San Antonio.- From the outside looking in, St. Peter St. Joseph’s Children’s Home (St, PJ’s) looks like a tranquil church or a gated off private school. However few are aware what happenings are going on internally. St. PJ’s is a shelter for abused and neglected children. They’ve been at it for over 130 years, and going strong.
“We are responsible for providing all of these children’s needs: medical care, educational care, their mental health care. Everything a family would do for a child, we do here. We aren’t just about food, shelter and clothing. We’re about healing,” said James Castro, chief executive officer for St. PJ’s Children’s Home.
With that in mind, IBC Bank in San Antonio made a donation to the home, just in time for the holidays.
“This is a very worthwhile organization. We want to try to help as many people in our community, try to reach out to as many organizations as we can. And little bit by bit, we try to help,” said Zina Guererra, senior vice president for IBC Bank.
Many IBC employees on hand for the presentation spent some time playing with younger children of the shelter before the donation of $10,000 to the home.
“We are fortunate to be able to give a $10,000 check here today. We chose St. PJ’s because it’s a great organization: a safe haven for kids. I think this place is amazing! I took a tour of it about a month ago and I’m amazed by it all,” said Lori Dean, president of It’s a Brighter Christmas for IBC Bank. “The kids go to public school; a lot of the older kids are able to be in basketball team and cheerleading, volleyball team. Everything is very structured, which I think is great! I see that everything is thriving here. The holidays are a time for family, and these kids aren’t with theirs. We want to give a little bit of the spirit of Christmas to them, too.”
The funds will be used to supply necessities at the shelter, and fund recreational activities and organizational purposes. This wouldn’t have been possible without IBC’s employee-driven program: It’s a Brighter Christmas. Since 1986, IBC has been creating an initiative as a way to help deserving families and children enjoy the holidays.
Amanda Lozano is an intern at La Prensa de San Antonio. She may be reached at prensaintern@laprensasa.com.
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