Thanks and giving

Thanksgiving is a time to express our gratitude for what we have received yearlong in the presence of family and friends. This time offers us an opportunity to reflect on the charitable favor we have been given—a generous donor and a volunteer community who has dedicated years to our mission of creating lasting change.

This particular holiday, on this centennial year, gives pause to think about our 100 years of serving children, youth, and families in need. We’ve seen children abandoned by parents, others who have faced violent tragedies, and those who suffer from emotional turmoil. We’ve worked with youth who have left the foster care system and faced homelessness, battled mental disorders or struggled with maintaining employment. We’ve served families who have been distraught by traumatic situations, impacted by mental illness, and challenged by children enduring behavioral issues. At the end of the day, we have remained hopeful for each one. Each child, youth or family has been effectively touched by our staff’s expert care, compassion, and dedication to meet their individual needs.

How is it that we are able to do this for 100 years? Thanks and giving. Our founder Deaconess Evelyn Wile laid the foundation for the charitable work we do in our community. She demonstrated thanks to every person, church, company, organization, and foundation that supported Hillsides mission. Our donors and volunteers’ commitment to continually give to our mission has enabled us to continue to the do the individualized treatment for each child, youth, and family. We continue to give thanks. The giving pledges of support that we receive from you help us ensure our clients’ well-being, safety, and permanency. Giving keeps the hope alive for thousands each year.

There is a movement spearheaded by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet called the Giving Pledge that was featured on “60 minutes” recently. Two requirements must be met to be part of this movement: individuals must have an excess of one billion dollars in wealth and be willing to give half of it away to charity. Buffet says that the wealth has no real utility to billionaires, but that “wealth has incredible utility to other people. It can educate children, it can vaccinate children. It can do all kinds of things.” Billionaires like the Gates and Buffet realize that government alone cannot solve the world’s problems. Philanthropists who have wealth can influence and collaborate with foundations and charities to problem-solve today’s issues.

Those who pledge to Hillsides understand that their philanthropic giving means providing hope and changing the lives of other people—children who have never had childhoods can regain them, youth who have lived under bridges or on the streets can find a safe apartment, and families who have been torn apart by domestic violence can break the cycle for generations who follow. This is the utility to other people, to organizations like Hillsides.

As you read this blog post, let’s imagine a virtual table where we can give thanks together for what we share in common: People. People who demonstrate unconditional support for the work we do, who improve our lives, and who dedicate time to serve. Let us also be mindful that the giving pledges we receive for our programs and services to children, youth, and families in need enhances and strengthens the quality care we provide. May we continue to share a bountiful table of thanks and giving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stress free Thanksgiving

One of our initiatives this year is to develop an organization with the capacity to better serve those in our care who have experienced trauma. Nearly 90 percent of all children served by the child welfare system have experienced some form of trauma that elevates their "toxic stress." Toxic stress is stress that increases the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, drug and alcohol dependency, suicide, teen pregnancy, domestic violence and depression. Although it is just an indicator of risk and not a cause of illness, it is worth noting the relationship that stress and trauma has as a deterrent to well-being.

With this prevalence of stress among those in our care, it is imperative that our treatment interventions and the environment in which we operate are sensitive to this issue to support our clients’ well-being and avoid anything that would further traumatize those who are already so vulnerable. These efforts are very comprehensive and are intended to influence all aspects of our operations, the treatment environment, our interactions with clients, and the manner in which we conduct business.

These efforts reminded me of an interview recently of a mother and son who are served at Hillsides. This adolescent arrived anxious and impulsive, demonstrating significant disruptive behavior that negatively impacted him and his family. His mother was challenged to provide him the support they needed to avoid an escalation of behaviors that were harmful. She was referred to us through their local school system. As we initiated care, we were able to identify the trauma he had experienced and help him and his mother reduce the stress that was so detrimental to their well-being. Months later she says that the services they have received at Hillsides helped her, “to get her life back….to get her son back.”

The process of restoring hope and a sense of well-being can be challenging, but the end result makes the effort very worthwhile. As this family prepares for Thanksgiving they do so freed from some of the burdens that had previously impeded their ability to sit at the same table and enjoy a holiday together. This year there will be something very special for which they will be very thankful--their family restored.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, let us be ever sensitive to the hurts and traumas that others have experienced and in a very intentional way create an environment where everyone feels safe, welcomed, and supported. In doing so, we lay the foundation to address the stressors that impact us and initiate the process of moving beyond the trauma to hope. 

Thanksgiving Petition Drive

Thanksgiving is a day that is often marked by many traditions and rituals: gatherings of family and friends at a bountiful table, football games, outings, and the start of the holiday season. Many individuals also include on this day an activity that acknowledges our gratitude by doing something for those less fortunate like donating clothing and food to the homeless or serving Thanksgiving dinner at a local shelter.

At Hillsides we benefit from this volunteer spirit. This year a group of motorcyclists will ride to campus Thanksgiving morning and spend some time visiting with residents who will be here. This will be just one of the special activities being planned to celebrate Thanksgiving and to make it memorable for the children and youth we serve.

Indeed, one of the things that we at Hillsides are so grateful for are the legion of volunteers who offer their time and talent to serve those in our care. We are really dependent upon such generous volunteers, who beyond the service they render, become very effective advocates for the services we provide.

Once again, we call upon your commitment to our mission and ask you to take some time on Thanksgiving Day and consider signing an on-line petition to President Obama asking him to keep the many children and families, who are dependent on federal assistance, harmless in the upcoming fiscal discussions. Hillsides is joining with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) to secure 5,000 signatures before Thanksgiving and to reach 25,000 over the next two weeks.

This is a critical time for our nation as we seek out a path to fiscal stability. Some very difficult decisions will need to be made. As we address this issue, it is important not to be shortsighted. We know that ensuring access to resources assists struggling families in finding the stability that helps to prevent child abuse and neglect. We must make it clear that a balanced approach to budgeting cannot burden children. Safe, healthy, and flourishing children will ensure our long-term prosperity, so please sign today. We also ask that you encourage family, friends, and colleagues to do the same.

For more information on what we are hoping to accomplish, please check out the materials at http://bit.ly/HoldChildrenHarmless. There you will find information that details the programs that are a key way to prevent child maltreatment, but also how they help strengthen families so they can contribute to the economic recovery and prepare children to be hopeful today and valuable members of our society tomorrow.

Thanks and Giving

National Charity League Pasadena Chapter

One of the things that I learned a long time ago is that you just can not say thank you enough. So let me take this year's Thanksgiving celebration to say, once again, thank you! Let there be no doubt that without the extraordinary support that Hillsides receives from our donor community, our ability to impact the lives of all we serve would be significantly compromised.

Without your generous support we would not be able to bring the library to life with storytelling and live music on a regular basis. Without your support we would not have been able to sponsor our students on a three-day magical camping trip to Catalina. Without your support holiday celebrations would not be marked by games, gifts and fun for one and all. The list of how your support makes a difference is endless. Like the many parents who I met on campus recently and told me how grateful they are for the care we offer their children, I say thank you.

In assisting us to provide so much for those we serve, you offer an extraordinary gift whose impact is made more significant because of how vulnerable they are. It is the gift of hope. For the mother at her wits’ end with an adolescent who is depressed and withdrawn, hope is knowing that her child feels comfortable in school for the first time in years. For the eight year old angry about being removed from her home, hope is when she finally gets her favorite toy and is able to laugh and run with abandon. For the lonely adolescent who has aimlessly moved from one foster home to another, hope is when he lands that first job and opens a savings account. Your support helps us to rebuild confidence, revive joy and restore hope. Thank you!

Be sure to know that on this Thanksgiving your generous support of our mission is at the top of our list of reasons to be grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!