One of FFCC's high school clubs is getting ready to kick-off their 'Teens For Jeans' Drive. The Do Something Del Norte KIN Club will be collecting jeans in all styles and sizes beginning next week, January 23rd-February 15th. This is the second year that the Del Norte group will be hosting this project. Last year the club, along with great support from the FFCC community, collected 1,302 pairs of jeans, and came in the top 25 in the country out of over 14,000 schools/youth groups that ran similar drives. Club president Katarina Stapleford says, "Last year's response was incredible. It was amazing to see so many people from all over the community lend a hand and help teens in need."  

All the jeans collected will stay in the county. They will be distributed to local shelters that service homeless teens. One third of all people classified as homeless are under the age of 18 and, in fact, jeans are the number one most requested item when they ask for help.  Stapleford explains, "It's such a simple way to help someone. We all have jeans that we no longer wear or that don't fit us right, so why not clean out your closets and give them a new life? There's someone out there who could really use them."  She adds, "It's really sad to know that 1 out of 45 kids are homeless, meaning they are in foster care, or they are with their family but without a permanent place to live, or worse, they are on their own on the streets."

KIN Club is also looking for local businesses who are interested in partnering with the group by running a drive in their offices for their employees to donate, or at their retail locations to serve as a public drop-off location. Bactes Imaging Solutions, a San Diego business, partnered with the KIN Club last year. They donated over 50 pairs of jeans and Deb Troyer, Director of Human Resources, said, "Our employees appreciate the impact this effort has to our local shelters."

If you have jeans to donate, you can drop them off at Poway Dream Dinners, the Del Norte High School front office, or at Aloha Hair Studio in the Stein Mart shopping center. Or you can contact Kat at dnhsKINclub@gmail.com and she can arrange a pick-up.

YOUR GENEROSITY MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

A special FFCC kudos to volunteer Linda Teatai Ariki!  Linda took the time to apply for an SDG&E grant on behalf of our organization to see if she could acquire money for our 2012 Thanksgiving Food Outreach.  Due to Linda's diligence and the quality of her grant writing skills, we were awarded $2,500. Thank you very much Linda!

Because of Linda's efforts and other big-hearted FFCC supporters, we were able to reach out to 520 families in need (approximately 2000 people) this past Thanksgiving season with food bags and grocery gift cards. In addition, we maintained pantry resources for future needs encountered by local families.

We have much to be proud of as we look back at the 2012 holiday season. Our generous FFCC contributors with their donations of gifts, money, and time allowed us to reach out to many local families this past December.  We fulfilled wish lists through partnerships with churches, families, businesses, scout troops and individual supporters.

FFCC not only provided direct support for 70 families this Christmas but we also partnered with the Poway Unified School District's Adopt-a-Family Program and ensured that another 120 families were helped with gift cards, individual gifs and delivery support.

On behalf of all the families you touched this holiday season, THANK YOU!

Partnering With Greystone Pharmaceutical

FFCC exists because of our 'community connections'.  It is the collaborative nature of our organization that allows us to make a difference in so many ways for so many people.  Greystone Pharmaceuticals is a wonderful example of a community partner who has provided necessary resources to bring healing and hope to those in need. 

Greystone Pharmaceuticals has been working with FFCC for the past three years.  One aspect of their company is the development of wound care remedies.  When Greystone heard of the work that FFCC was doing to care for families overseas, they offered to assist us by providing medicated crèmes that we could use to treat wounds. Doctors who have traveled with our medical teams have been able to use these crèmes to treat their patients. Here is a testimony from our lead doctor, Eunice Sanchez-Mata, Family Physician,

"We have had an opportunity to treat a variety of illnesses with this cream while in Haiti. I have personally seen the benefits of this cream on ulcers, bug bites, fungal infections and chronic wounds. We have been able to use it on small infants and toddlers to older adults.

We recognize it is a privilege to be able to provide medical care to our patients in Haiti. We also recognize that there are many people and staff left at home who cannot make the trip to Haiti themselves, but give in ways that they can. We can provide care because of the support of friends, family and corporations like Greystone."

Thank you Greystone Pharmaceuticals for your example of giving back to the greater community and for partnering with FFCC as you do it.  If you, your company or organization has resources that would be of benefit to the work that FFCC does either locally or globally, please contact Phil Harris at philffcc@san.rr.com.  We welcome your help as we serve together.

Upcoming Events at a Glance