Teen-led nonprofit helps Bethany House, family during cold front

Posted Date: 01/17/2025

During last week’s cold front, the youth nonprofit Nourish Laredo donated cold-weather supplies to a local homeless shelter and assisted a family in need.

Nourish Laredo, founded in 2020 by 16-year-old Mateo Cañamar, aims to help the community combat food and essential insecurity. The nonprofit is led by youths aged 13-19 and mentored by Angie Tellez.

The nonprofit announced that its team provided 50 sets of warm winter beanies, socks and gloves, as well as 180 hand warmers, to Bethany House Laredo on Tuesday.

“During the cold front, Laredo has a lot of needs,” Tellez said. “There’s a lot of needs around our community. One thing they do every year is help Bethany House.”

That same week, the nonprofit used gift cards donated through the Alexander High School Class of 2027 Christmas fundraiser to help a young family in need purchase groceries.

On Jan. 7, a follower of Nourish Laredo reached out to request help for a young family whose electricity was shut off the day the freeze began. Tellez said the nonprofit sees requests of this nature frequently.

“We don’t usually help with paying bills because that’s not something we really do. We’ll kind of point them in the direction where they can get help with that,” Tellez said. “You have to remember these are high school-aged kids, so the amount of help they can give is limited. We help whenever we can.”

Nourish Laredo provided the family with gift cards to purchase groceries and essential items.

As a youth-led nonprofit, Nourish Laredo receives some of its funding from Webb County when individuals are required to pay fines during sentencing. The organization mainly relies on donations from the community.

“This is the heart of what we do as a nonprofit,” Nourish Laredo said in a statement. “We are here to help those in need, and we couldn’t do it without the support of our community and the partnerships we’ve built.”

For more information about Nourish Laredo, volunteering or donations, visit their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.