Karina Ramirez walks to the stage during the Pima Vocational High School graduation held at the Hotel Tucson Inn and Suites on June 6, 2012.

Your donation to Pima Vocational High School before the year ends may qualify you for a state tax credit when you submit your tax returns in 2013.

Your donation will make a real difference and could cost you nothing!

You can give – and claim a dollar-for-dollar Arizona public school tax credit for – up to $200 if you file as a single person and up to $400 if you are married and filing jointly.

PVHS is an accredited public charter school started by Pima County in 2000 to help students ages 16-21 earn a high school diploma and obtain a sustainable job through career-oriented work experience in an applied academic setting.

The new graduates of Pima Vocational High School sit proudly in front of their families and friends at the Hotel Tucson Inn and Suites on June 6, 2012.

Many of its students have dropped out or were at risk of dropping out of other high schools before they attended PVHS.  They’ve had challenges many of us will never face. Some have been involved in family or juvenile court. Some already have children.  Some have been homeless.

But they have not given up. Do not give up on them. Make sure they have a chance to get the education they need to become employable citizens and even pursue higher education.

More than 415 students have graduated from PVHS since 2000.

PVHS offers small classes at three small campuses:

Carol Morrillo has tears in her eyes as she hugs her daughter, Vanessa Carrillo, after the Pima Vocational High School graduation at the Hotel Tucson Inn and Suites on June 6, 2012.

At the June 6 graduation ceremony, one young woman told the PVHS staff: “You change lives every day and have changed my life forever. I feel like I have grown up and matured in so many ways.”

Another new graduate said, “The teachers don’t just care about how you do in school but how you do in life.”

Please mail your check – postmarked no later than Dec. 31 – to Pima Vocational High School, 97 E. Congress St., Ste. 30, Tucson, AZ 85701.

For more information, call 520-243-1740 or visit: www.pimavocational.com or http://www.pima.gov/ced/employment-training/et-pimavhs.shtml.