There’s a Gift in Giving

Every child deserves the magic of waking up on Christmas morning to find gifts from Santa waiting under the tree. One way ECS supports our families during the holiday season is through Family-to-Family for the Holidays.  

Family-to-Family for the Holidays, ECS’ annual gift-giving campaign, ensures that every family has a memorable holiday season. Donors who sign up as sponsors are matched with a family that includes at least one member who currently receives services from one of ECS’ programs. In 2023, Family-to-Family provided gifts for more than 315 neighbors from 70 families. Thanks to generous sponsors, many children got to experience a magical Christmas day, a gift you cannot put a price on. 

Precious’ four kids have all been impacted by ECS and the generosity of Family-to-Family sponsors. *November 2024.

Head Start parent and 2023 Family-to-Family recipient Precious is a mother to four children, and, like any parent, she understands just how important childhood Christmas can be. “It’s really important for me to be able to give them something and give them different experiences,” she said.  

Every year for Christmas, Precious’ family decorates their house with twinkling lights and enjoys their own family traditions, one of their favorites being marshmallow fights. “I buy bunches and bunches of marshmallows, and we have marshmallow fights,” Precious explained, laughing. “We say ‘one, two, three, go,’ and we just start chucking them at each other, ‘got you, got you.’” Afterwards, they put all their blankets on the floor in front of the TV and watch movies while sipping on apple cider or hot cocoa. 

Family traditions and fun moments like opening presents on Christmas create a full and beautiful childhood experience. *November 2024. 

Thanks to Family-to-Family, Precious was able to create lasting memories for her children with the joy of carefully chosen, donated gifts. When Precious gives her kids gifts, she often wraps the gift inside several layers of boxes. By happenstance, the Family-to-Family sponsor who was matched with Precious’ family last year wrapped the gifts the same way, much to her kids’ excitement.  

Precious’ sponsor, Melinda, went the extra mile with her gift for Precious, too. Precious shared that she received a set of lotions that lasted for months.

Melinda has participated in holiday gift programs with a number of organizations through the years, but the opportunity for connection between the family and their sponsor makes ECS’ program extra impactful on both sides. “Back then we never met the families or even knew their names. I think that addition to the ECS program makes it super special,” Melinda said. “When I dropped the gifts off at Precious' apartment last year it was clear to see how full her hands were and, despite that, she was gracious, and the kids were adorable (as they usually are).”

“The Family-to-Family Christmas program is a perfect way to show empathy and bridge the sad divide between families that have so much and families that have so little. It is a small thing that can have a huge effect,” Melinda said.

Precious pays it forward through donations to FEC, so other parents have what they need to care for their children, too. *November 2024.

“It’s so nice to know that you can lean on and count on a beautiful person to donate,” Precious said. “I hope I have an impact like that, too.”  

Precious feels passionate about being part of the cycle of giving, making her own donations – such as clothes, sheets, and pillowcases – to the ECS Family Engagement Center to help support other families in the community. 

ECS Head Start has provided quality education and childcare for Precious’ four children, but ECS’ touch has gone beyond those essentials. Precious was able to use many of ECS’ wraparound services including Head Start’s prenatal program and referrals for speech therapy for two of her children. “This is one of the best programs I’ve ever interacted with that can actually advocate for you and is with you,” she said.  

ECS has helped increase Precious’ confidence as a parent and leader. *November 2024.

Head Start’s community of care expands to parents, as well. Precious participates in parent meetings and the policy committee, sat in on interviews for teachers, and traveled to Texas to represent ECS at a Head Start convention. “[Head Start] helped strengthen my confidence in how I was parenting and what I saw in my children,” she said. 

ECS programs like Head Start and Family-to-Family for the Holidays aim to support families like Precious’. “My children have been touched in a positive way by ECS all their lives,” Precious said.  

Join the cycle of giving. Visit ecscalifornia.org/donate to support parents like Precious and help our youngest community members thrive. As Precious put it, “there’s a gift in giving.” 

*Caption dates may not be exact.

Thankful for Community & Recovery

SAN DIEGO — Every year the ECS community comes together to give thanks and celebrate the recovery journeys of our clients with a Thanksgiving Recovery Lunch.

The event was held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Volunteers from parishes, schools, and organizations across San Diego showed up to serve the food, facilitate activities, and enjoy the afternoon with ECS clients from Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC), Uptown Safe Haven (UTSH), Community Harm Reduction Team (C-HRT) Safe Haven, and ACCORD. Guests enjoyed an array of appetizers, Italian soda made by volunteers from The Bishop’s School, and a classic Thanksgiving meal, complete with pumpkin pie for dessert.

Summer Kahoonei, the program coordinator for CERRC, commented on the importance of bringing Thanksgiving to ECS clients. “My favorite part about this event is being able to look at some of the clients come in and share Thanksgiving,” she said. “A lot of them won’t have that kind of situation with their own family members so being able to still see that there are places that help out with this kind of stuff makes me really happy to see.”

The Thanksgiving theme went far beyond just the food. Each table was decorated with artwork made by CERRC clients which featured messages of gratitude; from family to sobriety to music, the art created an atmosphere of optimism. The hopeful energy was also felt through a communal art piece — the Gratitude Tree. The project, which was run by volunteers from Christ Church Day School, allowed any guest or volunteer to write what they were thankful for on one of the tree’s many paper leaves.

The afternoon closed with the Chip Ceremony. Those in recovery were invited to stand and receive a special chip indicating their recovery time. Whether someone was 20 years clean or 20 days clean, the room was filled with applause and celebration for every individual.

Before the Chip Ceremony, Embrie Tapia, ECS’ director of behavioral health services stated, “This is a really special time that we get to come together and celebrate recovery and also acknowledge how important behavioral health services are to our community.”

The significance of the event was felt by the guests, too. Tiana, a current UTSH resident remarked, “It makes me feel important that I’m welcomed in a group of people that are helping me reenter into society.”

Thank you to Blue Shield California Promise Health Plan for making this event possible and to all of the wonderful volunteers whose support and care created a beautiful display of community.

Visit ecscalifornia.org to learn more about ECS’ behavioral health services and ways to get involved.

The Best is Yet to Come

Matthew found support and compassion at CERRC which helped him achieve his goals. October 2023.

Matthew, a 2023 graduate of the Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC) Outpatient Treatment Program, recently celebrated two years of sobriety since starting his recovery journey in October 2022.

Fresh out of a divorce, Matthew shared that he chose the wrong path, “running from my problems, then things continued to downfall.” Before he knew it, he was “going from that perfect imperfect life of owning a house and having a kid to being homeless on the street to getting in trouble with the police.” Matthew explained that he was charged with carjacking and robbery. “The carjacking was for breaking somebody’s window, and the robbery was for a salad,” he said. 

After being released from jail, Matthew was directed to CERRC for outpatient treatment services and support. In the beginning, he had difficulty committing himself to the program. Matthew recalled that he “kind of ran from the sober living,” at first. He said he remained without shelter for two more weeks, “but I would come here [CERRC] and check in. I wasn’t able to put together clean time… especially being on the street,” Matthew said. Even amid the harsh conditions of homelessness, he continued to push forward.   

But then, on Thanksgiving of 2022, about a month into the program, Matthew tried to *commit suicide. “It was a really hard day for me; it was my first Thanksgiving without family, without my daughter. And I just wanted to leave the world silently,” Matthew said. His attempt failed, and he miraculously received a second chance. “I didn’t pass away; I just ended up going to the hospital, breathing like Darth Vader for a long time.”  

After that, Matthew reached a turning point and spent some time healing from the traumatic experience. “I had established some clean time and had done some minor work on myself… that’s when ECS brought me in again. I stayed clean through the whole program,” Matthew said. 

The path to recovery is not easy, but with hard work and a program like CERRC to guide you, the joy of sobriety is possible. **October 2023.

Matthew shared that he has taken many steps in his journey to recovery, “but coming here [CERRC] and getting dedicated to a program and living in a sober living [home] for a long time...  has just changed my thinking, my dynamic.” Matthew said he learned to change his mindset to “keep fighting; I am good enough… I do recovery for myself today because it feels good.”  

Now, Matthew is completely sober, has a job he enjoys, has continuous support from his friends and the CERRC staff, and is currently seeing a therapist. “It’s fun being sober today,” he said. “I’ve never felt this good about myself.” 

CERRC would not have the healing effect it does without its dedicated staff. According to Matthew, “One of the most important things that I can hold on to is the compassion from the staff.” In returning to CERRC for this interview, Matthew shared how welcomed he still felt by all the friendly faces at the program. He explained how much the staff does for clients, ensuring they have the necessities they need. “I feel like my counselor Summer was very understanding of my situation, as far as just being broken at the time for many reasons,” Matthew said. “She has impacted my life forever. And I’ll never forget what she gave me.” 

“There’s a lot of people that want it, that want to get better,” he said. “But it makes it very hard when you can’t even provide for yourself due to circumstances that are sometimes so hard to move through financially, mentally, physically. A program like this really helps you get your foundation going and also brings you back to life mentally.” The work to help those struggling with addiction may not always be easy, but “I think the ones that want it are worth it,” Matthew said. Thanks to CERRC’s programming and the additional services, Matthew regained control of his life and now envisions his future with optimism. “I feel like my 40s are going to be the best years of my life,” he expressed. 

CERRC offers outpatient treatment for adults and transitional aged youth with substance use disorders, focusing on individual counseling, group therapy, and strategic planning. The multidisciplinary team specializes in co-occurring disorders, homelessness, and employment challenges, ensuring connection to additional community services. To learn more, please visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/central-east-regional-recovery-center. 

*If you or a loved one is experiencing thoughts or suicide ideations, call 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or 1-888-724-7240 to reach The San Diego Access & Crisis Line (ACL). The hotline is a free and confidential support system available 24/7. 

**Caption dates may not be exact.

Anook Athletic Clothing Distribution

ECS Head Start parents choose from the selection of new clothing donated by Anook Athletics. October 2024.

SAN DIEGO — This month, ECS received its largest in-kind donation to date — a collection of brand-new athletic wear from Anook Athletics, valued at about $725k.

A community distribution event was held at the ECS Family Engagement Center (FEC) Wednesday evening in partnership with Anook Athletics International Community Foundation (ICF), and This Is About Humanity. Head Start Parents attending a Head Start Policy Committee meeting had first pick of items from the array of choices. The tables of clothes stayed up the next day for Head Start’s Fall Resource Fair. The clothing will remain available at the FEC for ECS clients and community members as long as items are still available.

Anook Athletics is an activewear brand designed with pregnant and post-partum women in mind, although anyone can wear it. CEO and Founder Allie Lindenmuth attended the distribution event. The donation came as a result of Anook Athletics clearing its inventory, but Lindenmuth knew she wanted to do something big with the remaining product.

“I truly believe [giving] is in my DNA,” Lindenmuth said. She shared that she has been involved with nonprofits and service work since childhood. That desire to give back was no different in this instance. “This is like this perfect little bow of giving back to the people I always really wanted to serve,” she said.

Lindenmuth grew up in San Diego, which made the donation all the more special for her. “I got a little teary,” she said. “I hadn’t even fully thought about that full circle moment, so it does feel nice to be able to donate half of the product in Austin [Texas] where we were based and then to San Diego, my hometown.”

“This is the closing of a seven-year journey of starting up Anook and seeing it through, then closing the door, and instead of letting it be this sad experience of just seeing the loss and letting go of a company, saying ‘look how beautiful this is,’ and getting to be here and enjoy this experience,” Lindenmuth said.

ECS, Anook Athletics, ICF, and This Is About Humanity make a difference through collaboration. October 2024.

The donation was made possible through the partnership of ICF and This Is About Humanity.

Julie Campos, ICF’s fund development officer, commented on the role ICF played in the exchange. “As resource mobilizers, we facilitate the connection between generous donors like Anook Athletics to nonprofit partners and leaders like ECS who strive to create that social change in their communities and address societal needs,” she said.

The event also carried meaning for her on a personal level. “As a soon-to-be new mom, this event really hits home. I have so much love and respect for Anook Athletics since they are a maternity activewear brand. Their clothing is really made to fit every mom and woman throughout different stages of their lives. It allows them to feel confident and stay active in their journey,” Campos said.

Yolanda Walther-Meade, one of This Is About Humanity’s co-founders, attended the event, as well. “This Is About Humanity is so pleased to be able to join forces with ICF and ECS Head Start,” Walther-Meade said. She expressed that the donation exemplifies her passion for “bringing together different organizations for the benefit of families and children in our community.”

As Head Start parents mingled and selected Anook items, Zamorano Head Start parent and Policy Committee Representative Alejandra Sotelo Solis offered her insights on the donation.

“When we have organizations that give back to the community… to encourage parents and adults to get out, do activities, but also to have the proper attire to do these activities — whether it be yoga or running around chasing the kids on the playground — I think it’s really important,” she said. “When we look good, we feel good and we’re able to give back to our children in a way that makes us feel good.”

Thank you Anook Athletics for your generous spirit, and ICF and This Is About Humanity for making this incredible gift possible.

To learn how you can support ECS’ work, check out the “Get Involved” tab on our website, www.ecscalifornia.org.

New high-quality women’s athletic wear on display at the FEC.
October 2024. 

ECS Head Start staff encouraging active, healthy lifestyles for South Bay families. October 2024.