I am thrilled to be at Phoenix Day and I am excited about the great opportunities ahead for our Center.

Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Wimberly Doran and I was hired as the Executive Director of Phoenix Day in November 2006. I have a background in administration and management and a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a certification in nonprofit leadership and management from ASU. I have lived and worked in the valley for over 20 years and I am looking forward to the challenge of leading Phoenix Day.

As many of you know the heart and soul of any organization is the people. We have an amazing management staff and the most talented and caring group of teachers I have ever come across. In addition, our Board of Directors is very committed and generous with all of their resources.

Finally, we have you! Our donors and volunteers who contribute to Phoenix Day and help us achieve our mission. It is because of all of you that we are able to serve our community and meet the needs of our children and their families.

Thank you for all of your support. I would like to invite each one of you to visit the Center for a tour. We welcome your participation, your ideas and your guidance. Please feel free to call me at any time; I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards, Wimberly Doran
Executive Director

The spring is turning out to be a very busy time at Phoenix Day.

Thank you to our generous donors for helping us continue to assist our working poor families.

The Executive Board of Phoenix Day is pleased to announce the appointment of Stefanie Gambucci, Michelle Ganz and Rodrick “Rod” Miller to the Board of Directors.

Stefani Gambucci is the Director of Operations for the Translational Genomics Research Institute Foundation (T-Gen Foundation).

Michelle Ganz is an associate with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stuart, P.C.

Rodrick Miller is the Director of Strategy for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC).

Phoenix Suns guard, Marcus Banks tipped off the Thanksgiving holiday season by providing 10 Phoenix Day families with a pre-cooked Thanksgiving meal, Suns goodie bag, an autographed t-shirt and he took photos with each family.

“I’m a big family guy,” he said. “Family means everything to me. I love to spend Thanksgiving with my family, so I’m here to give these guys the same kind of feeling. “All I want to do is let them know that no matter what I’m here for them and to keep their heads up and things will happen.”

Eighty-five families were adopted for Christmas through the Adopt-A-Family Program. Make a Difference and American Express partnered with Phoenix Day to make this Christmas unforgettable and special for the families that we serve.

This program is such a blessing for families that do not have the means to make Christmas a memorable and happy experience for their children. Families were overwhelmed and speechless when meeting with their sponsors and realizing that Christmas would be possible after all and that their children would have more than one gift under the Christmas tree. It was a very emotional experience; parents expressed their gratitude to Phoenix Day for making this possible, especially families that received furniture and beds for their children.

The holidays are a trying time for many, but for our working poor families who live pay check to pay check to stay off of welfare; it is a true blessing to know that Phoenix Day has many "angels" taking care of them.

Thank you to our holiday sponsors: APS/Pinnacle West Financial Services Department, ASU College of Business College Council, Roger Peck, Signature Bread, Sun Country Corvette Club, Stantec, and USAA who graciously provided a wrapped gift to each of our children, donated classroom supplies from our wish list, or interacted with our children this holiday season.

The gifts have allowed our families to continue to work towards self-sufficiency by alleviating the worry of deferring a monthly financial obligation or taking on a second job to provide a memorable Christmas for their family.

As part of our Allstate grant, Phoenix Day is exposing our young children to arts and entertainment. To kick-off the holidays, The National Charity League's Hearts of Harmony conducted their 4th Annual Christmas concert for our children. Many of the songs they performed were geared toward young children so the kids were able to sing and dance to their favorite songs.

Phoenix Day received $7000, 1% of the proceeds from Ferguson's Open House event in November. In appreciation, our children in the Pre- Kindergarten classroom provided the employees at Ferguson with a special thank you concert.

After many rehearsals, the big day finally arrived. The children were surprisingly picked up in a Hummer limo, courtesy of Platinum Ride Limousines, where one of the children's parents work, sang their songs with enthusiasm and were each rewarded with a coloring book and crayons from Ferguson, a Wolseley company.

Hair stylist, Velma Gardea is a cut above the rest. With her talent of cutting hair and her love for children, Velma has dedicated one morning of each quarter to cut our children's hair to help alleviate the cost of a haircut.

As a nonprofit agency, Phoenix Day relies on compassionate volunteers for their skills and support.

Volunteers serve as the mainstay of our continued success in serving the community.

We offer many ways for you to become involved with Phoenix Day. Please call Rosemary Cortez, Community Relations Manager at 602-252- 4911, ext. 101 to join our team of volunteers today.