Press
Chamber Mixer sponsored by BPDT, hosted by GCH
Chamber Mixer sponsored by BPDT, hosted by GCH
By Loreen Berlin
The Buena Park Independent
The July monthly mixer of the Buena Park Area Chamber of Commerce was sponsored by Buena Park Downtown and hosted by Giving Children Hope, 8332, Commonwealth, Thursday, July 15.
It was just last year when BPDT Marketing Director Patricia Neill found out about GCH and their backpack program for elementary school children who have been identified as homeless. That’s when she opened her heart to help the organization.
This year, she sponsored the Chamber mixer at the GCH facility to raise community awareness, with city officials and Chamber members attending
“Patricia is truly an amazing woman with so much on her plate, but she still finds time and energy to help the community,” GCH Director of Community Programs Elizabeth Saldaña said. “It has truly been a blessing knowing her this past year.”
Bella Dia Salon and Day Spa Co-owner and GCH Board of Directors member Virginia Vaughn and husband Kenny Vaughn also attended the mixer and were praised by Saldaña for their efforts and prize donations for the mixer, along with Board of Directors member and owner of Ovene Winery Jeff White for donating wine for the mixer.
Saldaña said that the Giving Children Hope’s local program, “We’ve Got Your Back” is partnering with four other non-profits this summer which includes the Boys and Girls Club of Buena Park, Fit 4 R Kids, Lot 318, Baden Powell Elementary School in Anaheim and Ocean View Elementary in Huntington Beach, in continuing to make food available for all children enrolled in the We’ve Got Your Back program during the summer months when the school cafeterias are closed.
“Giving Children Hope is enrolling 200 more children throughout the summer months and will end the 2009-2010 school year with 1,000 children enrolled in our program,” Saldaña said. “We still have some availability in our program so if anyone has a child in elementary school that would benefit from a nutritious backpack full of food please have them visit one of our distribution sites and we will access if the family is eligible for the program.”
GCH will also be adding an additional 2000 children to the program in the 2010-2011 school year.
“If you know of any schools interested in enrolling their school in our We’ve Got Your Back program please have them contact me,” Saldaña said. “Our mission is to reach suffering children all over the world but with the help of everyone we can reach kids who are in our own backyard; please urge people, businesses, churches and service clubs to get involved. We can all do something to help such as having food drives, fundraisers, volunteering etc. if you would like to read more about our local program please go to www.wgyb.org – we would love to enroll more children in need.”
To date Giving Children Hope has distributed over $7 million worth of life-saving medicines, medical supplies and other relief items to Haiti since the 7.0 earthquake that hit the country in January 2010.
For information on how to help support the organization’s plans to transition from relief to long-term development in the county, please visit www.aidtohaiti.org.
Sunday, October 3, at 4 p.m. at Los Coyotes Country Club, 8888 Los Coyotes Drive in Buena Park, 90621, Giving Children Hope will be hosting its annual gala, “Voyage of Hope,” where guests may learn about Giving Children Hope’s programs that focus on alleviating poverty locally, nationally and abroad. There will be fine dining, entertainment, and a silent auction. For more information and to purchase tickets or becoming a sponsor, visit www.2010voyageofhope.org.
For Chamber information, call 714-521-0261 or visit www.buenaparkchamber.org.
For Buena Park Downtown information, call 714-503-5000 or visit www.buenaparkdowntown.com.
For Giving Children Hope, call 714-523-4454 or e-mail Saldaña at esaldana@godaid.org or visit www.gchope.org
Loreen Berlin can be reached at loreenberlin@verizon.net
Dhont Family Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant to Help Feed Homeless Children in Orange County
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Dhont Family Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant to Help Feed Homeless Children in Orange County
BUENA PARK, Calif. (November 9, 2008)- Tomorrow at 2 P.M., the Dhont Family Foundation will present Giving Children Hope with a $10,000 grant for its We’ve Got Your Back program at its offices at 8332 Commonwealth Ave. Buena Park 90621. We’ve Got Your Back is a weekend nutrition program created by Giving Children hope for elementary students in the Orange Unified School District who have been identified as “homeless” under the McKinney-Vento act. The grant will help the program purchase food for the children enrolled in the program.
In addition to the grant, the Dhont Family Foundation is offering a $15,000 matching grant. Any donations given directly to We’ve Got Your Back will be doubled.
Giving Children Hope is grateful to the Dhont Family Foundation for their contribution and dedication to Orange County’s homeless children.
The Dhont Family Foundation was founded in 1998 and helps fund local projects in Southern California.
Giving Children Hope is a faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty (domestically and abroad) through disaster relief, health and community development, vocational training and advocacy. We are located at 8332 Commonwealth Ave. Buena Park 90621. For more information, visit www.gchope.org.
Media Contact:
Harmony Trevino
Communications Coordinator
Ph: 714-523-4454 x. 118
htrevino@godaid.org
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Cut-a-Thon Fundraiser to Help O.C. Homeless Children
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Cut-a-Thon Fundraiser to Help O.C. Homeless Children
BUENA PARK, Calif. (September 12, 2008)- On Sunday, September 14, a Cut-a-Thon fundraiser for homeless children will be held at Diego Salon at 17499 Imperial Hwy.,Yorba Linda, CA 92886 where people can receive a $15 haircut from professional stylists.
There will be food, a bounce house, live entertainment, activities and a silent auction.
All proceeds will benefit Giving Children Hope’s “We’ve Got Your Back” program that helps feed homeless children in the Orange County school districts on the weekend during the school year. This is in partnership with Rose Drive Friends Church and Salon Diego.
Giving Children Hope is a faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty (domestically and abroad) through disaster relief, health and community development, vocational training and advocacy. We are located at 8332 Commonwealth Ave. Buena Park 90621. For more information, visit www.gchope.org.
Media Contact:
Harmony Trevino
Giving Children Hope
Communications Coordinator
Ph: 714-523-4454 x. 112
htrevino@godiad.org
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ORANGE COUNTY NONPROFIT WORKS TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER WITH CHILDREN IN OC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MORE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE GOING TO FOOD BANKS
ORANGE COUNTY NONPROFIT WORKS TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER WITH CHILDREN IN OC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
BUENA PARK, Calif. (May 28, 2008) – The Today Show aired the segment “Middle Class Misery”: More Families Headed to Food Banks” this week about how more middle class families are struggling to buy groceries and end up at food banks to get by.
In some parts of the country, the Today Show reported, “the public school system has found students hoarding their free and reduced-price lunches so they can bring them home and have something to eat at night.”
Giving Children Hope is working to reduce the hunger in children in Orange County by providing backpacks full of nutritious food. The “We’ve Got Your Back” program is a local program that serves children in Orange County elementary schools that are enrolled in a free or reduced lunch program and have been identified as homeless or having food insecurity. Elementary students ages 5 to 11 are enrolled in a Nutrition Club and learn about healthy diet and wellness in addition to taking home well-balanced meals to sustain them over their weekends.
There are over 16,000 homeless children in Orange County. More than 5,000 of these children are under the age of 5 and 10,000 are between the ages of 6 and 17, according to the 2006 Orange County Community Indicators Project. According to the report, Orange County has the highest proportion of families that are homeless.
Giving Children Hope is an Orange County, California faith-based nonprofit organization engaged in domestic and international poverty alleviation through disaster relief, medical development, vocational training and advocacy.
Media Contact:
Harmony Trevino
Giving Children Hope
Communications Coordinator
Ph: 714-523-4454 x. 112
htrevino@godaid.org
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