Yesterday, was a sports-packed day for our Academy student athletes!

Our softball team celebrated a big win and our newly formed soccer team enjoyed a special practice with Albion Soccer Club (ASC) San Diego players. We thank ASC for their continued partnership and taking the time to connect with our youth, which makes a huge difference in their lives. Kudos as well to our amazing coaches – Shawn and David (softball), Jamie and Adam (soccer) for being a great support system to our youth on-and-off the field.

We’re so lucky to have such amazing team members who not only do incredible things for children at the Center, but who also have great passions outside of work to make a difference!

Meghan Dambacher, our Residential Operations Manager, was featured in the The San Diego Union-Tribune for her efforts with Rerip, a local nonprofit she co-founded that collects and repurposes surfing gear.

We congratulate Meghan on her many accomplishments, including the awesome collaboration between Rerip and this year’s Mission Federal ArtWalk San Diego!

Servicemen and women from the USS Bonhomme Richard generously volunteered their time over 2 days to help beautify our main campus. We greatly appreciate their hard work at the Center, and we especially thank them for their unyielding service to our country!

If you would like to get involved in our efforts, we invite you to view  our current opportunities.

A huge “thank you” to our friends and fabulous volunteers from Children’s Physicians Medical Group!

This past weekend, they provided and served lunch to youth in our Residential Treatment Program and their families as part of our monthly family day luncheon. These luncheons are special opportunities for youth and their families to bond and create special memories together. We are so grateful to Children’s Physicians Medical Group for their generosity, and the many ways they support our efforts throughout the year! 

For information on our current volunteer opportunities, please click here.

It’s always wonderful to hear directly from the children and teens we serve about their experiences at the Center.

Enjoy these words from a Center youth…

“San Diego Center for Children completely changed my life. When I first came here, I was a mess. I did not know what I wanted out of my life and really believed that I did not need help. Eventually, all my hard work paid off. I have never communicated with my family the way I do now. Family therapy made a difference in our lives.”

 

We’re always impressed by the talents of our youth! Enjoy some artwork of decorated book covers by Academy students under the guidance of their supportive teacher, Ms. Rosanne Lewton, who has been at the Center for almost 10 years!

Students completed a literary autobiography before reading the book, “Fahrenheit 451”, in Ms. Lewton’s English class. Each student chose three books that made an impact on their life. On the back of each book cover, students introduced their book, described the characters and plot, and discussed how the book impacted their life.

Ms. Lewton shares, “It was a very telling assignment. I also thought it prepared them for Fahrenheit 451 in thinking how would they feel if literary books were burned.”

It was a very close championship game for our Academy’s Panthers last Friday. Although, the game didn’t go in our favor, we are still so very proud of our student athletes!

Congratulations to our students for their unyielding determination, athleticism, and team player mentality. Go Panthers!

   

We’re excited to share that our Academy’s varsity basketball team has advanced to the championship game! 

This will be our Panthers 17th consecutive championship game in 6 years through the San Diego CAPSES League. Since the 2013-2014 school year, Panthers have won 11 championships (4 football, 4 basketball, and 3 softball)!

Our student athletes have been practicing for tomorrow’s big game, while also staying focused on their academics. Congrats to our Panthers for their outstanding accomplishments this season, including the amazing efforts of Coach Shawn and our team at-large who support our youth!

Trauma-informed care is one of the best forms of care!  

Our dynamic Trauma-Informed Care Committee, comprised of clinical and administrative staff, recently attended a summit hosted by The Child Abuse Prevention Center.

They learned great concepts to incorporate within their daily roles, and look forward to sharing this knowledge with our over 350 team members given their ongoing efforts to expand our trauma-informed culture with the youth and families we serve.

“It was my first time eating shark and it was so good!”

This was the reaction from all of our youth who spent time yesterday cooking in our Clark Kitchen with Tommy the Fishmonger from Catalina Offshore Products. California thresher shark tacos were on the menu as a way for Tommy to teach our teens about healthy, easy meals to cook as an important life skill. Additionally, our teens learned about smart seafood choices of which the thresher shark they prepared was caught by U.S. boats under strict regulations. It was then offloaded in our very own city of San Diego.

Teens had such a great experience learning and tasting something new all in thanks to Tommy. We thank Tommy for volunteering his time and donating all ingredients for his chef demo as part of our Culinary Program.

If you’re a chef interested in learning more about our Culinary Program, please contact our Life Skills Department Manager, Tina Reyes-Magnanelli at treyes@centerforchildren.org.