Birthdays are a time to celebrate and make a child feel special and loved. However, children foster care are often robbed of this experience due to a variety of reasons. To ensure that all our foster youth receive the celebration they deserve, we’ve partnered with Children’s Foundation of America (CFA).

Thanks to CFA and their Birthday-in-a-Bag campaign, our foster youth get to experience a joyful birthday. The organization reaches out to us monthly for a list of children’s birthdays and their wishes. The youth in our care are always so happy and appreciative to receive their birthday gifts.

“I love my gift, I’m so happy,” said one youth after opening his birthday gift. “It felt so good to be remembered,” replied another youth when asked how they felt receiving a birthday gift from CFA.

“There are youth that consider their birthday just another day. I will say the gifts put smiles on their faces and the youth have expressed gratitude for acknowledging them. I also have the kitchen make a birthday cake for the youth. Sometimes the dorm will sing but if the youth prefer to just eat his cake without singing, we honor that,” said Cathleen Duran, El Monte Recreational Coordinator.  

Thank you to CFA for supporting our children and helping us celebrate their precious lives. If you are interest in partnering with us to support our children contact Isabel Millward-Pena at imillwardpena@trinityys.org or at 909.426.0773 ext. 234. 

Isabel Millward-Pena, Communications Specialist
Isabel contributes content for our social media, blog, newsletters and promotional materials. She recently earned a bachelor’s degree in English from California State University San Bernardino and is currently working on her master’s degree. Isabel began working at Trinity as an intern, was hired as clerical, and was then promoted to communications in our development department. Prior to her work at Trinity, she was a substitute instructional aid and a supervisor at Starbucks. She has also volunteered as an aid at local elementary schools and notably achieved “Partner of the Quarter” at Starbucks in 2017. Isabel is an active member of Trinity’s Diversity, Inclusion, Value and Equity (DIVE) team and volunteers her time at the Children’s Foundation of America.

On September 28, the Children’s Foundation of America hosted the annual Trinity Classic Golf Tournament and Fundraiser presented by HUB International Insurance with proceeds benefiting Trinity Youth Services. This year, the tournament was held at the Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga. The highly anticipated event featured 80 enthusiastic golfers who were excited to support foster youth, residential treatment and mental health programs. Honoring social distancing protocols, tee times, putting contest times and registration were changed to limit the number of people in groups, and  a plastic divider was placed between seats on golf carts to help keep all attendees safe.

During the tournament, guests enjoyed a boxed lunch, tastings on the golf course and a meal from the In-N-Out food truck. Afterwards, Amaro Helicopters flew by with Golf Ball Drop entries and poured 200 golf balls over a golf hole to determine who would be the winner of the $10,000 grand prize. Number 144, the winning number, belonged to Trinity Youth Services’ Rancho Cucamonga Foster Care Office Director, Laura Kassem, who donated $1,000 of her winnings to support youth activities at Trinity.

In addition to the golf competition, the Children’s Foundation of America conducted an awards ceremony in which HUB International Insurance, AMC Solutions, Image Source, and Sysco were honored for being top sponsors. Trinity CEO, Cher Ofstedahl, also recognized the Foundation team for “outstanding achievements during a pandemic.” After the awards were presented, gift baskets were raffled off, and Judith Jarvis, a Trinity Youth Services Board Member, donated the baskets she won back to Trinity’s employees for staff recognition.

Although COVID-19 presented numerous challenges for this year’s tournament, we are very pleased by all of the support received from our partners, sponsors, and community. Because of these generous contributions, we are able to continue to provide essential resources for our youth in foster care, adoption, mental health and residential therapeutic programs. Thank you to the Children’s Foundation of America for your ongoing support and for hosting another incredible fundraiser. More more event details and a photo slideshow, see the Foundation’s article on the event here.

Next year’s golf tournament is expected to be even more exciting and full of surprises. Check the Children’s Foundation of America website periodically for updates as they become available. Until then, consider helping a child in crisis this holiday season. Contact the Foundation at 800.KIDS.730 or send an email to donations@trinityys.org.

Eve Powers, Foster Care Marketing Specialist
Eve has a strong commitment to helping foster youth and their families thrive and live successful lives. A former foster youth, Eve obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Communications from California State University, San Bernardino, and is a certified Holistic Life Coach, motivational writer, self-help author and celebrity interviewer. Beyond the Trinity Youth Services blog, Eve’s articles can be found in numerous platforms including Foster Focus Magazine, Heart & Soul Magazine, BET Centric and Huffington Post. A passionate advocate for the LGBTQ community, Eve continues to educate, support and mentor foster youth throughout Southern California.

Since 1966, Trinity Youth Services has been helping children and families create a better future. Join us in a photo timeline through the history of Trinity. The organization was established 50 years ago, served over 60,000 children and has grown into the thriving services it has become today encompassing foster care, residential treatment and mental health programs.