Students sell tamales to give a little Christmas cheer to cancer-stricken family

LatinaLista — Though cancer is a non-discriminating disease, one Latino family in Idaho has every right to feel that cancer is harshly discriminating against them.

The Garcia family of the Hailey-area of Idaho has been stricken with cancer. Last year, the mother of the family died from it. Today, two of the three children left behind also suffer from it.

Needless to say, extra money for Christmas is an afterthought for the Garcia family as they struggle with medical costs. Luckily, a group of Latino middle school students took notice.

Students of the United Hispanic Leaders group deliver a batch of tamales as part of their fundraising efforts to help the Garcia family.

Members of the United Hispanic Leaders group at Wood River Middle School got together and at the last minute decided they needed to help the Garcia family put a little cheer into their Christmas this year.

The group, founded in 2007 as a way to “provide opportunities for Hispanic students to be positive leaders and role models for their peers,” enlisted the help of their own families to make 30 dozen tamales to sell as a fundraiser to help the Garcia family.

…the families made four types of tamales for the fundraiser. Some were flavored with red peppers, others with green peppers, some with sweet peppers and others with cheese. Shredded pork and a corn meal wrapping are the main ingredients.

The students raised $300 for the Garcia family and a local fund has been set up to help the family further.