Media CenterGrant from the John A. Sobrato and Susan Sobrato Fund to Help Migrants in Need

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Kim Pozniak
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(571) 263-1193

BALTIMORE, MD, Aug. 12, 2020 – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is pleased to announce a $500,000 grant from the John A. Sobrato and Susan Sobrato Fund, which will help thousands of migrants across Mexico and Central America find respite in safe shelters throughout the region.

Each year, tens of thousands of people leave their homes in Central America in search of better lives for themselves and their families. Many are forced to flee out of fear and desperation, facing poverty, hunger and violence. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent U.S. foreign aid cuts to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have exacerbated the situation. For farmers and families across the region, these aid cuts caused the discontinuation of programs that often served as the only safety net enabling them to stay in their home communities.

Thanks to the Sobrato Fund’s generous support, CRS will continue to work closely with its Catholic partners to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of migrant shelters across Mexico and Central America, while strengthening the capacity of staff and institutions on the front lines. The Sobrato grant will expand the reach of CRS programming, which includes providing shelters with supplies like food and medicine and other life-saving necessities while also funding legal, medical and psychological counseling services.

John A. Sobrato is an American real estate developer and the founder of the Mountain View-based Sobrato Organization, a Silicon Valley development firm specializing in commercial and residential real estate. Sobrato Philanthropies supports education, economic opportunities, and essential human services to low-income residents in Silicon Valley. In 2012, John A. and Sue Sobrato, along with their son John M. Sobrato, became the first multigenerational signatories of the Giving Pledge initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. 

To assist and support migrants in Central America and around the world, CRS recently launched the Lead the Way on Migration campaign. Learn more at crs.org/get-involved/lead-way/migration.

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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