Giving With A Purpose
Dear Friends,
As the holiday season begins, so does La Casa de Don Pedro’s Giving Season, a time when we reflect on the impact we’ve made together and share the stories that bring our mission to life.
For over 50 years, La Casa de Don Pedro has supported families in Newark and Essex County. In 2025, we reached more than 50,000 neighbors through programs like Early Childhood Education, Healthy Homes, Community Empowerment, and our Immigrant Resource Center. Each program, classroom, and workshop tells stories of resilience, hope, and opportunity.
Over the next few weeks, we will share inspiring stories of what your support has achieved this year: children starting kindergarten with happy faces, families feeling warmth and safety in their homes, adults gaining skills to build careers, and immigrants taking their first steps toward feeling they belong.
This is just the beginning.
We invite you to follow along, make a donation, celebrate these accomplishments with us, and stand with every family, no matter where they come from, as they work, learn, grow, and thrive.
Thank you for being part of the La Casa de Don Pedro family. Together, we can light the way for our community this holiday season and into the new year.
With gratitude,
Peter T. Rosario
President & CEO, La Casa de Don Pedro
Education & Empowerment
For too many adults in Newark and Essex County, barriers such as limited English proficiency or the lack of a high school diploma hinder access to good jobs. Nearly 1 in 5 Newark residents over 25 years old lacks a high school diploma, and thousands struggle with English, making it difficult to achieve economic stability.
La Casa de Don Pedro’s (LCDP) Adult Education and Workforce Development programs break down these barriers. In 2025, 436 adults learned English thanks to our ESL classes and 151 adult students pursued their High School Equivalency diploma with our help.
Where Trust Begins
A Mother’s Journey at 30 Demarest Street
The first time Janice* walked into La Casa de Don Pedro’s Early Childhood Center at 30 Demarest Street, she noticed the warmth before she noticed the color on the walls. A teacher knelt to her daughter’s eye level. Another waved hello to Janice like they’d been saving her a seat.
“It feels like an extended family,” Janice says. “Knowing our daughter is in such good hands has been a huge relief.”
Your Gift. Their Path Forward.
Lucía* used to time the bus by the crack in the sidewalk outside her apartment. If she and her son, Mateo*, reached the corner before the bus passed the bodega, she could get to work on time. If not, the day started with a knot, another late mark, another warning.
Mateo was three, bright and curious, but the world kept speaking faster than he could follow. At the doctor’s office and the grocery store, Lucía translated as best she could. She wanted him in a safe, loving classroom where he could learn his letters and make friends, but every place she called was either too expensive or too far away.
Standing With Every Family
Inside La Casa de Don Pedro’s Immigrant Resource Center, each day starts with bravery. Families walking through our doors carry fear, uncertainty, and the hope for a safer, more secure future. For many, this Center is the first place they feel seen, heard, and supported as they face the complex challenges of immigration law and building a new life in the United States.
Where Trust Begins
When the first cold snap hit last winter, Marisol did what she always did, she layered sweaters on her two kids and turned down the thermostat to save on the bill. The windows leaked, the radiators hissed without warming the house, and her youngest’s cough worsened at night. By January, she faced an impossible choice: heat or groceries.
A neighbor told her to call La Casa de Don Pedro.
Where Care Becomes Community
For more than 50 years, La Casa de Don Pedro has opened its doors to Newark families with compassion and purpose, helping children learn, parents find stability, immigrants feel at home, and neighbors thrive together.
DONATE
This holiday season, La Casa de Don Pedro invites you to Be the Bridge, helping Newark families learn, work, and thrive. From early childhood education and safe housing to workforce training and immigration support, your gift strengthens lives across our community. Together, we can build stability, expand opportunity, and inspire change.
Here’s what your donation will help us purchase:
