After reading teen mom’s story, strangers wanted to help. And they delivered.
The story is the first in a series about sex education and teen pregnancy in the central San Joaquin Valley, and is produced as a project for the USC Center for Health Journalism’s California Fellowship.
Other stories in the series include:
Sex education is now the law, but conservative school leaders aren’t happy about it
Why are birth rates higher for Latina teens than others? It’s complicated, experts say
This teen mom and her newborn rode a city bus to a school for delinquents. Here’s why
At 14, she was told to hide her baby bump and switch schools. Her shaming wasn’t unique
Graciela Pacheco plays with her daughter, Sherlynne, during a visit to Inspiration Park in Fresno on June 1, 2017. Craig Kohlruss ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
When The Bee published the story of Graciela Pacheco, who was shamed out of her Fresno middle school for becoming pregnant at 14, readers wanted to know how they could help.
Since the story ran Friday, readers have donated nearly $3,000 to Pacheco via Go Fund Me. As of Monday morning, 35 donors had contributed to the fundraiser – including an anonymous donation of $500.
Pacheco, now 18, was reluctant to set up the account, even offering to pay donors back. But because of the overwhelming response to her story, she established the fundraiser, and announced Monday she had received enough to buy a new car to get her to school and work – and daughter Sherlynne to the park.
“I wanted to thank each and every one of you who has taken the time out of their day to donate, as well as to those who felt the need to give words filled with encouragement to me. They are sincerely, greatly appreciated,” Pacheco said. “When I was first told about the idea of creating a Go Fund Me, I thought, ‘No way, who would want to help Sherlynne and me with anything?’ Man, was I wrong.”
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HOW TO HELP
Graciela Pacheco’s GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/graciela-pachecos-mom-fund
[This story was originally published by The Fresno Bee.]