A Legacy of Love and Support

SAN DIEGO — ECS could not serve the San Diego community without the generosity and dedication of donors like Steve and Elaine Turnbull. The Turnbulls have been a part of the ECS community for many years; Steve is a former president of the ECS Board of Directors, and Elaine has helped organize the annual fundraising gala for many years.  

Steve and Elaine at the ECS gala. May 2022.

Their relationship with ECS goes even deeper than their service to the organization. When Elaine’s brother needed drug and alcohol treatment, Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC) brought him in right away. “His life totally turned around,” Elaine said. The Turnbulls also had a granddaughter who was a foster child at one point. “When I heard what Para Las Familias (PLF) did... to get [children] to bond to their parents or foster parents, to experience that and kind of have a do-over, that really appealed to me that they could do that much for kids,” Steve said. Since then, ECS has been special to the Turnbulls.  

“My heart is really into all the things they do,” Steve remarked. “Drug and alcohol recovery is an important thing to us in our past and our family. Para Las Familias is an important one, foster kids and others who often go into that program. Head Start, I like to see it grow in all of its dimensions... I just think [ECS] is growing, and I love watching it thrive.” 

The Turnbulls are looking forward to this year’s fundraising gala. The event allows them to give back, make connections, and see change in the making. Elaine shared that they enjoy “meeting all kinds of people throughout the diocese and making a lot of connections that way... we invite people that we might be able to get involved working with ECS.” Their connections expand to those receiving support from ECS programs as well. “Talking to clients and becoming acquainted... to be able to go the next year and you know them by name, you can tell a lot of good is getting done,” Steve remarked. “We’re making a difference in their lives; many of those clients are now giving back to ECS, as well,” Elaine added.  

The funds that ECS receives through donations are vital for program impact. Steve shared that donations have helped the growth of PLF and CERRC. Many smaller necessities also depend on donations, ensuring that clients have everything they need. “Things many of us take for granted are so important to those individuals,” Elaine said. 

ECS aims to uplift the entire San Diego community. “You don’t have to be an Episcopalian to be a beneficiary of ECS,” Steve said, to which Elaine followed up “It’s about all of God’s people.” The Turnbulls have been longtime ECS donors, and the organization is grateful they continue to choose ECS as a place of giving. Steve explained that they keep choosing ECS because they see it as “well established, has a reputation for caring, broad, really works to meet the needs of San Diego,” he said. “They do a lot of good services and I think the services they provide fit. They dovetail with some of the needs that the county health can’t, for the homeless for example... that’s worth investing in.”  

Join ECS for the 2024 Moonlight Ball to celebrate the impact of ECS and contribute to the transformative efforts being made. “It’s one of the topnotch organizations, nonprofits in the city,” Steve said. With the help of donors like the Turnbulls, ECS can help ensure that “more people are getting the services needed and information needed to move in a positive direction,” Elaine said. For more information on ECS’ programs, the Moonlight Ball, and ways to give, visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/.  

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at ECS

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month — a time to celebrate the many cultural, political, and historical achievements and contributions of AAPI individuals that have shaped the U.S. AAPI covers a wide range of cultures including those from East, Southeast, and South Asia and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Rachel Ahakuelo, CERRC Program Manager. May 2024.

ECS strives to celebrate and embrace all cultures and is proud to have outstanding AAPI employees, including at our Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC). Rachel Ahakuelo, the CERRC program manager, has been with ECS for five years and identifies as German-Filipino. Her father met her mother while stationed in the Philippines. Summer Kahoonei, a CERRC substance use disorder and program counselor, has worked for ECS since 2002 in several programs. Kahoonei identifies as Hawaiian.

Both Ahakuelo and Kahoonei’s relationships with their cultures have been a journey. “It didn't really dawn on me the cultural significance of my mom's side until I got older,” Ahakuelo explained. “So, when I got older, that's when I really was like, ‘I am Filipino,’ and was when I grasped my culture more.” Ahakuelo said that she has started to explore that side of herself in recent years. Kahoonei’s father passed away when she was young, so it was hard for her to connect to her Hawaiian side. She has sought Hawaiian influence by engaging with other Hawaiian individuals and traveling to Kauai, her father’s birthplace. “That’s the place I want to retire,” Kahoonei said. “My dad was born there, and I was born here [mainland U.S.]. He died here, and I was thinking ‘if I’m gonna go I want to go there.’” Ahakuelo and Kahoonei both expressed pride in their AAPI heritage. “I feel very at home around my culture even though I wasn’t raised around it,” Kahoonei said. “I’m really proud to be Hawaiian.”

CERRC client Angie & Summer Kahoonei, CERRC Program Coordinator. March 2024.

Their heritage has given them important values and traditions. One of Ahakuelo’s favorite Filipino traditions is eating pancit on birthdays. “For somebody’s birthday you always buy pancit for long life ... ,” she said. Ahakuelo also explained how the importance of family was instilled in her by her mother’s heritage and has guided her outlook as a mother herself. “My mother is very family-oriented; the sacrifices she made were for her family. Those values, I carry with me because I take after my mom as far as my kids, I'm gonna do whatever I can for my kids,” Ahakuelo shared. Kahoonei’s father impacted her values and passions, including music. “My dad used to have his own band called the Hawaiian King Trio,” Kahoonei said. “They would perform all over the place – all over California, Washington, Oregon. And so, I’ve always had this passion for music, for singing ... I think that I got that from my dad and listening to his music when I was really young.”

The values instilled in Ahakuelo and Kahoonei by their AAPI heritage are echoed in ECS’ values. Kahoonei shared that in Hawaiian culture, “Everything we do, every move we make is considered ‘aloha’ ... I feel like ECS implements that. Throughout the years I’ve watched them grow and change ... it’s been great growing with the company.”

ECS is committed to creating an inclusive organization. Celebrating and understanding all cultures is vital. “Knowing people's culture plays a significant part in what we do over here [at CERRC]. You can't treat everybody the same, there's a difference,” Ahakuelo said. “They [CERRC staff] utilize their skills to accommodate that person. Those kinds of values and … empathy come into play.”

Ahakuelo and Kahoonei expressed pride in working for ECS. “I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. ECS has been there for me ... ,” Ahakuelo said. “I wouldn't change it for anything.”

To learn more about ECS’ diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts or the work that amazing staff like Ahakuelo and Kahoonei are doing at CERRC, visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/.

CERRC & ACCORD Attend CADTP Spring Conference

At the beginning of May, some of the ECS CERRC and ACCORD staff and leadership proudly represented ECS at the 2024 CADTP Spring Conference, where participants explored burnout prevention, stress management strategies, and effective client engagement techniques.

And congratulations to our VP of Programs, Stacie Perez, on her new role as CADTP Board President after ten years as the Certification Board Chair!

PNC Bank Visits San Ysidro Head Start Center

Last week, our friends at PNC Bank visited our San Ysidro Head Start as part of their Grow Up Great initiative, marking 20 years of building brighter futures.

During their visit, they donated school supplies, bilingual books, and gift cards for staff to use at Lakeshore Learning Materials.

As proud partners of PNC Grow Up Great, ECS is grateful for the invaluable support from PNC Bank employees, whose volunteering efforts and resource contributions directly benefit the children, educators, and families within our early childhood education centers.