“Warm & Fuzzy February” Brings Coziness to 262 Foster Youth
This year’s “Warm & Fuzzy February” campaign was a major success and supported 262 foster youth! Throughout the past year, dozens of individuals gathered to create hand-made blankets in preparation for our annual distribution of care packages stuffed with goodies to bring a sense of warmth to the children we support. Through the combined efforts of our volunteers and donors, the Foundation was able to provide 168 bags to children in foster care in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties including a new partnership with Duarte Unified School District. For older youth, we sent Regal Movie Theater gift cards to 94 teens currently in a residential therapeutic program.
In preparation for “Warm & Fuzzy February,” we sought the help of our dedicated community partners and put on several volunteering events to ensure we met our goal of supporting over 200 children in foster care. With the assistance of 87 volunteers putting in 250 hours of work, the Foundation was able to create hand-made cards for kids and fringe blankets for children ages 0-18. Aside from the huge effort of our volunteers, the Foundation was also able to get the help of several community partners.
It was a community effort making and collecting the items needed for our “Warm & Fuzzy February” care packages. Several different organizations including Foothill Country Day School, Upland HS Health Corps, students of the Occupational Therapy program at Loma Linda University, Claremont Farmers Insurance, Inland Empire United Way staff and UCR Circle K International participated by creating hand-made cards filled with messages of warmth and hope.
CSUF Alpha Phi Omega and Harvey Mudd’s “Mudders Making a Difference” (MMAD) donated hand-made blankets. And we received a surprise gift of dozens of scarves and beanies from volunteer Kathy Warth, who in her spare time, crochets from left over yarn.
The success of this campaign also involved conducting volunteer events in the community. We partnered with Sunrise Senior Living in Claremont, CA who donated the materials for the seniors to make hand-made fringe blankets during their recreation time and visited a team of 15 staff volunteers at Fairplex in Pomona, CA.
A “Warm & Fuzzy” care package wouldn’t be complete without a good book to curl up with. Supporters participated by contributing books to include in the packages. Brisa Sifuentes of the Claremont Little Free Library and 12-year-old book blogger, Zayda (AKA @babybibilophile), each used their Instagram following to contribute dozens of brand new books to our book drive portion of the campaign.
If you would like to help us continue this important work to help children affected by abuse, neglect and abandonment, please donate what you can. Every bit makes a difference!
Rebecca Ustrell, Community Outreach Coordinator
Becky acts as liaison for Children’s Foundation of America. On any given day she could be meeting with potential donors, coordinating a fundraising event, recruiting volunteers and forming partnerships with other nonprofits that can benefit from the help of our Foundation. Becky is currently studying sociology as well as fine art and helps organize the Claremont Art Walk. You will most likely find Becky working on freelance illustrations, playing the cello, mingling at a chamber of commerce event or volunteering in the community.
800-543-7730 | rustrell@trinityys.org
Local Mom Donates Nearly 100 Books to Kids in Need
Monique Cane wanted to find a way to give back to her local community. As a consultant for children’s book company Usborne and mother-of-three, two issues remain close to her heart: helping kids in need and providing engaging books to children.
“I wanted to touch the lives of kids who don’t have control of their lives and give them books they’ll cherish,” Monique explained. With the cooperation of family, friends and Usborne Books, Monique raised funds to purchase approximately 100 books for children in need. Her three boys, Hayden (11), Austin (8) and Rylan (5) joined her at the Children’s Foundation of America’s donation center to drop off the books, playing and laughing the entire time.
Monique discovered the Children’s Foundation of America after searching for a local organization that delivers resources directly into the hands of children. She chose books ranging from infant touch-and-feel books and phonics readers to books for teens. Monique plans to make her book donation a yearly tradition, enlisting the help of friends, family and Usborne Books to grow the effort. “I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends and family. Next year’s goal is to double our contribution.”
The Impact Books Have on a Child’s Life
Children need constant engagement in age-appropriate literature to develop the reading skills required to succeed in school and beyond. Vital resources such as books and learning materials are often scarce for displaced children. Because there is a small window of time for developing a love of reading, these children can quickly fall behind their classmates. Thanks to Monique’s donation, local foster children will have the books they need to sustain a lifelong love of reading.
The Children’s Foundation of America relies on donations like Monique’s to help children in need. Click here to find how you can help Be the Difference in a child’s life.
Kelly Baumann, AmeriCorps VIP Fellow
Kelly specializes in creating and optimizing digital content for the Children’s Foundation of America blog. She has ten years of experience as a marketer and has held a variety of positions including content writer, social media coordinator, public relations executive and content strategist. At Children’s Foundation of America, Kelly focuses on sharing stories and information to educate the public about the issues faced by children that Children’s Foundation of America serves.
Tel: (909)426-0773 | Email: kbaumann@trinityys.org
Origami Monster Bookmark Craft
Halloween is just around the corner and we have the perfect activity for you and your children to enjoy. These origami monster bookmarks are sure to keep the kiddies entertained after a night of trick-or-treating!
What You Need:
- Assorted Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Glue Stick
- Pencil
Step 1:
With the paper resting “lengthwise”, fold the right corner over to the left side of the page and crease the paper into a “right triangle”.
Step 2:
Trace a line with a pencil along the edge of the fold. This will be your guideline to make the piece of paper into a perfect square. Using your scissors, cut along the line to create a perfect square.
Step 3:
Fold the square in half along the existing fold.
Step 4:
Fold the long edges into the center point of the triangle on both sides.
Step 5:
Unfold both sides and bring the top layer of the center point to the top of the page.
Step 6:
Fold back down the long points to the center point, then “tuck” the tips of the paper into the top triangle. This will create a pocket as seen below:
Step 7: Creating the face
This is the moment when creativity takes charge. Encourage your children to make the features they think will best suit their friendly monster. We chose to have sharp teeth and a bright pink tongue.
Step 8: Assemble
Using a glue stick, attache the features onto the bookmark. Be sure to glue the teeth to the inside of the top flap so that the teeth show when the bookmark is in use!
Step 9: Read and save your page!
Happy Halloween!
Rebecca Ustrell, Community Outreach Coordinator
Becky acts as liaison for Children’s Foundation of America. On any given day she could be meeting with potential donors, coordinating a fundraising event, recruiting volunteers and forming partnerships with other nonprofits that can benefit from the help of our Foundation. Becky is currently studying sociology as well as fine art and helps organize the Claremont Art Walk. You will most likely find Becky working on freelance illustrations, playing the cello, mingling at a chamber of commerce event or volunteering in the community.
800-543-7730 | rustrell@trinityys.org
Image Source Partners with CFA to Provide Books for Youth Program
For avid readers, the chance to escape into the pages of a story can provide relief from stress. That is the experience we were able to bring to 90 adolescent boys ranging in age from 12-17 at three Trinity Youth Services Short Term Residential Therapeutic Programs. The Children’s Foundation of America works every day to provide more for children to bring normalcy to youth who are unable to live with their families. Thanks to a generous donation from Image Source, we were able to create an on-campus library for youth in Apple Valley, Yucaipa and El Monte.
When the books arrived to Trinity Youth Service’s Apple Valley residential campus, one ambitious youth was inspired to create a book club! He wrote up a proposal, got it approved and started hosting gatherings of teens to discuss their new books. He then created signs to put up in each dorm to let all the boys know that new books were available to be checked out.
We scoured recommended book lists of classics and contemporary novels, and came up with a list of 64 titles from authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, F. Scott Fitzgerald, H.G. Wells and JK Rowling. With continued donations, we can add to these libraries each year and provide additional enrichment opportunities for these youth.
If you are interested in contributing to the libraries at Trinity Youth Services, please call 800-543-7730 or email donations@trinityys.org.
Carrie Palmer, Development Specialist
Carrie oversees the day-to-day operations and staffing of the Foundation. Among her many tasks, she is responsible for seeking out and applying to grants for the Foundation as well as overseeing fundraising events and donations. Above all, Carrie’s focus is to identify and access resources in order to help children heal, learn and thrive. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of San Diego in 2001 and a master’s degree in public administration at Cal Poly Pomona in 2005. Carrie is a book lover who enjoys spending much of her time with her family and, when given the opportunity, jumps at the chance to travel the world with her mother and daughter.