Sister Trinitas, the Founder and Executive Director of the Center, came to East Palo Alto in 1996 with two other sisters from the Daughters of Charity with the mission to end the cycle of poverty in this historically low-income neighborhood on the outskirts of a flourishing Silicon Valley.
The Rosalie Rendu Center officially opened in 1998, offering English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for adults who were struggling to integrate into the English speaking community and American culture. The Center has expanded to include life, college and career readiness skills workshops, conversation clubs, and supervised play for children, and educational family field trips.
Mission and Vision
All of the offerings at the Rosalie Rendu Center are focused on fulfilling the mission and vision set forth by the Daughters of Charity in 1998, which reflects the core values of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul since 1633.
Mission
The Rosalie Rendu Center in East Palo Alto strives to break the cycle of poverty by educating, mentoring and raising the self-esteem of the entire family.
Vision
Every community member is:
- Educated
- Financially Secure
- Integrated into the Community
- Computer Literate
Everyone is Welcome
The Rosalie Rendu Center is committed to partnering with all people who come seeking to improve their lives through accessing its assistance and with community members who desire to employ their resources to achieve that goal. All services are non-sectarian (non-religious) and open to anyone wanting to learn English in the surrounding communities including East Palo Alto, eastern Menlo Park (Belle Haven), and Redwood City.
The Center has a strong commitment to the principles of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity by recruiting, hiring, training and promoting educational opportunities for all individuals.
These principles are administered without regard to race, color, religion, age, (as defined by law), sex, national origin or ancestry, ethnic origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, handicapped individual, medical condition or any veteran disabled or not.
The Rosalie Rendu Center is a non-profit organization supported by generous donations from the greater Silicon Valley community.