Nutrition: Chronic malnutrition is a constant problem in our rural villages. Working with the World Food Program, Shoulder to Shoulder is feeding 1500 to 1600 children per day in 22 village schools. Parents participate by picking up the food and cooking it at the school. Children benefit by receiving at least one nutritious meal a day, which also makes them more likely to stay in school instead of quitting to gather corn from the fields. YOUR donation of $25 will feed one child for a full year!

Education: With the success of our nutrition program and our Yo Puedo Project (see below), children are staying in school longer and many have developed a desire to continue their education. With this remarkable success comes a new challenge. Many children in our remote villages cannot afford to attend secondary school without assistance from Shoulder to Shoulder. Donations to our scholarship program give YOU the opportunity to sponsor the education of one child for one or more years and develop a relationship with him or her over time.

Secondary Education: For just $400 a year YOU can cover the cost of school fees, uniforms, books and supplies for one child to attend school for a year. Shoulder to Shoulder’s scholarship program selects the neediest children with the most motivation, capacity and desire to succeed. We make sure that half of the recipients of the scholarships are girls. Shoulder to Shoulder gives you updates that allow you to track your sponsored child’s progress and communicate with him or her if you desire. Secondary school in Honduras ('colegio') is equivalent to our grades 7-9.

Post Secondary Education: YOU can enable a motivated poor child to pursue a professional degree such as teaching, social work or nursing, or even to get a university title. Because of Shoulder to Shoulder’s work in education, our communities now have students ready to attend training schools and universities in increasing numbers, something that was virtually non-existent a few years ago! YOUR donation of $1200 - 1500 would allow a young adult to pursue professional training. This is a great way to make a permanent change in one person’s life and it also benefits all the lives that she or he touches!

Yo Puedo! (I am able!, I can!) is a unique program aimed at improving the self-esteem of girls through entrepreneurship and education. Yo Puedo! provides training to grade-school teachers to enable them to start and support a business club where girls call the shots, plan the program, manage finances and solve problems. Now in its fourth year, the results are compelling! For the first time in our rural communities, girls in greater numbers are graduating from grade school and pursuing higher education. Equally important, they feel empowered to make their own decisions and chart a better course for their lives. Yo Puedo! offers hope and a future for families and communities through a path of personal empowerment.

With YOUR GIFT of $500, Shoulder to Shoulder can expand the Yo Puedo! program to a new school, offering hope and empowerment to another community and its young girls.

Medical and Dental Services: Shoulder to Shoulder’s medical services at its clinic in Santa Lucia and other communities provide poor people with their only access to health care. The clinic in Santa Lucia has full-time doctors, a lab, x-ray, ultrasound and emergency services. Our dentists provide restorative care, education and an extensive school based fluoride program. YOUR donation in ANY AMOUNT helps us to buy medicine, provide fluoride treatment and provide care to literally thousands of people each year. Health care is the cornerstone of our mission, and it depends on YOUR generosity.

Families at risk: Honduras has no safety net for poor families in crisis. Every day our field workers encounter single mothers, people with disabilities and families living in extreme poverty whose very survival is at risk. Shoulder to Shoulder's trained professionals respond to these needs with wisdom and compassion using a fund for discretionary assistance to provide varied assistance on a case-by-case basis. Some forms of assistance include milk and food for sick and malnourished children as well as transportation and healthcare costs for severe medical cases. YOU can keep a family from falling into the abyss of survival crisis with a donation of $100-$200.