama Hill's Help provides counseling, protection and intervention through the proper authorities.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
With family illiteracy, poverty and large blended families (often foster or group homes), many young people receive no counseling on sexual and reproductive health outside of the walls of Mama Hill's Help, Inc.
Without any outside funding, fortunately Mama Hill's Help has managed to stay afloat throughout the years, thanks in part to the dedication of its founder who sacrifices her pension (earned from L.A. Unified School District), to help her children; and to the generosity of individuals and small organizations which recognize the life-saving value of the programs she and her small staff offer to South Los Angeles at-risk youth. Many have donated office equipment, computers and learning supplies. Others have given food for after-school snacks and beverages. And still others have donated cash to keep the operation afloat.
Today we have reached the crisis point and we must ask our friends and strangers for help. With over 50 youth on the waiting list, we are asking you to please help Mama Hill's Help, Inc. to help all of Mama Hill's kids.
Mama Hill's Wish List
• 12-seat van and insurance (for field trips, seminars and off-site activities)
• Room addition (one office, one classroom and one bathroom)
• Security system for the site
• Salaries for additional personnel (two part-time credentialed teachers, one part-time administrative assistant and one part-time licensed driver)
Your donations__from $1 to $1,000 will give Mama Hill the tools she needs to continue serving a community in desperate need of your support. As we are a California non-profit 501(c)3 corporation, your donation is tax-deductible. We thank you for your generous support and for passing the word to others who may be willing to help.
