Program News 2007
Making Merry
Last month’s winter holidays were joyously celebrated throughout Good Shepherd’s community-based, foster care and residential programs. The following are just a few examples of the festivities across the agency.
At St. Helena’s, residents competed for prizes in the Annual Door Decorating Contest, enjoyed a communal feast and opened presents from the staff and our Holiday Gift Drive donors. One young woman expressed to the staff how loved and special she felt having Christmas gifts to open, for the first time since the death of her mother. A volunteer at the Safe Homes Project eschewed the more traditional Santa costume for a blue tutu and matching tiara, distributing gifts as the Winter Fairy at a potluck dinner where participants and staff shared such dishes as tacos, potato latkes, curried chicken and lasagna.
Young people from our After-School Program at PS 79 entertained their school community by putting on a Holiday Assembly, and continued to hone their performing skills with a small talent show during the week in between Christmas and New Year’s. The After-School Program at PS 246 shared their work of the past few months with family members at the Holiday Event and Curriculum Fair, which featured participant-created display boards highlighting projects their group had worked with over the past three months. Participants and parents also enjoyed making holiday cards, snowflakes and gingerbread houses while sharing information about program activities.
Families from our Transitions and Family Reception Center programs gathered for dinner, cake, presents and pictures with Santa at the programs’ respective holiday parties. Division Director Charles Barrios commented later “The countless smiles, the excitement and anticipation of the event, the patience, the cheer, the humility of the families that are adopted, the expression of thanks and gratitude to the staff who greet them and embrace their differences and individuality, and the large turnout at the events are but a semblance of the way Good Shepherd has touched the lives of the children and families we serve.”
These and other celebrations of the season were made possible by our
Holiday Gift Drive donors, who generously played Santa for our participants by collecting gifts, sponsoring parties, ‘adopting’ families from our family counseling programs, and arranging for special holiday outings. Without these dedicated friends, who have kept pace with our rapid growth over the past few years, we would not have been able to make the holidays so happy and festive for our vulnerable children, young people and families.
January 19, 2007
