Para Los Niños is a nonprofit family service organization designed to bring children from some of Los Angeles’ most challenging communities out of poverty and onto brighter, more successful futures.

Since opening its first facility in 1980, Para Los Niños has grown to serve more than 4,000 families each year at 28 sites throughout Pico-Union, Central, East, West, and South Los Angeles, South El Monte and Ontario. Every week, more than 4,600 children and youth – ranging from 6 weeks to 21 years of age – enjoy award-winning, positive educational opportunities and much-needed family support.

In October 1979, the Los Angeles Times published an article that galvanized a community. It was the first of many to spotlight the plight of children and families living in the depths of despair in Los Angeles’ inner cities. It spoke of children living in Skid Row, locked in hotel rooms or left alone to wander dangerous neighborhood streets, while their parents worked to survive. At that time, little attention was paid to these forgotten children. Few services and safe havens existed for these young boys and girls. Ninety percent did not attend school.

Within a year of the article appearing in the Los Angeles Times, social worker Tanya Tull founded Para Los Niños. In 1980, the organization came to life in a former false eyelash factory where at-risk children, eager for a chance to learn, were offered a safe and nurturing environment filled with exploration, hope and opportunity.