Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Hearts 4Kids works alongside churches, volunteers and mission teams to provide basic needs and safety to families in the colonias of South Texas — food, home repairs, health screens, school supplies and programs for children.
Registered 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 47-4834211 · 100% of your gift received, no processing fees
Hearts 4Kids Inc publishes only figures it can document. Each counter above is numbered and cited below, with the date our team last checked the source.
Who we are
Hearts 4Kids Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity based in La Feria, Texas, founded in 2014 by Jorge Zapata and serving the four-county Rio Grande Valley. We work through local churches that already know their neighbors, opening their doors mid-week as community centers where colonia families can find food, help and a way in to the agencies that serve them.
We do not build parallel systems. We strengthen the ones already here: a pantry at a church that stays open, a roof repaired before the next storm, a health screen that catches something early, a backpack that lets a child start the school year like everyone else. Mission teams from across the country provide the labor; Valley pastors decide where it is needed most.
Together with volunteers, teams and groups, to provide basic needs and safety throughout the Rio Grande Valley — one family and one child at a time — through short-term mission opportunities and the local churches that stay long after the team goes home.
A lasting legacy of transformed lives along the Texas–Mexico border: colonias where children are fed, homes are safe, parents have skills and income, and neighborhood churches are equipped to carry the work forward for the next generation.
Where we serve
The Rio Grande Valley stretches along the Texas–Mexico border from Rio Grande City to the Gulf. Roughly a third of families here live below the federal poverty line, and many colonia neighborhoods still lack paved streets, drainage or reliable water. Our work is concentrated where partner churches already have trust.
What your gift does
Gifts are pooled by program so we can respond to the greatest need first. You can designate a program at any time — just tell us when you give.
Five connected areas of care delivered through the same network of Valley churches and the mission teams who serve with them, so nothing falls through the gaps.
Pantries and weekly distributions run through partner churches in the colonias, so families without transportation can pick up groceries within walking distance of home.
See the food programVolunteer teams paint, roof, sheetrock and side homes for families in the colonias — practical repairs that make a house safe, dry and livable again.
See construction projectsFree community health screens with visiting medical volunteers, plus referrals into Valley clinics for families who would otherwise go without care.
See health screensBackpacks, school supplies, shoes and kids' clubs, along with Vacation Bible Schools and block parties that give children a safe place to belong.
See education supportEnglish classes for parents and hands-on vocational training at our partner community centers, so families can build income and confidence.
See adult programsGive, bring a team, serve a day or host a supply drive — there is a place for you in this work, whether you live in the Valley or across the country.
Every option below reaches the same place: children and families in the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley. Pick the one that fits your season.
Recurring gifts let us keep the pantry shelves stocked and the mission calendar planned instead of reacting week to week.
Start a monthly giftChurches, youth groups and school teams spend a week in the Valley building, painting, running kids' clubs and health screens alongside local pastors.
Plan a mission tripNurses, tradespeople, ESL teachers and bilingual helpers are needed year round at our partner churches and community centers.
Volunteer with usShoes, backpacks, school supplies, blankets and pantry staples go straight to colonia families through our church network.
Talk with our team
From the field
A family that picks up groceries at their own church this week does not choose between rent and dinner. A roof patched in October keeps a bedroom dry all winter. A health screen in a parking lot catches the blood pressure reading that sends someone to a doctor in time. A pair of shoes in August means a child walks into the first day of school like everyone else.
These are the ordinary, repeated wins our pastors and team leaders report back. We publish them as they happen on our news page — no dramatized stories, just what is going on in the colonias and what it took to make it possible.
Trust & transparency
Hearts 4Kids Inc is a 501(c)(3) public charity registered in the United States under EIN 47-4834211, with a public profile on Candid (GuideStar). Anyone can confirm our status through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
A volunteer board of directors approves the annual budget, reviews program spending and oversees the executive leadership. Board members receive no compensation from the organization.
Gifts arrive through our secure Zeffy donation form, and every donation is receipted. Donors can sign in on this site to view their giving history, and we resend receipts on request.
We never sell, rent or trade donor information. Analytics only run after you opt in, and you can change that choice at any time from the footer.
Independent nonprofit registry where our organizational profile and EIN can be verified.
Field reports from the Valley, program news and updates for supporters.
August 12, 2026 · Program news
The first week of school is the most expensive week of the year for colonia families. Here is exactly how our supply distributions work, what a child actually needs, and how to help.
Read the update
August 5, 2026 · Guide
Storm season runs June through November. A short, honest preparedness checklist for households with limited cash, limited transportation and homes that flood.
Read the update
July 3, 2026 · Field update
Many colonias sit outside city limits, off any bus route and miles from a grocery store. Here is how our church-hosted distributions work, who they serve, and what we learned in 2020.
Read the updateYes. Hearts 4Kids Inc is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 47-4834211), so gifts from U.S. donors are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and every online gift is receipted by email.
Into the everyday work across the Rio Grande Valley: pantry groceries and food distribution, materials for home repairs, community health screens, school supplies and shoes for children, and the costs of hosting mission teams who do the labor.
Yes. Note food distribution, home repair, health screens or children's programs in the giving form or email us, and we direct your gift to that program.
Yes. Churches, youth groups, school and medical teams serve with us year round — we handle the local partners, project sites and schedule, and you bring the hands.
Gifts to Hearts 4Kids fund pantry groceries, building materials, health screens and school supplies for families across the Rio Grande Valley. Because we are a 501(c)(3) public charity, your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Have a donation question or want to bring a team? Call (773) 514-0509 or email info@heart4kids-missions.org.
Feed and support a Valley family today.
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