This Halloween season, we were able to provide hundreds of foster youth with Halloween treat bags! We were also able to serve two organizations: Trinity Youth Services and Pathway Family Services. Both organizations are centered in providing a variety of resources for foster youth to succeed.

We were able to complete this campaign with the help of our community partners. Image Source provided bags of candy, Sysco Riverside provided sleeves of Oreos, Claremont Smile Design and Dr. Alexandra Ayoub Dentist Office provided toothbrushes, Jacqueline Legazcue provided stickers, and Carla Kingsbury sponsored the spooky bags, spider rings, slap bracelets and more stickers. Additionally, Target Pomona provided 30 completed treat bags.

Another big help we received was from our volunteers. A total of 17 volunteers came together serving 34 hours during our Halloween campaign. We had three Halloween card making events including two hosted by CFA at our offices and one facilitated by CFA volunteer, Jacqueline Legazcue, as part of her weekly Sunday “Community Crafternoons” via Zoom. All cards created went into our trick or treat bags.

The next event was our treat bag assembly line where volunteers got to compile the care packages for the foster youth. This project helped foster youth receive some spooky cheer and couldn’t have been accomplished without the help of our community partners and volunteers. If you wish to volunteer and Be the Difference in a foster youth’s life, sign up to our monthly newsletter to receive notice of upcoming volunteer opportunities. All sign-ups are conducted on POINT, so make sure to make an account on the app.

As Halloween approached, CFA honored the Glinton-Holmes Family in this year’s Village Venture Children’s Parade, sponsored by the Children’s Foundation of America. This incredible family is Trinity Youth Services’ 100th and 101st adoptions. They are also planning to adopt their foster daughter later this year.

For Halloween, we had a special request from a group home where a 12-year-old foster youth wanted to dress up as Spiderman. We were happy to help provide him an opportunity to participate in the festive holiday.

We hope everyone had a wonderfully spooky Halloween time and we look forward to celebrating the upcoming holiday season serving children who greatly need us. To get involved, contact 800.KIDS.730 or volunteer@trinityys.org.

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Briana Calderon, Volunteer Coordinator
Briana leads our volunteer program through various campaigns and volunteer activities year round. Briana describes her responsibility as helping to create a space for everyone to come volunteer and find community in serving a greater purpose than our own. Briana graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a focus on public relations at California State University San Bernardino. During her time at CSUSB, she was a student recruiter and tour guide. Having enjoyed her experience working with students and public speaking, working with volunteers seemed like a natural step. Briana has helped advance our volunteer systems with technology and provided virtual volunteer opportunities when possible. In addition to her position at CFA, Briana also serves on the Diversity, Inclusion, Value, Equity (DIVE) team.