May 24, 2021

Fox Family Foundation Donates Van to Support Children with Special Needs in Anapra

Since 2003, the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati have crossed the border from El Paso to the Colonia of Anapra in Ciudad Juárez, three times a week to provide needed services to the children at Proyecto Santo Niño.

The children in Anapra are underserved in the areas of education, healthcare, and housing but those with physical and mental conditions lack additional support and resources to help with their disabilities.

Proyecto Santo Niño was created to help children with disabilities in Anapra by offering special services specific to their needs. The clinic includes several volunteer massage therapists, special education teachers, physical and speech therapists and others who share their time, talents, and loving service. 

Proyecto Santo Niño has been blessed by the generosity of many donors over the years to sustain their services.  Several years ago, Steve and Nancy Fox as well as their children, Paige and Ashley, donated a van to Proyecto Santo Niño to provide transportation to the children, which many of whom required wheelchairs and other equipment to aid their mobility.  Recognizing the van was no longer large enough to support the number of children, Mr. Fox has led an effort to find a larger, handicapped-accessible van that would sustain the clinic’s needs.   

The Fox Family, along with representatives from the Fox Auto Group and leadership from the Paso del Norte Community Foundation and Fundación Paso del Norte in Juárez, is preparing to present an upgraded handicapped-accessible new van to the Sisters of Charity and the community of Proyecto Santo Niño in the coming weeks.  The gift has been made possible through a very generous gift from the Fox Family Foundation and a matching grant from Fundación Paso del Norte, PdNCF’s sister Foundation in Ciudad Juarez. 

On behalf of the Sisters of Charity, Sister Andrea Koverman explained what the donation of this van means to their clinic, “Besides being so cheerful and bright, the van will have a tremendous impact on our ability to transport our children with special needs safely and securely.  Those who are wheelchair dependent or unstable on their feet are very difficult to transfer to and from the taxis and cars they come in.  Often, two or three women are needed to lift them in and out.  We hold our breath every time, praying no child is dropped and no mother is injured.  The new van means they will come and go from Proyecto Santo Niño in a safe, dignified way.  Not to mention in high style!  We are grateful beyond words for this tremendous gift!”

The Paso del Norte Community Foundation is honored to facilitate meaningful charitable gifts like this one and is grateful to work with such generous donors such as the Fox Family. 

To make a gift to the Fox Family Foundation, a fund of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, and support charitable causes in our community please visit Fox Family Foundation | Paso Del Norte Community Foundation (pdnfoundation.org)