Believe, Books, Bond

“Literacy is at the root of a person’s ability to succeed, and the family is at the heart,” states the National Center for Family Literacy. Since November is National Family Literacy Month, we thought we would share two stories of former residents whose experience at Hillsides enabled them to read and devour books.

Emotionally challenged, Gary Drake’s mother was unable to care for her son properly and opted to place him at Hillsides.  Self described as out of control, Gary came to live at Hillsides when he was only 11 years old.  He remembers only being able to read at a second grade level when he was in fifth grade. Gary also despised homework. While he lived at Hillsides, staff would drive him weekly to the University of Southern California's tutoring program to learn how to read.

“I learned how to show up no matter what is happening,” Gary said. “I was forced to look at the consequences for your actions. If you don’t read, life is harder than it already is.”

Living in a structured environment like Hillsides helped him in many more ways than just reading. He learned to negotiate with others, live among a diverse group, and manage different projects. Today, Gary is a general contractor to celebrities like Sting, Madonna, Jim Carrey, and others. He credits part of his success to the various skills he learned while living at Hillsides.

While he still does not like homework, Gary understands the importance of literacy, encouraging and supporting a structured environment in his own home that requires reading time. With four children in elementary school, Gary, with support from his wife, leads a model home of children participating in extracurricular activities like piano, surfing, gymnastics and Taekwondo and doing homework.

For John Downes, his experience at Hillsides inspired him to become an author of seven books -- three novels and four non-fictions. After World War II in 1946, John’s parents divorced. In the following summer they took the train to Los Angeles, where his mother arranged for him and his sister to live at the Episcopal Church Home for Children, known as Hillsides today. John was seven years old at the time, and lived in the Boys Cottage, while his sister, Joan, two years older than him, lived in the Girls Cottage.

“I became a voracious reader when I lived there. Not only did I read the entire series of The Hardy Boys books, but I read practically everything else in the library. I was in awe of anyone who could write stories. I told stories to the boys in the Boys Cottage,” John stated in an email to Hillsides. “Some Friday nights, a man named Luther came and told us ghost stories. They were very scary. He did it without notes or pauses. It was very inspiring for me.”

When John and Joan left the home and moved to Salem, Oregon, he continued to “invent stories, write them, and relate them aloud to my friends. Even in the Boy Scouts, I was sought out at camporees to tell stories.”

While in high school, his journalism teacher saw his writing ability and became a strong influence in his life. In his adult years, John pursued screenwriting and two dramas were optioned by producers at major studios.  However, nothing was produced. In the 1990s John wrote his first published novel, A Few Deadly Friends, which was an adaptation of his first screenplay, Criminal Bent. It was the first of three novels, all different genres -- mystery, literary fiction, war novel.

Literacy is important to our social, economic and political environment. Teaching the significance of reading and the skill to the children and families we serve is a lasting benefit. Hillsides’ children’s library rivals any other library in the city. We have an amazing collection of more than 8,000 books and about 14 reading groups. Author visits engage and inspire our children and students at Hillsides Education Center. Sherri Ginsberg, our librarian, customizes any volunteer’s talent with a reading workshop to bring a higher rate of participation by our children. We are so pleased to hear that a child, for the first time, read an entire book—all because they were motivated by the author or the volunteer that gave their time to explore a world of imagination, laughter and hope.

Have you read a book lately? Have you volunteered lately? What do you do with your family to encourage reading? Share your stories with us.

Changing Our Community with a Giving Heart

In the United States alone, there are more than a million charitable organizations, and Americans give more than $300 billion annually to charitable causes (Giving USA Foundation). On November 15, we celebrated National Philanthropy Day®, the special day set aside to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropy—and those people active in the philanthropic community—have made to our lives, our communities and our world, as stated in the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ website.

Change the World with a Giving Heart, the theme of this year’s National Philanthropy Day, brings to light the goodness in each person and organization that contributes to vulnerable children and families like those served by Hillsides. Our donors, volunteers and child advocates, with their treasure, time or voice, help us continue to create safe places for children who have experienced traumatic childhoods and suffer from emotional and behavioral challenges. Families in need of Hillsides’ resources and professional mental health expertise are afforded these services because of our donors who give willingly to our mission. Transitional aged youth find a safe place, mentoring and mental health support at Hillsides Youth Moving On because of the combined efforts of many organizations, corporations and individuals who believe in former foster youth having an opportunity to journey through young adulthood successfully.

Last week several organizations that support our mission were recognized at the National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  A hearty congratulation goes out to Print Interactive Radio and Television Education Society (PIRATES), Pasadena Independent Schools Foundation (PIS), and The Weingart Foundation for their commitment to serve nonprofits in Southern California. Both PIRATES and PISF are primarily volunteer-driven organizations themselves. Their commitment to serving nonprofits has been noticed and we recognize your dedication to the children and families we serve. Weingart Foundation was pivotal in our Youth Moving On’s capital campaign and continues to support our mission.

However, we continue to ask ourselves: What do the children need? What additional resources can we provide families? What does it take to help them? There is never enough that we can do for the children and families we serve. This year we raised $2.2 million to address all the needs of the children and families. That’s the kind of investment that donors, corporations, and foundations make alongside with volunteers and child advocates. The partnerships we make help us leverage the dollars that we have to provide for vulnerable children and families whose needs are tremendous.

We applaud Hillsides donors, corporations, foundations, volunteers and child advocates for changing our community with your giving heart. Together, we strive to create safe places for vulnerable children and families that need our love, stability, comfort, hope and resources to have brighter futures. Thanks for lighting their way and ours.

Political Gridlock

Now that the election is over, many of us are trying to figure out how to position ourselves to address the pressing needs of vulnerable children and families not only in California, but throughout the country. Unfortunately, it would seem that all the post election posturing indicates a continuation and, perhaps, a worsening of gridlock in both Sacramento and Washington, DC. This is exactly what we don’t need; this kind of inaction and failure of leadership jeopardizes the children and families we serve.

There are no easy solutions--quite the opposite! In the midst of all political bravado, children and families are suffering, services have been limited, if not all together eliminated, entitlements have been suspended, and our focus has moved from the plight of our neighbors to ideological debates.

In Sacramento--The disastrous actions by Governor Schwarzenegger to eliminate child care subsidies and support for working families, together with the elimination of funding for the education of special needs students, must be addressed immediately as Governor-elect Brown assumes the position and the legislature reconvenes.  Although temporary measures have been put in place, the long term uncertainty of funding continues to jeopardize services to these vulnerable populations.

In Washington, DC--Just as medical entitlements for children and youth have been established in recent healthcare legislation, repeal and revisions are being suggested, making uncertain a pathway to enable states to access funding to assure compliance with these new measures. The Fostering Connections Act, landmark legislation passed three years ago to advance services to children and youth, continues to have funding jeopardized by a shifting sense of priorities in Washington. Years after supporting a gathering to address the issues of vulnerable children and families and establish some clear priorities as well as a plan of action, the call for a White House Conference goes unheeded.

Some would say these are unprecedented times and, as a result, we can no longer accept “business as usual.” From what I can see, not much has changed on the political front; and the sense of urgency is driven by political grandstanding rather than the desperation that many feel in a time of economic constraint.

We hope the stalemate in government will ease and, in spite of temptation to join the fray, we need to encourage our civic leaders to not lose sight of the pressing needs our children and families face each day.

So in an effort to get beyond the impasse, let me suggest:

1.      Check the ideology at the door

2.      Focus on tangible, immediate needs of the most vulnerable

3.      Set and maintain priorities for the utilization of limited funds

4.      Don’t be short sighted

5.      Insist on proven and efficient methods of delivering services

We live in hope!

Getting into the Guts of a Spooktacular Halloween

Halloween is a spirited holiday that brings out creativity and imagination in people. For Hillsides’ children living on our campus, certain traditions have become anticipated activities that make Halloween a fun and memorable time.

Pumpkin carving is such a delight for our children, getting their hands into the cavity of the pumpkin and pulling its seeds and guts. Western Asset Management sponsors this annual activity and has eighty pumpkins delivered to our campus, ready to be transformed. Our very own pumpkin patch near the auditorium, the pumpkins are lined up for youthful hands to grasp. This craft is accompanied by the well-known In ‘N’ Out truck.

The next day, volunteer make-up artists from EI School of Professional Makeup in Hollywood apply Halloween makeup on children. Dressed in costumes and sporting ghoulish looks, children trick-or-treat around campus, knocking on staff doors to receive their goodies before entering the magnificently constructed Hillsides’ haunted house. Each year recreation staff, with the help from the teenagers living in Boys Satellite Home and Girls Satellite Home, creates a spectacular and spooky maze that scares each guest as they enter at their own risk. The older youth living at Hillsides create a Halloween carnival for the younger children, dressing up the part, attending booths, and handing out treats for each one to savor.

One special treat was a t-shirt silk screened by Kim Ha, the art director, integrating the art piece that was painted by one of our residents. I’d like to share a collage of photos of these activities.

This particular holiday amazes me because of the collaboration between staff and older youth to create such memorable traditions for the younger children that live at Hillsides. To see the smiles on their faces, each one for different reasons, brings me such joy. I hope it also brings a smile to your face to know that we are able to make these traditions happen with the support of individuals like yourselves who donate Halloween decorations, bags, face paint, candy, and costumes. Thank you for supporting the mission of creating safe places for vulnerable children and families.