The Center’s Name Change

-December 2021-

Dear Center Friends,

In 1964, The Working Boys’ Center was founded to serve the shoeshine boys who worked in Quito’s city center to help support their families. At this time, child labor laws were not in place, and the most vulnerable families saw this as the best option to help break out of poverty.

We quickly learned that in order to break the cycle of poverty, we would have to address the needs of the entire family, so we expanded our services. Education, healthcare, job training, food stability, and other programs became priorities, and along with the changing child labor laws, supporting the shoeshine boys evolved into so much more.

As of December 2021, our new name, The Center - A Family of Families, better represents our work to empower the most vulnerable families. With your help, our outreach has grown, programming has expanded, and we are able to serve more than 300 families in need. Thank you for making all of this possible.

With joy,
Your Friends at The Center