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Our third annual holiday donation drive brought plenty of cheer to the children, teens and families we serve! The community rallied to donate over 1,500 toys and gifts cards for families in need, including raising over $50,000 to help support the services we provide over 1,000 people every day.

Thank you to our generous Donation Station partners, volunteers, community at-large and our sponsors: Calpine Corporation, LANtelligence Inc., ICON Utility Services, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southwest Airlines, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, ACE Electric, AV Builder, JET Wealth Advisors, American Assets Trust, Mission Federal Credit Union, Monica Nash Realtor Community, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, and Vespa Motorsport

Special thanks to Wacky Willy, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Chopper the Biker Dog, and our amazing emcees, Frankie and Tati from JAM'N 95.7 San Diego's Hip Hop and R&B Radio Station!

Our annual Summer Slam 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is a fun and friendly competition for our youth involving exercise, teamwork and sportsmanship. We thank this year’s corporate partners, Gaslamp District Media and Batta Fulkerson Law Group, for generously sponsoring this event and providing shirts, equipment and prizes. Thank you as well to Newmark Knight Frank San Diego and Erick De La Rosa from Mutual of America for volunteering their time to help create some fun summertime memories for our youth.

Through the generosity of our Iris Auxiliary, over 30 Center youth had an opportunity to attend Camp Able in Coronado for 4 weekly sessions. Elementary and middle school youth had fun in a variety of safe aquatic activities as a way to increase their self-esteem and develop the self-confidence necessary to explore challenging activities. We thank the Iris Auxiliary for helping create positive memories for our youth, in addition to the support and guidance provided for our youth by Camp Able counselors, and our Residential and Academy program members.

Our Academy held their 21st Annual Student Promotion Graduation & Award Ceremony in which we congratulated 20 graduates from our middle, high school and transition age programs. Additionally, we recognized all of our over 90 students with individual awards. It was a memorable day for our students, their families, and our dedicated Academy team who provide such an immense level of academic and therapeutic support year-round to every student. We thank everyone who attended, including generous partners and donors of the Center.

Over 300 guests joined us for a night under the stars at the picturesque Humphreys by the Bay for our 131st Anniversary Celebration! Guests enjoyed silent and live auctions, cocktails and dinner, and a riveting performance by Grammy nominated artist, Andra Day, who also sang her hit song, “Rise Up” with our youth choir. Additionally, we recognized San Diego Gas & Electric as our PATH Award Recipient. Thank you to everyone who attended, including the amazing efforts of our event committee and co-chairs Joyce Glazer, Vince Heald and Clinton Walters.

Over 200 community members came out for a wacky, fun time in support of our mission! Due to the generosity of the community's support, our event sponsors and 84 Donation Stations, we raised $45,000 in donations and $4,600 in gifts cards! Additionally, we received over 3,000 toys for the children and teens we serve. Thank you to everyone for making the holidays bright for the youth and families we serve!

Our Academy Panthers are 4-time consecutive flag football champions! Our amazing student athletes took home the San Diego CAPSES Super Bowl Championship trophy today with a 24-4 win against the mighty Excelsior Eagles. We want to recognize all students for their teamwork and sportsmanship. Additionally, we would like to congratulate our coaches for their amazing leadership. Thank you coaches Jerome, Richard and Shawn!

Through our Successful Transitions Program, teens in our care demonstrated the culinary skills they’ve learned from our Life Skills curriculum, including nutrition and healthy eating, to create a BBQ dish with their staff mentor. It was a great event for our teens to put into action what they have learned, while also having fun with chefs who volunteered their generous time. We thank Chef Anthony from Jsix, Chef Mikel from Cast Iron Productions, Chef Kevin from Carnitas Snack Shack, and Chef Andrew from SDSU Catering, who provided great mentoring and feedback to our teen chefs. We also want to thank our Life Skills team and staff mentors for organizing our 3rd Young Master Chef Competition for youth to discover new skills and feel successful in their accomplishments!

We welcomed 42 new employees, graduate and undergraduate trainees to our team this past week! Our graduate trainees come from over 6 local and national university training programs. They will serve in all of our programs across the County for the upcoming academic year. We’re happy to have the entire group part of our 350+ member team, and thankful for their passion to help create change in the lives of children and families!

Children and teens in our Residential Program competed in our annual 3x3 Basketball Tournament! Our annual recreational event is a great way for the youth we serve to be active, practice their teamwork and communication skills, and also have fun in a friendly tournament. Other activities included an Aqua Blaster dunk tank where Center staff could be “dunked” by youth, an inflatable jumpy house, a live art piece activity, and music entertainment by our talented staff and youth. We want to thank Gaslamp District Media for donating our tournament t-shirts and prizes, and for volunteering their time as referees and scorekeepers. Additionally, we thank Eric De la Rosa for donating art supplies and his artistic talents for the live art piece. It was a fun afternoon for everyone!

We were honored to have San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, First Lady Katherine Stuart and staff person, Francis Barraza, visit our main campus in Linda Vista today!

The Mayor’s support of our efforts as San Diego’s oldest children’s nonprofit is profoundly appreciated given the many children and families in our community who struggle with mental and behavioral health challenges.

Children and teens in our care were excited to be a part of their visit today and even prepared a seat at a very special drum circle! Afterwards, they presented the Mayor and First Lady with a beautiful, handmade card to express our gratitude for their recent support and involvement.

We offered a variety of ABA-based camps to children and teens with autism, such as sports and recreation, recess readiness and social skills camps. From June through August, our camps supported youth in learning skills appropriate to their age in a fun and supportive environment. Such skills included social engagement and communication, playing successfully with peers, self-regulation and more.

Team members from our 8 program sites across the County, and their family members, came together this afternoon to enjoy a delicious lunch and fun activities! Value Awards were also given to 6 team members who each demonstrate one of our company values. Additionally, 3 of our team members received a Betty Jean Woodaman Memorial Scholarship Fund award to help further their education (undergraduate or graduate) in areas related to the services we provide. This day of celebration and the memories that were created wouldn’t have been possible without our fantastic Employee Appreciation Committee (EAC), who organized and coordinated this great event.

Congratulations to this year's graduates and students of our Academy school! We were proud to celebrate all of our students' accomplishments, including those of our 9 middle and 3 high school graduates. Our 3 high school graduates successfully completed all requirements set by the state of California, as well as their school districts to be awarded a high school diploma. Thank you to Tommy Sablan for delivering an inspiring commencement speech and surprising each of our high school graduates with a brand new Taylor Guitar! A special thank you as well to our generous donors, community partners, volunteers and Academy school team for making this possible!

Current and former trustees over the past 20 years had a wonderful time hearing updates about our efforts from the Center team, in addition to enjoying delicious food prepared and served by youth in our Successful Transitions Program. Chef Abe Botello, Executive Chef at West Coast Tavern, worked with our youth for two days as they prepared and executed an amazing menu. We thank Chef Abe, our youth and team members, and the exceptional group of Trustees for a memorable event!

Our Academy student athletes win the San Diego CAPSES League Softball Championship Game. With this victory, our Academy has won the “Triple Crown” this school year for winning the CAPSES softball, football and basketball championships.

We celebrated our 130th Anniversary Celebration themed "Protecting Hopes, Creating Dreams" at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. It was an amazing evening of celebrating our 130-year history, the life-changing stories of the youth and families we serve, and the important partnership of our PATH Award Honoree, Bank of America. Children and teens served by the Center also shared their superb musical talents with our over 350 guests.

Over 120 students at two of our program sites enjoyed a very festive day! On our main campus, Academy students were treated to a special bagpipe performance and each classroom participated in a fun door decorating contest. Our LifeSchool program in South Bay, prepared a St. Patrick’s Day and Easter lunch for students with a beautiful table spread. Students had a great time and ended their last day of school before the spring break with an Easter egg hunt!

13 teens living in our Clark Adolescent Treatment cottage applied the culinary skills they’ve learned thus far from our Independent Life Skills Program in this friendly competition. Each teen worked with a staff mentor to create a delicious dessert, which was judged on four different categories by a panel of local executive pastry chefs. We congratulate our teens for their hard work and dedication – we’re extremely proud of them! We thank all chefs who volunteered their time to “give back” and provide constructive feedback to our teens: Joanne Sherif of Cardamom Cafe and Bakery, Sara Polczynski of Seasoned Plates, Tina Luu of The cHocolate studio, Robin Ross of Cupcakes Squared, Abe Botello and Marco Navarro from West Coast Tavern.

The Iris Auxiliary to the San Diego Center for Children held a beautiful Holiday Home Tour in support of our important efforts. Their fundraiser featured 5 elegant homes in Kensington, each decorated by professional interior designers and/or the homeowners, which were marveled over by event attendees for their exquisite decorations and design. We thank the Iris Auxiliary for their dedicated support and passion over the past 35 years!

Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. has brought holiday cheer to youth served by the Center since 2002. This year, over 20 teens were treated to a special lunch and received a large box filled with holiday gifts from Takeda, each tailored to their individual hobbies and interests. Additionally Takeda team members shopped for gifts to be used by the entire group. We are very appreciative of Takeda's continued support and for bringing holiday cheer to our youth every year!

Close to 500 people joined us for our scrumdiddlyumptious holiday donation drive! Holiday cheer was experienced by all ages and families, which included special activities, festive food and drinks, live holiday music, Vespa Motorsport’s Scooter Toy Run, pictures with Santa and a special appearance by Willy Wonka. Emcee of our Wacky Wonky Wonderland was Little Tommy Sablan from KyXy 96.5 FM.

Thank you to all of our generous sponsors, Donation Station Partners, donors, attendees and volunteers. Event proceeds of unwrapped toys and gift cards will benefit the over 1,000 children and families served every day by the Center across 8 county locations.

Mission Federal Credit Union personally delivered and donated 12 Christmas trees. Additionally, over 25 of their team members decorated trees based on a theme of their choice and some even made their own decorations. We are fortunate for Mission Fed's ongoing support of the Center and for creating wonderful holiday memories for our youth!

There is a lot to be thankful for! Read these wonderful gratitude notes written by our staff and the youth we serve. From all of us at the Center, we are thankful for the incredible amount of support we receive for our important efforts. Thank you to our generous donors, volunteers, Center staff and Board of Trustees, and community and corporate partners.

13 teens from our Residential Treatment Program competed in our first annual Young Master Chef Competition! We’re proud of them for demonstrating their dedication and amazing culinary talents through the tools they have learned from our Life Skills Program. This fun event wouldn’t have been possible without the support from our staff mentors and talented judges who included executive chefs - Jimmy Tessier from Blush Ice Bar + East-West Kitchen, Anthony Sinsay from Jsix, Michael Poompan from Marriott Coronado Island Resort & Spa, Melissa Nakouzi from Allure Restaurant, and Abe Botello from West Coast Tavern.

We were happy to welcome parents to our Annual Academy Open House! The evening began with a fun drum circle involving staff and parents. Parents continued to a presentation led by the San Diego Parent University about internet safety. Throughout the evening, parents met with their child’s teacher and learned more about our WASC accredited K-12 nonpublic school and program services.

Congratulations to this year's graduates and students of our Academy school! We were proud to celebrate all of our students' accomplishments, including those of our 9 middle and 8 high school graduates. Our 8 high school graduates successfully completed all requirements set by the state of California, as well as their school districts to be awarded a high school diploma. Thank you to our generous donors, community partners, volunteers and Academy school team for making this possible!

We celebrated our 129th Anniversary Celebration themed "Blues Thursday" at The US Grant Hotel. Children and youth served by the Center shared their superb musical and artistic talents with over 300 guests. Photo Credit: Vincent Andrunas.

Thank you to community members, our program partners and donors for attending the 1-Year Anniversary Open House of our Family Wellness Center!

We appreciate the amazing efforts of our Academy school team throughout the year! Over 90 students from all walks of life receive support and encouragement from our dedicated team.

A magical day to benefit the San Diego Center for Children. On October 25, 2015, walkers, sponsors, exhibitors and volunteers joined us at the Waterfront Park for a wacky, obstacle- and candy-filled walk, followed by a incredible festival! Kids rock bands played, and families enjoyed jumpies, games, a zip line, laser tag and more... a scrumdidlyumptious day to benefit kids in need!

Congratulations to the 2015 San Diego Center for Children Academy graduates! With the supportive academic and therapeutic environment made possible by our community of supporters, 10 high school students have successfully completed all the requirements set by the state of California, as well as their school districts.

The San Diego Center for Children celebrated its 128th year with Children Blossom with a New Beginning, a magnificent evening on May 28, at US Grant, with special performance by jazz-phenom Matt Savage! Photos courtesy of Brian Moore.

A magical morning to benefit the San Diego Center for Children. On October 25, 2014, over 2,000 walkers, sponsors, exhibitors and volunteers joined us at the Waterfront Park for a wacky, obstacle- and candy-filled walk, followed by a incredible festival! Kids rock bands played, Phil's BBQ served lunch and families enjoyed jumpies, games, laser tag and more... a scrumdidlyumptious day to benefit kids in need!

Thank you to our partner, Grant Thornton, for throwing an amazing Field Day for our students at the Academy - just in time to kick off summer break!

Congratulations to the amazing students and graduates at the San Diego Center for Children Academy!

The San Diego Center for Children celebrated its 127th year with Time, Love and Tenderness, a magnificent evening on April 8, at the Hilton Bayfront San Diego, with special performance by award-winning artist, Michael Bolton!