Foster Care Charity Needs Help with Adopt-a- Family Program

(PASADENA, CA)— While attending school, teen parents are getting a lesson on how to be better caregivers. And as parents, they are seeking to bring joy and smiles to their babies with the help of Santa’s helpers, especially from Hillsides, a foster care children’s charity.

In a safe environment with the ability to express themselves and ask provocative questions, students, like Michelle*, whose unstable mother has been in and out of jail, work with staff at Hillsides Family Center, housed at North Park Continuation School in Baldwin Park. Through weekly interactive lessons at Hillsides’ school-based mental health program, students reflect on their circumstances and become enlightened of the possibility for hope and a brighter future for their children.

For Michelle, numerous failed foster care placements and countless family problems have been the impetus to make changes in her life. With a toddler to care for, Michelle’s cautious attention, nurturing sense, and determined patience sets her apart from the rest of her family. With help from Hillsides staff, she is committed to provide her son with a better upbringing than she experienced, in addition to a memorable holiday.

In the past year Hillsides’ programs to families have expanded in the greater San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles (Metro North), including Pasadena. With the expansion of programs to strengthen families in need and reduce the cycle of domestic violence, Hillsides needs help from individuals, families, businesses or organizations to adopt additional families, including teen parents who are trying to turn their lives around for their children.

Donations of toys, gifts for teens, gift-wrapping supplies, certificates for purchases of clothing, and grocery scrip in $20 denominations to purchase food and much-needed household items are welcomed and encouraged. Donors receive a profile of the family, including sizes and individual holiday wishes that will certainly bring smiles on the faces of children hoping to have a better New Year.

“We have treated and counseled these families in crisis in the community all year long so donors can feel confident that these are, indeed, families that have a genuine need,” said Laura Kelso, Hillsides’ director of community resources. “With the natural disasters that occurred earlier this year, we have seen a decline of individuals adopting families and hope we can turn things around for the overwhelming number of children and families who need assistance.”

Hillsides not only provides for children living on the 17-acre campus, but also brings the holiday spirit to families enduring extreme hardships served by the Hillsides Family Center in Pasadena and other community-based clinics in Baldwin Park and Echo Park.

Please help children in need and other deserving families have a traditional holiday. For a family profile, contact Kelso at (323) 254-2274, ext. 251. Gift baskets and other donations can be delivered to Hillsides between December 13 and 20 at 940 Avenue 64 in Pasadena. To learn more about Hillsides, visit www.hillsides.org.
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*Teen parent’s name has been changed to protect her identity and confidentiality.

About Hillsides: As a Pasadena foster care charity founded in 1913, Hillsides creates safe places for children at risk and their families by providing residential care, mental health services to break the cycle of domestic violence, special education, and advocacy. To learn more about Hillsides, visit www.Hillsides.org.