La Puente’s Legacy Fund was formed in 2012 by philanthropist Paul Newendorp as a unique form of long-term investment in the future of La Puente. The Legacy Fund allows La Puente flexibility and stability as it navigates the unique and unexpected challenges present in providing emergency services in a rural community. More than a decade of attentive stewardship now allows the Legacy Board to dedicate a portion of the fund to meet unanticipated needs in service of our community.

The Legacy Fund now serves as a bedrock of stability which keeps La Puente and our community stable during hard times. Here are some examples of how funds have been used in recent years:

•  In 2022, in the wake of mass lay-offs by a local agricultural employer, the Legacy Fund helped 35 families remain housed as they scrambled to find new work. 
• In 2023, as we experienced an unprecedented uptick in homeless families, the Legacy Fund paid security deposits for families with children in our Shelter, helping them regain housing as they worked back towards stability.
• In 2024 the Legacy Fund was an instrumental part of preserving the Monte Vista Community Food Pantry. This well-visited pantry has been a vital resource for those struggling with hunger, especially as food prices rose and the era of expanded SNAP benefits came to an end. Challenges in 2023 and 2024 forced this pantry to temporarily shut its doors, cutting off a reliable source of food just as needs were spiking. Monte Vista came together as a community to re-open their doors, using a one-time allocation from the Legacy Fund to restock their shelves. To this day, the Monte Vista pantry continues to ensure that no one in the area goes hungry.
• In 2024, the Legacy Fund additionally helped outfit our new teaching kitchen at the Alamosa pantry and kept our neighbors warm through the frigid winter. 

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These achievements, and many more, are a testament to the legacy of compassion and care left by all those generous enough to support the fund. 

Gifts to the Legacy Fund are dedicated to a permanent, separate, actively managed account. The monetary gift stays in the account forever, while the income generated from investment supports all of La Puente’s services, ensuring a safety net of hope and support for hard times ahead.

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All contributors to the Legacy Fund will receive a thank you, as well as future correspondence about the use of the generated income and which projects the Legacy Fund is actively supporting.

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If you contribute to the Legacy Fund on behalf of a friend or family member who is still alive, we will not only send you a thank you, but additionally send a note to the designee to show our appreciation for how they have inspired others through their acts of service.