Dear friends, family, and colleagues,

Tomorrow, Thursday, October 15, is El Paso Giving Day, and I’m asking for your help.

I’m lucky to serve on the boards of two organizations that make El Paso stronger, kinder, and safer for the neighbors who need it most. I love them both, and I couldn’t choose between them, so I’m not going to. I’m asking you to pick the one that speaks to you. Either way, your gift stays right here in our community.

Rebuilding Together El Paso: because community starts at home

Imagine lying in bed while rain drips through the ceiling. Imagine a wheelchair that can’t fit through your own front door, or a bathroom you can’t use safely because there’s no grab bar, no walk-in shower, no raised toilet. For too many of our El Paso neighbors, many of them elderly or living with disabilities, this is everyday life, and they can’t afford the repairs or do the work themselves.

Rebuilding Together El Paso (RTEP) provides critical repairs, accessibility modifications, and energy-efficient updates to low-income homes at no cost to the homeowner: roofs that stop leaking, walls restored, ramps built, doorways widened, bathrooms made safe. The goal is simple: every neighbor can live in warmth, safety, and independence.

RTEP’s work also supports the Veterans Homecoming Project, which I’m proud to be part of through my work with Recovery Guide, alongside El Paso Recovery and Wellness Center Homes and Recker’s Outreach for Veterans. Many veterans come home carrying PTSD, and too many end up homeless, struggling with addiction, or facing mental health crises. Healing is so much harder without a safe, stable place to do it. A home is where recovery can begin.

Watch the stories first. They’re why I serve, and I think they’ll move you too:

When Home Becomes a Barrier I Had a Wooden Ramp A Home Reimagined

👉 Give to RTEP: https://elpasogivingday.org/organizations/rebuilding-together-el-paso

Borderland Rainbow Center: a place for everyone to belong

The Borderland Rainbow Center provides food assistance, mental health care, peer support, and a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ individuals and families, as well as neighbors across our community. Whether someone needs a meal, a counselor, a friend who gets it, or just a door that’s open and a seat at the table, The Center is there.

Your generosity keeps those services available. If you can, please give tomorrow, October 15, at 8 a.m. Mountain Time to help boost The Center’s total during that first hour.

👉 Give to The Center: https://elpasogivingday.org/organizations/borderland-rainbow-center

How to make your gift go further

Giving Day matching gifts begin at 8 a.m. on October 15 and are first-come, first-served, so giving early in the day is best. A gift of any size helps, and even $10 makes a difference. Then do me one more favor: forward this note to someone you love and invite them to give, too.

Thank you for believing in this community and for showing up for your neighbors. It means more than I can say.

With gratitude,

Izzy Mora Board Member, Rebuilding Together El Paso Board Member, Borderland Rainbow Center Public Relations Representative, Recovery Guide