Children’s Fund provides toys to vulnerable children for the 29th year
San Bernardino, Ca – Children’s Fund, a nonprofit serving vulnerable children in San Bernardino County since 1986, has wrapped up the 29th Annual Celebration of Giving toy drive campaign and the results are better than all previous years.
Nearly 33,000 gifts were collected, inventoried and distributed this holiday season to foster youth and other vulnerable children throughout San Bernardino County. Every year the campaign has grown—last year 30,300 children were served.
“Many children in our community go without a gift during the holiday season,” said Dr. Ciriaco “Cid” Pinedo, President & CEO of Children’s Fund. “With the vital support of our donors, we ensured they were not forgotten.”
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Pinedo explains 26% of the children living in San Bernardino County live in poverty. Those families use their limited resources for food, shelter, and basic needs. Often, there isn’t enough left over for holiday gifts.
Pinedo states that “a gift for a child represents the belief that every child deserves our care and support. It sends them the message that they are valued and gives them the confidence to continue on with hope for the future.”
In order to collect and distribute so many gifts each year, Children’s Fund works with many volunteers and community partners. Spark of Love and the San Bernardino County Fire Department provide truckloads of gifts, and 78 agencies throughout the entire county help distribute them to the children.
“The Highlander Boxing Club in Highland tried to make this Christmas season just a bit brighter for families and children with an annual toy give-away,” said Tony Cifuentes, the Director of the boxing club. “We would like to thank Children’s Fund, without whose support, this could not have happened.”
Teenagers are often difficult to purchase gifts for, so this year foster children ages 12- to 18-years old received a $25 gift card instead of a toy. Many organizations and individuals donated cash to enable Children’s Fund to supply the nearly $40,000 needed.
If you would like to receive information about how you or your organization can get involved in our next Celebration of Giving campaign, please contact us at 909.379.0000.
About the Children’s Fund
Founded in 1986 by Patrick Morris and the late Jack Brown, Children’s Fund is a nonprofit whose mission is giving our vulnerable children support, opportunity, and hope by breaking destructive cycles through community partnerships. Last year, Children’s Fund provided more than 69,000 services to children in need in San Bernardino County and since its inception has facilitated over 1.5 million points of service to children and families. For more information on Children’s Fund or to learn how you can give a child hope for brighter tomorrows, go to www.childrensfund.org or call 909-379.0000.
