| Calendar Of Events |
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April
Thursday Club fundraiser benefiting Angels on April 24th 5:30 pm at the Thursday Club in Point Loma. For more information or to attend, please call 858-283-8100, ext 225.
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Make an Online Donation Now |
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 Dear Friends, As we acknowledge National Child Abuse Prevention Month during the month of April, we are reminded of all children who enter foster care with broken hearts and spirits. As families confront the impact of the current economic crisis, child protection agencies are seeing growing numbers of cases of domestic violence and child abuse. The correlation between financial stress and the growing incidence of such cases is evidenced by increased calls to hotlines, visits to emergency rooms and the growing need for foster care.
Did you know that:
- 1,500 children die every year from child abuse and neglect. That is just over 4 fatalities every day.
- 4 Children die every day as a result of child abuse and 3 out of 4 of these victims are under the age of 4.
- Children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult and 30% more likely to commit a violent crime
- A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.
We honor all Angels foster families and recognize the emotional impact of caring for an injured baby. In an article below, we would like to share a few statements from our Angels parents who have rescued babies who suffered terrible physical abuse. Their statements say it all!
We thank you all for your continued support of Angels, and would ask that you consider making an on-line gift to Angels today in honor of those children who are the youngest victims of child abuse - the babies.
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| Babies Rescued |
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Since Angels was founded in 1999,
we have rescued 297 babies from abuse and neglect.
Our goal for 2009 is to place 65 babies in loving homes. So far this year we have rescued 12 babies. | |
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| Child Abuse Prevention Month |
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The Child Abuse Prevention Initiative began in 1974 as a way of increasing public awareness of the need to ensure the safety and welfare of children. Below are real stories from just a few of our Angels foster families.
"We picked up James from the hospital in February when he was five months old. He was a shaken baby and although we could only see the external injuries (bruising and bloodshot eyes), he had extensive internal injuries as well. We have taken him for appointments to get x-rayed (to check for fractures), to see a neurologist (for bleeding in the brain), and an ophthalmologist (for bleeding behind the eyes), with more appointments to follow. James is a very easy going and happy baby and it breaks our hearts knowing someone abused him and caused these injuries."
Janet & Kevin
"Samantha came to us at the young age of four months with multiple bone fractures to her ribs, legs and arms. She was an adorable little girl with lots of beautiful black hair and big brown eyes. She healed quickly and it was a joy to see her make progress like to be picked up without any pain, getting her cast off and slowly being able to spend time on her tummy and bear her weight on her arms. Her extended family obviously loved her very much, so it was easy for me to think of her as part of their family, not mine. I never did associate her as an abused child, but as a darling child that was in my care that needed my love and attention. I felt responsible for giving her the best care possible medically and emotionally. Our parting was quite emotional and the family was very appreciative of my care. It was amazing how much she had healed and progressed in the two short months she was with me and my family."
"My son, Nathaniel, was removed from his biological family because he was physically abused. His biological parents failed to protect him from a family member that was physically abusing him and therefore could not keep custody of him.
When Nathaniel first came to my home, he was behind in social and motor skills, was going through the emotional trauma of being taken away from his biological family and the horror of being severely beaten. There were so many challenges, but the hardest was building his self esteem by making him aware that it was not ok for him to be hurt - by anyone.
Nathaniel had a difficult time adjusting after he was removed from his biological parents. He would test me by behaving badly just to see if I would leave him. It was a dare from a 2 year old! I had to learn and understand how to discipline him in a positive way. It was a difficult road, but has a fantastic ending. Nathaniel is 4 now and our adoption is final in another week. He still only responds well to positive reinforcement but is overall a very confident loving kid. I'm amazed at what he has been through at such a young age and am impressed and inspired by his resilience. He makes me a better person everyday."
Brandy
"When we brought Leah home, she had been beaten and molested. She had several broken ribs as well as both her collarbones. She was tiny... helpless. She was beautiful and sweet. She amazingly still had an adorable smile... yet an emptiness in her eyes. We had to be careful when we lifted her up or held her. She was very sore. She would wince if we touched her wrong. She could not wear any clothing that didn't have snaps or a zipper up the front since we could not get her arms in it without hurting her more.
We fell in love with Leah immediately. Our hearts ached for her. We cried for her. We pray she will never remember the pain she had endured at such a young age. We tried to show her what she was predestined to know and feel ... love, gentleness, and kindness every moment of everyday. We cannot wrap our minds around how someone could do these atrocious things to such a exquisite little child."
Ian & Carrie
James, Samantha, Nathaniel and Leah need your help today more then ever. If each person reading this newsletter made a $20 donation, Angels would be able to help an additional 15 to 20 abused and neglected children. That's equivalent to only 4 Starbucks lattes! Click here to make a donation right now.
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Ask Dr. Mommy |
 Please read Dr. Mommy's question:
We are so lucky to have two little Angels who have joined our family! They are brother and sister, ages 2 and 3, and have been part of our family for about 18 months. They're wonderful, happy little guys ... until bedtime. It seems like as soon as the sun goes down chaos takes over in our house. We eat dinner around 6 PM, but my husband doesn't get home from work on weekdays until about 7:30. By that time the kids are getting tired, but they want to stay up and play since they haven't seen him all day. Then everyone gets a bit wild, which leads to overtired, whiny fits! By the time we get them to fall asleep we're all frustrated and miserable. I'm tired of ending the day this way. HELP!
Aggravated in Alpine
Read the answer here
Read previous Dr. Mommy questions or submit a question
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| Foster Parent Spotlight |
 The Corrigan Family (Dan, Julie, and their daughters, Amy and Rebecca) was one of Angels first families when they started fostering in November of 2001. They have been certified foster parents longer than any other Angels family.
Over the past 8 years, the Corrigan family has lovingly offered their home to 11 babies! They began fostering with Angels because they were deeply touched by the plight of abused and neglected babies and wanted to help out in any way they could. Many of these children were placed with adoptive families after their stay with the Corrigans, and others have been reunified with their parents or other family members.
Due to the incredible gift they are able to give to these children and the relationships they've been able to build with adoptive and biological families, the Corrigans have been able to stay in touch with some of these children and families and are able to get pictures and updates on how they're doing. In addition to their gift of fostering, the Corrigans have also provided Angels with countless donations and referrals.
Angels would like to thank the Corrigans, on behalf of all the children they have helped in the past and will help in the future, for their love, generosity, and strength throughout the years.
You have earned your wings!
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| Thank You Corner |
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Angels would like to thank the following people for their recent generous donations:
Kristi Bowen
Philip and Kathleen Bruce
Lisa Gatcomb
Ramona Izguerra
Brad and Jennifer Steen
Heritage Security
All those who donated items to our Black and White Ball auction. |
| ACCA Black and White Ball Success |
 On March 21st, 2009, The ACCA held their 8th annual Black and White Ball. It is the premier event for the legal community in San Diego. Angels was selected this year to to receive all the proceeds from the silent and live auction items.
Angels is proud to say that we were able to raise over $50,000! Thank you Association of Corporate Counsel America for this wonderful opportunity! Thank you to our Auction Chair and Angels Board Member, Mindy Fletcher and Co-Chair Linda Dealy (also an Angels Board Member) for your countless hours of effort. It certianly paid off! Thank you Angels Board Member, Karen Boudreau, for presenting Angels to ACCA allowing us to this opportunity. Thank you to all the volunteers that worked the night of the event to help make it such a succes. And a special thank you to Heritage Security and David Hoffman (Chairman of the Angels Board) for going above and beyond.
Pictured above, the Black and White Ball Committee: Melissa Greene, Paige Moe, ACCA Jon Hellings, ACCA Diana Geerdes, Mindy Fletcher and Linda Dealy.
Pictured to the left: Founder Cathy Richman with her very supportive husband, Larry Richman. |
| Thursday Club Juniors Supports Angels |
 We are pleased to announce that Thursday Club Juniors has chosen Angels Foster Family Network as the beneficiary of all proceeds from their 2009 Thursday Club Juniors annual benefit on April 24th, 2009 to be held at The Thursday Club in Point Loma at 5:30 p.m. The Thursday Club of San Diego was founded in 1921 to promote social, educational, cultural, and civic activities. Members of The Thursday Club Juniors are very proud of the Club's heritage and have volunteered many hours to aid growth and development throughout San Diego County. In addition to giving time to the community, the Thursday Club has raised over a million dollars to support local charities. We are honored the Thursday Club Juniors membership has chosen us as this year's beneficiary of their annual signature fundraising event. Thanks to the Thursday Club Juniors, Angels will provide a visitation room for all Angels monthly orientations, new foster family training sessions (8 classes in a series offered four-five times/year), monthly support group meetings with foster parents, HALO training sessions and one-on-one HALO sessions with parent and child. A visitation room will provide a quiet, soothing atmosphere for both parent and child. This safe, structured environment, furnished with age-appropriate toys and soothing music will be a model for parents as to what a healthy environment looks like for a baby/child. In addition, the room will be used to conduct parenting classes to birth parents enrolled in our Angels HALO (Healthy Attached Little Ones) Program. These one-on-one parenting sessions help to increase bonding and healthy attachments for birth families during the reunification process. The proceeds of the 2009 Thursday Club gala will be used to provide a safe and supportive place for these families to reconnect and rebuild loving relationships. If you would like to support or attend this event please call us at 619-283-8100 ext 222 or click here today! | |
