2023-Food & Toys for families in need

Hey guys! My name is Andres Mercado, I'm 35 years old, raised in Colombia and currently living in the United States. Back home, my mom is a kindergarten teacher in one of the most vulnerable communities in my home town Cali (Distrito de Aguablanca), and as I grew up my mom will always take me to her school for me to experience and see with my own eyes the living conditions of all these kids and their families.

Now that I’m living abroad and I'm in a better position, I decided to start a project to help less fortunate families by providing them with a small grocery basket and toys for the kids right after Christmas. First year (2016) I was able to help 25 families in need without asking for any donations. For the last 7 years, I took a different approach and started using Gofundme hoping to be able to help even more families, and to be quite honest I was surprised to see how many people reached out and helped in so many different ways.

Last time (2022) we were able to help about 180 families from the donations I received via gofundme or personally. My goal is to see this project grow and to reach more kids and families every single year. The donation is only $25.00, enough to sponsor a family of 3-4.

My mom along with friends and people that volunteer to help, will personally hand over the basket and toys before Christmas. Photos and videos will be taken that day for everyone to see and share. Let's make this Christmas a special one for all these people that are way less fortunate than us. God bless you all, and don't stop believing that we can all make a difference