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"Project Dream" - Blanket drive for local students

Making sure a child goes to sleep warm is the goal of a new school superintendent who is stepping up to launch "Project Dream,” a blanket drive for his students.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Making sure a child goes to sleep warm is the goal of a new school superintendent who is stepping up to launch "Project Dream,” a blanket drive for his students.

More than half of the students in the San Ysidro School District are low-income, and many don't have a blanket.

Single mother Rachel Quintana lives in a motel with her nine children ages two-months to 13-years-old.

They all share a blanket, except for her son Emilio, whom she wraps in a jacket.

“I am trying to do everything I can, whether it is to sell my clothes, recycle, to make ends meet. For them to get anything new is a benefit for me,” said Quintana.

On Tuesday, wide-eyed and beaming, Quintana and her nine children walked into a room filled with blankets.

Her children chose their own blanket for the first time.

While most kids wish for PlayStation or dolls, these San Ysidro School District students think about how to stay warm.

“We don’t care about toys or anything like that. We just want clothes, shoes and blankets,” said 13-year-old Armando.

Newly appointed San Ysidro School Superintendent doctor Julio Fonseca, Ph.D., said of the 5,000 students, 30-percent are homeless.

Half of them don't have a roof over their head, and if he expects them to achieve he wants to bring a relief to their reality.

That relief from their reality became Dr. Fonseca’s “Project Dream,” the district’s first blanket drive.

“It was a call to action for our school district to give back to the community,” said Dr. Fonseca.

The district chief is encouraging the community to donate 3,000 blankets before the holidays, noting that ten-dollars can go a long way.

“It is one of those opportunities that you have that you can say, count your blessings,” said Dr. Fonseca.

As for Rachel’s family, they are grateful by the warmth of the community.

The district is asking for new blankets in all sizes, including baby blankets with no choking hazards.

The drive ends on November 23rd and blankets can be dropped-off at the San Ysidro School District Office.

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