When we think of Holidays, we think of our families and loved ones and being able to spend precious time with them during this meaningful season.  Holidays are particularly stressful for foster kids, who are  constantly reminded of not being able to be in a traditional setting with family members.  They have been placed under protective custody by the Court for various reasons.  Abuse, neglect and negative memories have been part of their lives.  At San Pasqual Academy, many of these foster teens are able to overcome this cycle of abuse and become productive adults.  A special “San Pasqual Academy family” is created: one that provides stability, support, love and guidance.  The volunteers of Friends of San Pasqual Academy are a key part of this support system.  For over eight years, the volunteers have been dedicated to providing positive experiences to these foster students.  Many lives have been changed as a result of  these efforts.

The 150 foster teens of San Pasqual Academy celebrated the start of the Holidays with many exciting activities. A festive party for the students was held at the unique school, which is both home and school for the foster teens of San Diego County. Many individuals and organizations donated items and most importantly, their time and resources to make this Holiday special.

The party began with each student receiving a special Christmas stocking that had each student‘s name on them.   These beautiful stockings were filled to the brim with wonderful items that were collected and created by Patty Brutten and her many volunteers. Jim and Carey Cimino purchased video games for each of these stockings.  Marcy Gehrke, Linnea Westlake and others contributed candy and hygiene items that filled the 175 stockings.  National Charity League members, coordinated by Teri Summerhays,  collected pajama pants, sugar cookies and other items for the teens. A beautiful fleece blanket was a special gift for each student, that had San Pasqual Academy and their mascot, a Dragon, embroidered on it.  These blankets were donated by Carole and Ken Markstein.   The Marksteins also donated items that were necessary for creating a Christmas tree ornament.  Dagmar Helgager coordinated this project and many beautiful creations were made by the students.  Christmas trees for each cottage were purchased by Friends of San Pasqual Academy.  In addition, each student received a $100 gift card, made possible by the  supporters of Friends of San Pasqual Academy.

Long-time Friends supporter Kendra Correia created special gifts for all the cottages.  She also donated Christmas supplies, personal hygiene items, quilts and other useful things that the students greatly enjoyed.  Books donated by Carol Tager, Susan Vogel and other individuals were displayed.  Donna Herrick collected many beautiful items from Sidestreet Boutique, a unique clothing boutique in South Lake Tahoe.  The owner, Barbara Paroni, is a long-time friend of Donna’s and has donated hundreds of wonderful items throughout the years to the foster teens.  Dresses, shoes, pants, skirts, blouses, jackets, purses, tee-shirts and more were donated by this wonderful individual.  Hundreds of socks were collected by Leslie Dwachinski.

A very special announcement was made during the Party, which added to the excitement:  Marc and Patty Brutten provided Playstations for each cottage, along with popular Playstation games. In addition, Charlotte Brutten donated over 90 gift cards to the foster teens that she had collected in lieu of Birthday presents at her recent 16th Birthday.  These cards will be used as special Birthday gifts for each student throughout the year.

Also adding more fun was a cookie decorating activity, organized, once again, by Shelby Strong.  She, along with Alicia Jammer, assisted the students in creating their own special holiday treats.  Cookies were baked and donated by many wonderful volunteers. Lots of beautiful, delicious creations were made.

And of course, a favorite activity was “shopping” with each student and helping them select  items that were collected by many donors.  Members of Friends of San Pasqual Academy became each student’s “personal shopper “ and this was a fun-filled activity.      

The party ended with an exciting Raffle Drawing that was organized by Ellie Cunningham.  Many lucky teens received items that included sports jerseys, clothing, Ipods, digital cameras, games, gift cards and other wonderful prizes that were donated by Ellie Cunningham.  Lindsay and Aaron Cuker donated three ipods to the raffle.   

And many thanks to the volunteers, who assisted with the Holiday Party, which included Teri Summerhays, Pam Frost, Dagmar Helgager, Joan Kaestner, Catherine Gotfredson, Shelby Strong, Ann Boon, Stacy Snyder, Deb Weir, Andrea Reynolds,  Heidi Hollen, Donna Herrick,  Kendra Correia, Kathy Lathrum, Alicia Jammer, Joyce Hyman, Monica Sheets,  Ellie Cunningham, Molly Gunner, T.K. Frantz, Jeanette Branon, Lori Mayne, Melinda Dellafenna, Lindsay Cuker, Aaron Cuker, Jennifer Nelson, Leslie Dwachinski, Emmy Sobieski, James Lauer, Tracey Scott, Gabby Norris, Debby Syverson, Carole Markstein and Joan Scott.   Again, many thanks to these dedicated volunteers and donors for making this event so wonderful for the foster teens of San Pasqual Academy!  It was quite a memorable day for all who attended.  The foster students expressed their gratitude and appreciation to all who made this possible.

For more information on Friends of San Pasqual Academy, which is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, please visit www.friendsofsanpasqualacademy.org or call 858 759- 3298 Donations can be sent to Friends of San Pasqual Academy, PO Box 8202, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067.

On behalf of the foster teens of San Pasqual Academy, “Merry Christmas to All and Happy New Year”!