Senator: Guv to provide $30K for struggling nonprofit
Posted 6/28/2009 09:45:00 PM
Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Las Cruces on Monday to announce $30,000 in emergency state funding for a nonprofit that provides child care, education and other help to homeless and near-homeless families, a state senator said Sunday.
Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, said Richardson’s help will follow a $20,000 gift to Jardin de los Niños made by Stan Fulton, the owner of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. Jardin was in danger of closing because of a lack of funding, Papen said, but the aid from Fulton and the governor will help the organization keep its doors open for several months until other cash comes in.
Papen said the governor will make the announcement Monday at noon at the nonprofit’s facility, located at 999 W. Amador Ave.
“We’re very grateful both to Sunland Park racetrack and to the governor for helping this organization stay alive,” the senator said.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for confirmation and has not released Richardson’s public schedule for the week. In fact, the governor hasn’t responded to any request for comment I’ve made in the last two weeks or so.
But Papen should be in a position to know what’s happening. Her daughter is the president of Jardin’s board of directors.
The nonprofit received another donation recently -- about $2,000 worth of computer equipment from Sitel, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. In the newspaper’s article, Jardin Executive Director Shirley Jacquez described the effect the struggling economy has had on the nonprofit.
“Request for services is way up and our funding is down,” Jacquez was quoted by the Sun-News as saying.
Labels: Las Cruces, Legislature, Richardson, State government
2 Comments:
Is this another taxpayer funded public-private venture?
Of course, this type of tax-theft is not new. Just look at how all the NGO's (non-profit orgs) receive taxpayer monies through back-door escapades, such as the greens and the game & fish, etc., etc., etc.
If we really wanted to solve the homeless debacle we'd stop supporting the environment that has been off-shoring and eliminating private employment. In other words - we'd stop the unsustainable public jobs market that can only exist via impoverishing the private sector.
Jardin de los Ninos is a outstanding charitable program that seeks to provide specialized care to the pre-school children of families that are homeless while they obtain employment, training, and permanent housing.
In the current economy, it is not unusual to find families literally sleeping in their cars in our community, yet have one or two parents employed at some capacity. They may need comprehensive, short-term assistance to get through a very difficult time. Jardin is an organization that provides the positive encouragement, support and guidance these families need to enhance and maintain healthy parenting relationships while they transition to stable living situations.
As is the case with many non-profits, Jardin de los Ninos is incredibly frugal and financially creative in how they accomplish these tasks, but the summer months are often a time during which they literally must wait weeks for reimbursements while funding contracts expire and restart. In addition, summer is the absolute worst time for private financial contributions, even in a good economy. They are deserving of any and all assistance our community gives them.
BTW, love the way Joseph Cummins bores us once again, and supplies further proof that he has absolutely no connection to reality, much less the community of Las Cruces, and therefore does not deserve be given credence in his pathetically desperate attempts to connect his fantasy "green conspiracy" to every single issue on which he posts.
Perhaps he should stop panning for gold and actually try to get involved in doing something for humanity.
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