8th Continent, a brand of fantastic soymilk, will be out in force at the LA Marathon on March 21st. Child S.H.A.R.E. will join 8th Continent at Mile 8 of the Marathon. Meet 8th Continent’s “soylbrity,” the unforgettable Lopez, and learn more about their LA Marathon by visiting www.8cpassport.com.

Greetings Child S.H.A.R.E. Families & Friends!

Do you know of any families wanting to start the foster/adoption process and are looking for the support of an organization like Child S.H.A.R.E. to help navigate the process? We’d love to meet them this month.

Child S.H.A.R.E. will be hosting the following information sessions for prospective families. Feel free to invite those you think might like to come.

Orange County:

What: Information Session for Families interested in Foster Care/Adoption
Date: Saturday, February 20
Time: 10:00 – 11:30am
Location: Child S.H.A.R.E. Conference Room
1615 E 17th Street, 2nd Floor, Santa Ana CA 92705
Please RSVP by February 12 to:
Lindsay Parker
714.619.0254
lparker@childshare.org

Los Angeles:

What: Information Session for Families Interested in Foster Care/Adoption
Date: Saturday, February 27th
Time: 10:00 – 11:30am
Location: Child S.H.A.R.E. Office
1544 West Glenoaks Blvd. Glendale CA 91201
Please RSVP by February 19 to:
Lauren McKinley
818.649.8014
lmckinley@childshare.org

25. You can check running a Marathon off your “Bucket List.”

24. You are a fan of Tim McGraw, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Superman – they are all adopted!

23. You’re a Democrat- Obama has called on all Americans to “serve” in their communities.

22. You’re Republican- one of Ronald Reagan’s sons and one of John McCain’s daughters is adopted.

21. Choose to run instead of drive on your local errands, you will save on gas.

20. You will be in top shape just in time for the summer.

19. If you are single: Running groups are an excellent place to meet fit, motivated, potential dates.

18. If you are married: Running is a great way to have some alone time & zone out.

17. If you are a parent: You can build your running speed, so you can keep up with your kids for a change.

16. FINALLY keep that New Year’s Resolution to get in shape.

15. You will get a cool, new, official and exclusive Team Child S.H.A.R.E. T-shirt.

14. You have a good excuse to get a pedicure every week

13. You will have a good excuse to go shopping for new shoes & clothes.

12. You will have an excuse to request a foot massage from your partner.

11.  Running the marathon will give you a good excuse to reward yourself for a huge accomplishment… with something like a new BMW, or those Jimmy Choo’s you’ve been drooling over, etc.

10. Your backside will be a little firmer, higher, and cuter.

9. After completing a marathon you will join an elite group of athletes, as fewer than 1 percent of Americans have ever finished a marathon.

8. By training, you will improve your cardiovascular health and increase your chances of living a long, healthy, happy life.

7. Running outdoors will enable you to hone a greater appreciation for nature and the increased exposure to sunlight will give you more Vitamin D.

6. You will visit parts of LA you never thought you’d see, such as Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

5. Gives you time to work on your Forrest Gump impersonation.

4. Exercise & helping others builds endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy and everyone likes happy people.

3.  It’s the only way to get from the Eastside to the Westside of LA in less than 6 hours.

2. Pasta! Potatoes! Bread! Carbs will FINALLY be your friend!     

1. You will help give the priceless gift of a safe and loving home to a foster child.

Child S.H.A.R.E. families near Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton received an unexpected gift last Saturday. Church volunteers who wanted to honor the families, made & delivered beautiful gift baskets as part of their church-wide Day of Service to the surrounding community. The baskets had all kinds of goodies, including family games, cookie cutters, and yummy treats. We hope everyone is enjoying the baskets. Thank you, Eastside Christian Church, for choosing to bless Child S.H.A.R.E. children & families with your love, time and gifts!  To view some photographs of the basket making and delivery click here.

Join the fun at the 2009 Christmas party. With lots of food, crafts, games, face painting, cookie decorating and pictures with Santa, this year’s Christmas party is sure to be one that you won’t want to miss. RSVP is required for all families.

LA Families:

11:00am – 2:00pm

OC/Riverside Families:

4:00pm – 7:00pm

Questions?

Contact Andrew Henck at

818.649.8020 Phone  ahenck@childshare.org Email  714.354.4444 VP

Starbucks has partnered with Child S.H.A.R.E. in the 2009 Christmas Toy Drive. Starting today, November 16th 13 participating Starbucks began hosting a toy drive to help provide toys to children this Christmas. Be sure to stop by a participating Starbucks in Pasadena and donate a toy to be distributed at the annual family Christmas parties. With every donation, you will be entered in a raffle to win a Starbucks gift basket.

Find a Starbucks near you:

Hastings Village

3699 E Foothill Blvd, Pasadena

(On the corner of Foothill Blvd and Rosemead in the Sears Parking Lot)

Old Town

111 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena

(Next to Barnes and Noble)

Paseo

408 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena

(On the corner of Los Robles and Colorado)

South Pasadena Wells Fargo

Fair Oaks and El Centro

South Pasadena State

454 North Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena

(Fair Oaks and State Street, by OSH)

Fillmore Station

Arroyo Parkway and Fillmore Street

(South of California Blvd between Fair Oaks and Lake)

Green Street

Corner of Green and Lake Avenue

Lake/California

Corner of Lake and California

Fair Oaks/California

(Corner of Fair Oaks and California, near Huntington Hospital)

North Pasadena

671 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena

(Corner of Fair Oaks and Orange Grove)

The Hill

161 N Hill Ave, Pasadena

(At cross street of Hill and Walnut)

PCC

1687 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena,

(Across the street from PCC)

Sierra Madre Villa

3429 E Foothill Blvd), Pasadena

( In Best Buy shopping center)

Online registration for the 2009 Smedes Conference on Foster Care & Adoption has been extended to Wednesday, November 4th at 12:00 p.m.

Please visit www.smedes.eventbrite.com to register today!

The following individuals will be presenting at the scheduled workshop sessions at the 2009 Lewis B. Smedes Conference on Foster Care & Adoption.  The Honorable Judge Michael Nash will serve as the keynote speaker in the morning conference session.

Online registration is still available at www.smedes.eventbrite.com.

Ted Myers
Chief Deputy Director
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS)

Andrea Phillips
Legal Assistant
The Alliance for Children’s Rights

Sarah Marion, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Fuller Theological Seminary

Greg McCord, MFT, MDiv
Wellness Center Counselor
Point Loma Nazarene University

Rev. Dr. Ken Fong
Senior Pastor
Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles

Karen Grace-Kaho
Foster Care Ombudsman
State of California

Jody Leach, M.A.
Doctoral Student
Rosemead School of Psychology

Julie Keith, DMin
Pastor for Special Needs
First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena

April Steele, J.D.
Executive Director
Child S.H.A.R.E.

Online registration for the 2009 Smedes Conference on Foster Care & Adoption is available for only one more week! Registration will close as of Monday, November 2nd at 11:59pm.

Fuller Theological Seminary President, Dr. Richard J. Mouw is proud to host this annual conference as an opportunity for parents and current & aspiring professionals in the fields of ministry, psychology & social work to recieve information and resources while networking with others who live and work with foster and adopted children.

The conference will include an opening conference session with The Honorable Judge Michael Nash and will provide numerous workshop sessions throughout the day, full of instruction & resources on foster care and adoption issues.

Online registration is now available at http://smedes.eventbrite.com and will include breakfast and lunch. ASL interpretation & Spanish translation will be provided free of charge. Continuing education units (CEU’s will be provided for any individual upon request at registration. Childcare is being provided for a small charge per family.

Questions?? Please feel free to visit www.childshare.org/smedes, email smedes@childshare.org or call 818.649.8000.

2009 Founder’s Alumni Scholarship Recipient – VIDEO

Child S.H.A.R.E. has named Coty Dietel, the 2009 Founder’s Alumni Scholarship recipient. The award was presented on October 10th at the organization’s 24th annual Gala at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles.

“Coty is a wonderful example of what happens when a family opens their heart and home to a child in the foster system. Child S.H.A.R.E. congratulates Coty on his many accomplishments and wishes him great success in his future endeavors,” says Steele.

 
Coty Dietel was removed from his biological parents at the age of 13 months due to abuse and neglect.  He and his four siblings were on their way to becoming just another statistic in the foster care system.  However, Ron and Sue Dietel, a Child S.H.A.R.E. family adopted Coty and helped him beat the odds.  Coty is actively involved in Boy Scouts, earning his Eagle Scout Award, and graduated high school this past year.  He is currently attending Glendale Community College.