Shriners Children's Texas Begins Partnership with Arandas Restaurants

Shriners Children’s Texas is proud to announce its recent partnership with Arandas Franchises, the owner of Taqueria Arandas, Arandas Bakery and Ostioneria Arandas. Through their foundation, Skylah Granito De Arena, they recently donated $30,000 to the hospital. Their generosity supports the hospital’s mission of providing specialized medical services to children from all over the world regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status.

The foundation presented their donation to the hospital prior to a meet and greet with 2022 World Series MVP and Houston Astros shortstop, Jeremy Peña. Arandas’ leadership also wanted to share this fun experience with kids currently receiving care at Shriners Children’s Texas. Patient Ambassadors and their families had the wonderful opportunity to meet the baseball superstar while celebrating the foundation’s generosity.

As part of this unique partnership, the franchise has committed to hosting a three-month long fundraising campaign throughout its 41 locations. A commercial featuring Shriners Children’s Texas Patient Ambassador Xavi began airing in October on Telemundo and Univision. Arandas is also displaying posters and tabletop tents with information about Shriners Children’s Texas and the partnership in all of their restaurants, as well as placing informational post cards in their to-go and bakery orders. Their printed promotional items and commercials will include a unique QR code that allows customers to join Arandas Franchises in giving back to the hospital.

“We are incredibly grateful for this partnership with Arandas Franchises,” said Katherine Hughes, senior director of philanthropy. “Given their large customer base, we are sure that Shriners Children’s Texas’ services will reach a new audience. Not only will it assist us in providing our specialized services to children in need, but it will also allow us to share the amazing work our clinical teams do every day.”

The desire for a partnership began when Sylvia Camarena, Taqueria Arandas founder and Foundation president, saw a Shriners Children’s Texas commercial. She then urged her team to reach out to the hospital to inquire about how they could support children in the Houston area. The foundation operates an orphanage in Mexico, but Mrs. Camarena believed the foundation should also serve locally. After touring the hospital, it was evident that Arandas Franchises and Shriners Children’s Texas shared a similar mission: providing compassionate and innovative care to children.

For Lizbeth Saracho, one of the Camarena’s daughters and the Arandas Bakery director of merchandising, her family’s story is filled with remarkable triumphs and struggles. She said her parents instilled in their children the “unwavering commitment to fight through hard work,” and that the family is forever marked by their story of perseverance, a quality that drew them to partnering with Shriners Children’s Texas.

Shortly after moving to Houston, the Camarenas pawned all of their belongings in order to finance the opening of their first Taqueria in 1981. Saracho fondly recalls her father telling the story of asking his first customer to pay in advance so that he could run across the street to buy more food to cook. This first customer catapulted the Taqueria to success.

Under Mr. Camarena’s leadership, the family soon opened their second location, and as others married into the family, he “vetted, negotiated and financed” their Taqueria business. Today, Taqueria Arandas serves over 100,000 visitors a week.