Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form

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Organization Name: La Puente Home, Inc
Legal Name (if Different):
Also Known As:
Mailing Address: PO Box 1235
City: Alamosa
State: CO
Postal Code: 81101
Main Phone: 719-589-5909
Main Fax: NA
Organization Website: www.lapuentehome.org
Employer ID Number:
Organization Tax Status: 501(c)3: 74-2224631

Proposal Information

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Today’s Date: 03/13/2026
Requested Amount: 10000

Project Title: La Puente Home’s PALS/PALS 2.0 Children’s Program
Project Description:

PALS is a referral-based, licensed, after-school and summer program designed for kindergarten through 5th-grade children with high social-emotional needs, who have experienced trauma and/or abuse, and whose families who have experienced severe or generational poverty. Tailored to the unique needs of each child, PALS focuses on fostering social, emotional, and behavioral growth utilizing evidence-based practices within a nurturing learning environment.

In 2023, PALS expanded to provide 6th through high school-aged youth (who had previously graduated from the traditional PALS program) with continued access to services through mentorship, field trips, support, and engagement in community service. This expansion is called PALS 2.0 and is led by the PALS Family Engagement Specialist, who collaborates with PALS parents or guardians to strengthen their respective roles and provide support for their goals and concerns that may impact their family.

PALS and PALS 2.0 serve children in Kindergarten through high school with high social-emotional needs and therapeutic interventions. These children are referred to PALS through the Alamosa DHS, Child Protective Services, school counselors, and the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley (due to having higher needs than what the Club is able to provide). These children come from Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande, and Saguache Counties in south-central Colorado, an extremely vast, rural, and frontier region of the 8,000 square mile (approximately the size of Massachusetts) San Luis Valley (SLV). Of these counties, three are Congressionally defined as experiencing persistent poverty, where at least 20% of a county has lived below the poverty line for at least thirty years. Due to the region’s remoteness, the SLV also experiences a severe shortage of child-related services, and PALS is the only program in the entire region, and one of the few in Colorado, offering this type of programming and interventions.

Total Project Budget: $496,420

Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): Committed: Individual Donor: $200,000; Comis Foundation: $50,000; Individual Donor: $50,000; Individual Donor: $25,000; Individual Donor: $20,000 Potential: Mark Wahlberg Foundation: $10,000, Denver Broncos Foundation: $10,000, Buchanan Family Foundation: $20,000, Brutten Foundation: $10,000

Project Duration: One year from receipt of any award (even if not aligned with our July 1-June 30 fiscal year)
Geographical Area Served: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande, and Sagauche Counties in Colorado’s vast and remote (8,000 square miles, or about the size of Massachusetts) San Luis Valley
Age Group To Be Served: Kindergarten through High School

Contact Information

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Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
Contact First Name: Claire
Contact Last Name: Smith
Contact Title: Special Operations Associate / Grant Writer
Contact Phone: 719-589-5909 Ext 222
Contact Email: grantwriter3@lapuente.net