Celebrating Sixty Years of Automobiles and Philanthropy
Kinship Center volunteers sell tickets and raise funds for kids!

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is a premiere world class automobile event that is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year. Held every August in Pebble Beach, California, the Concours attracts distinguished participants and guests from around the world. Since its beginnings, the Concours has contribued more than $13 million from this event to charity.

For the 11th year, Kinship Center is proud to be a selected Concours charity! Each year our Board members, employees and volunteers (shown here at the 2009 event) pull out all the stops to sell opportunity tickets and raise funds for kids. This year Kinship Center has been awarded the chance to sell tickets to win a spectacular 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport Sedan, msrp $36,000, donated by Mercedes-Benz USA.

Tickets may be purchased by downloading the order form and mailing, faxing, or calling in your order.**

Ticket holders also have the chance to win exquisite $25K diamond drop earrings donated by Molina Fine Jewelers. The wining tickets will be drawn on the show field podium by Master of Ceremonies Jay Leno on August 15, 2010. Winners do not have to be present to win.

Each year, the proceeds raised through Kinship Center’s opportunity ticket sales go directly to programs that support abused, neglected and abandoned children. These funds help Kinship Center create safe, new, permanent families and a second chance at life for these most vulnerable children. Click here to read Kinship Center’s charity spotlight in the 2009 Pebble Beach Insider Magazine.

Kinship Center wishes to express appreciation to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for our longtime partnership, with best wishes for a wonderful 60th Anniversary year!

**The IRS does not permit direct purchase of opportunity tickets on the Internet. Kinship Center accepts faxed or mailed orders, or you may call (831) 455-4712 to place your order. For questions please call (831) 455-4723.

Kinship Center Gabilan Chapter Women’s Auxiliary will host their signature Wine & Food Tasting event at San Benito County’s historic Paicines Ranch on September 11, 2010, from 4-6:30 pm.

This fall marks the 54th year for this unique annual event, the oldest of its kind in the region. Each year some 1,000 guests enjoy fine food and drink from leading vintners and restaurateurs, and bid on silent auction golf, wine and vacation packages and other items to raise funds for Kinship Center programs in San Benito County.

Featured this year will be more than two dozen regional wineries and some of the best “bites” on the Central Coast. Click here to purchase tickets for this fall’s event. Ticket price is $50. For information, call (831) 801-7124.

Gabilan Chapter fundraisers have supported Kinship Center for more than 20 years, through the dedicated efforts of Chapter members who live or work in the region.

Some creative Kinship Center staff have joined forces to generate a few extra dollars for programs that serve families with very special needs.

A number of staff from Kinship Center’s Wraparound Program in our Southern California region meet regularly to brainstorm innovative fundraising strategies so they can provide some extras that will give a boost to adoptive and other families who are struggling to care for severely troubled children. “In hard times, we will do anything it takes to help these families be successful,” say these employees, who call themselves Kinship Center Community Connections.

On August 12, the group is hosting a special fundraiser from 5-10 pm at Boomers! Irvine, a family fun park that will return 15% of every ticket sold to a Kinship Center supporter who brings a copy of the event flyer.  The discounted rate per person for this event is $15, and entitles guests to unlimited access to the park’s huge array of activities…go karts, rock wall, bumper boats, lazer tag, miniature golf and much more!

Enjoy a fun evening and help Kinship Center Community Connections help families.  For more information, email sbecker@kinshipcenter.org.

Four Kinship Center professionals were key presenters mid-July at a Training Institute hosted by Georgetown University’s National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health at the University’s Center for Child and Human Development, Washington D.C.

The five-day Institute highlighted the best systems of care for children who have mental health challenges or who are at risk for developing such problems. Kinship Center, a recognized national leader in training on child welfare and mental health, was invited to showcase its widely acclaimed practices in treating children’s mental health issues, and its specialty at working with families formed by adoption and guardianship.

Participating from Kinship Center were Laura Ornelas, LCSW, Kinship Center Regional Mental Health Director for Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, Allison Maxon, LMFT, Regional Executive Director for Adoptions and Education in Kinship Center’s Orange County programs, Ron Huxley, LMFT, Director of Kinship Center’s Children’s Mental Health Clinic in San Luis Obispo County, and Debbie Schugg, Senior Supervisor from Kinship Center’s Wraparound Program in Monterey County.

Kinship Center’s unique understanding of the special issues faced by children who come from backgrounds of abuse, neglect and abandonment makes it possible to provide successful clinical therapies and education for traumatized children and their new adoptive, guardian or extended relative families. In the past decade Kinship Center has also trained nearly 7,000 child welfare and mental health professionals in the U.S. on its successful clinical models. The agency’s practice of simultaneously training parents and industry professionals creates a common framework and language to address the needs of children who have been impacted by trauma.

Kinship Center’s Georgetown presentation profiled effective practices and highlighted the success of Kinship Center’s four mental health clinics, which serve more than 600 children throughout California each week.

Kinship Center Southern California Headquarters Moves to Tustin

After 15 years in Santa Ana, Kinship Center’s main program and administrative facility in Southern California has moved to Tustin. The new facility will house the Kinship Center Children’s Mental Health Clinic and will be the hub for the many programs serving children and families in the region.

The many dozens of staff who deliver services in Orange County are especially pleased to be relocating to a large, centrally located new space, and they look forward to settling into offices, hanging art work, and getting back to life as normal at Kinship Center. CLICK HERE for a lighthearted photo gallery of moving day, and stay tuned for an update when everything is up and running!

The new address is: 18302 Irvine Blvd., Suite 300, Tustin, CA 92780
Phone: (714) 957-1004

Children and families in Southern California are also served by Kinship Center facilities in Anaheim, Redlands, Pasadena and San Dimas. Click here for complete contact information.

Kinship Center is honored to announce the addition of four new members to its statewide Board of Directors.

Kinship Center has facilities and provides services throughout California, and the Board of Directors represent a variety of communities in the state. The Board’s newest members were welcomed this month by Board Chair John Wilkinson at Kinship Center’s Salinas, CA statewide headquarters, shown here, and at Kinship Center’s Southern California headquarters in Orange County. “We are pleased and privileged to bring this kind of new talent to our Board,” said Wilkinson.

Kinship Center welcomes its new members:

Jane Ballback, M.A., is a recently retired partner of The Baldwin Group, specializing in organization development and performance consulting. She devotes her time to assisting Orange County nonprofits achieve their business development and fundaising goals, and is in wide demand as a speaker and presenter. Jane has authored a series of career development books and is completing a book about her experiences as an adoptive parent of three.

John D’Arrigo is President of D’Arrigo Brothers, a major Central Coast produce company, and he is a longtime Kinship Center supporter. John is past Board Chairman of Western Growers and a past president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California. This year John spearheaded the creation of the Agricultural Leadership Council, an industry consortium representing 21 grower-shippers, with a goal of providing needed support and funds to local charities.

Justin Reyes is a Firefighting Engineer and Paramedic with Monterey County Regional Fire District. He has been a friend to Kinship Center for a decade through the organization of an annual Fire District event benefitting Kinship Center children. Justin is often recognized in the County for his community contributions. He was recently selected as a 2010 honoree for the prestigious Jefferson Award, in recognition of his selfless giving to needy children, including those at farm labor camps.

Marice White is Vice President of Schubert Flint Public Affairs, Irvine and Sacramento. She brings a background of public affairs and media relations to her position in Southern California, working with community groups, elected officials and a variety of agencies. She has provided clients with direction and strategic planning for their community relations, media, advertising, and advocacy needs. Marice’s work has been recognized by the Public Relations Society of America.

This month we recognize the volunteers in our community who give in a uniquely American way…donating valuable time, energy and helping hands that few nonprofits could afford to pay for. April 18-24 is National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and Kinship Center salutes all those who make life better for others through their volunteer service to Kinship Center.

“Volunteers have been the lifeblood of our agency from the very beginning,” says Kinship Center Executive Vice President Carol Bishop. “Local citizens helped us get started 25 years ago, and community members are still making a huge difference in our ability to change children’s lives.”

Monterey County Firefighter Justin Reyes, above right, devotes many dozens of volunteer hours each year to bringing seasonal cheer and fire safety education to Kinship Center children. Shown here with wife Michelle and Kinship Center Board of Directors member Dick Murnighan, Justin was recently selected as a KSBW 2010 Jefferson Award honoree for his selfless giving to some of the county’s neediest children.

Read More…

Recently released to wide acclaim is Siblings in Adoption and Foster Care, by collaborating authors Kinship Center former VIce President Deborah Silverstein (with contributing Kinship Center experts) and Susan L. Smith, Professor Emerita of Social Work at Illinois State University.

“The sibling bond is one of the most threatened and fragile connections for children who find themselves stuck in the maze of the child welfare system,” says Jayne Schooler of the Institute for Human Services, Columbus, Ohio. “Never before has there been a book that so thoroughly addresses the issues, challenges practice, and offers comprehensive research and practical suggestions for social workers, mental health providers and anyone who makes lifelong decisions for children and their families. This book is an outstanding contribution to the field of child welfare.”

To read more about Siblings in Adoption and Foster Care or to order the book, please click here.

Kinship Center’s Monterey County Mental Health Clinic has just announced a new community service for adults and children seeking psychotherapy, psychiatric services, and psychological and educational assessments. The new service expands Kinship Center’s professional mental health programs to include those not covered by Medi-Cal, on a fee-for-service basis.

Services are designed primarily for children and adults whose lives have been touched by adoption, relative caregiving, childhood trauma, grief and loss, attachment difficulties, depression, anxiety, or learning and other school related problems. Click here for more information or call (831) 455-4771 for information or to make an appointment.

For the third year, ‘Recycled Rides,’ a program of the National Auto Body Council, has provided safe, reliable transport to families in need through lovingly repaired, restored used vehicles.

This year two Southern California Kinship Center families are enjoying a dream come true…a “new” car, presented through a partnership between Recycled Rides, FIX Auto, the Automobile Club of So CA, and the Rotary Club of El Monte.

Suzie, a grandmother and sole caregiver of six, shed tears of joy when she was awarded a revamped Kia Minivvan to transport her large family. “This is an answer to a prayer,” said Suzie about the unexpected gift.

Kristine and Leo, shown above, are caregivers to three young relatives and parents of three. The couple received a “nearly new” Chevy Suburban. The big plus for this family of eight? “Now we’ll be able to go places together…everyone in one car!”