By April Bourie

Improving the lives of children in Pima County is always a worthy pursuit. 

Many organizations in Pima County work  toward achieving this goal, but funding can be difficult to find. That’s where the venerable Angel Charity for Children comes in. This year, it is raising more than $1.75 million to support eight children’s organizations.   

“It’s a beautiful thing to see nonprofits doing so much great work in Pima County, and Angel Charity helps get them to the next level,” said Vicky Curtis, 2025 general chair of Angel Charity. “The organization is a game-changer in Pima County.”

Often referred to as the region’s “Halo for Hire,” Angel Charity has awarded more than $33 million in grants to children’s causes since 1983. The larger Impact Grants typically support brick-and-mortar projects and facilities, while Opportunity Grants fund programs and initiatives. Impact Grant beneficiaries for 2025 are Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona and San Miguel High School, which received $856,697 and $568,000 respectively. 

Big Brothers Big Sisters is beyond grateful for the grant that will fund the renovation of a newly purchased Mentoring Activity Center, said Marie Logan, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters. “The stars aligned, and everything came together perfectly,” she said. 

The new center will provide a space for “Bigs” (adult mentors in the program) and “Littles” (mentees) to participate in STEM workshops, cooking classes, arts, crafts and tutoring sessions.  It will allow an additional 200+ children to interact with volunteers as they await matches with mentors. 

“There are many people that would love to volunteer but can’t do the longer commitment for a year that we require from ‘Bigs.’ But they are more than happy to come in and work with several children in a group mentoring session for a couple of months,” said Logan.  

This center provides a convenient hub for connections and mentoring, which has multiple benefits. Big Brothers Big Sisters research has shown that “Littles” are 20% more likely to attend college and have significantly improved earnings and economic mobility over their lifetimes. 

“This grant means so much to us. We’re going to be able to have this activity center without any mortgage or construction costs, the majority of which was funded by Angel Charity,” Logan said. 

Six organizations will also receive 2025 Opportunity Grants. Those are Angel Heart Pajama Project, Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Literacy Connects, Spreading Threads Clothing Bank and HopeKids. 

The grants, which total $327,841, are incredibly powerful, said Andrea Lewis, executive director of HopeKids. The nonprofit provides events, activities and a unique support community statewide for children with cancer or other life-threatening medical conditions and their families. 

Fulfillment of a $15,000 Opportunity Grant will fund additional HopeKids events in Tucson, resulting in 18 outings to Reid Park Zoo, Funtasticks Family Fun Park, Elevate Trampoline Park, movies and more.

“We are so grateful to Angel Charity for believing in our mission and making these additional events possible in Tucson,” said Lewis. “Now we have more opportunities for families to connect and make special memories during this difficult time in their lives.”

Angel Charity’s grants are made possible by fundraising throughout the year, culminating in the magnificent Angel Ball, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on 

Dec. 13 at The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa. The black-tie gala features a cocktail party with casino games, gift shopping, a silent auction and raffle drawings of prizes worth more than $10,000, followed by a candlelit dinner and dancing. 

Other fundraisers include the Chance Ticket Raffle, which features a first prize of $10,000 plus a seven-night stay for eight at a Tuscan villa. Second prize is $10,000 cash; and third prize is a $10,000 shopping spree at La Encantada. 

Curtis credits generous individuals, donors and sponsors for making it all possible. “Angel Charity has been granting miracles to Pima County for 43 years now,” said Curtis. 

“I feel fortunate personally and am grateful that we have this organization in Pima County improving the lives of our residents.  We are so grateful for our donors year after year who make this happen. Tucson is a very generous community.”

Angel Charity for Children Supports San Miguel High School

Angel Charity for Children is bringing its wings into the classroom with a $568,000 Impact Grant to San Miguel High School. 

The private Catholic school supports students from underserved families through a Corporate Work Study Program that offsets 40% to 50% of tuition by placing each student in an internship program with a local business. Students work at internships one day each week and attend college-prep courses other days. 

“The majority of our students will be the first in their family to attend college,” said Dave Mason, San Miguel High School president and CEO. 

“The magic of the program is that it instills confidence in the students that they can succeed in these businesses while taking a college prep load four days per week. They can see themselves in the future working in C-suites and belonging in these offices. It often happens that after they get their college degrees, they will return to work in the companies where they’ve interned.” 

Corporate partners can hire a team of four part-time students for a fee of $30,000, or hire one to three students for a pro-rated fee. 

“Our corporate partners really see the value in the program; 98% believe their students provide exceptional quality in the workplace,” said Mason.  “It’s a long-term investment by our companies in workforce development to keep our homegrown talent here in Tucson and Southern Arizona.”

The school provides transportation to internships for all 286 students using buses, some of which are 20 years old. The Angel Charity Impact Grant will fund four 12-passenger vans and two 18-passenger minibuses to transport students.  

“Without this incredible grant, we would have had to replace approximately two per year, which would have been really challenging for the school budget.  The long-term impact on our multi-year budgeting will allow us to put money into resources for the students, salaries for the teachers, and much-needed repairs to the campus,” said Mason.

Pictured above from left – Betty Jo Weaver, 2025 Vice Chair, Angel Charity for Children; Marie Logan, CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona; Vicky Curtis, 2025 General Chair, Angel Charity for Children. Photo by Brent G. Mathis