Adoption!

Congrats! This Angels family finalized their adoption today of their little guy. Here they are with the Judge in Santa Maria court. 

More Twinsies

The last two adoptions in South County have been for twins! We have so much fun watching these little ones grow and thrive in their homes. Congrats to this beautiful family who celebrated the adoption of twin siblings, boy & girl, last week. 

Happy Adoption Day!

In March, we had the joy of celebrating the adoption with this wonderful South County family. After fostering them for about a year,  they adopted these adorable twin boys. This was their second adoption through Angels, their daughter (also pictured) was also part of the Angels program.

Dressed and Ready for a Good Cause!

Holiday Homecoming Celebration 2011

In 2011, Angels Foster Care reached a milestone of placing 100 infants/toddlers in Santa Barbara County! We have since surpassed that and are now at 102 placements.

We are very excited to be growing and continuing to provide loving and stable homes for children. However, we still need more homes!! In 2011, our organization had to turn down 43 children for placement as we did not have enough open homes. A significant portion of these children were part of sibling groups, with two or three children, all under the age of 5.

This year we were able to host a wonderful celebration over the Holidays. Thanks to an anonymous generous donor, Angels families, supporters, staff, and volunteers were able to enjoy a fabulous evening out. The event took place on December 15, 2011 at the Bacara Resort & Spa.

Pictured Below: A few of Angels Adoptive Families

 The Event

 

 Craft time

 Fun on the dance floor! 

 Above: Volunteer Coordinator, Margot,with Meichelle

 Above: Fundraising Committee Members, Marsha & Micele

Above: Angels Staff

Meichelle, Jennifer, Stacy, & Ellen

TWILIGHT: Breaking Dawn Event

On November 17, 2011 Angels Foster Care hosted an advance screening event for the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn film. Proceeds benefited our program and funds will go towards salaries for our social workers, new foster parent recruitment, outreach, and other administrative costs. Fundraising is a crucial component of our program as we do not take any federal funding. All of our operating costs are raised through donations (big and small- everything counts!) and grant writing. Click Here to make a donation. 

The Twilight fans were eager and ready, lining up outside the Arlington Theater hours before the doors were open.

VIP events began at 6:30, with guests being welcomed into a wedding themed reception. There they were able to enjoy yummy drinks and treats and even take a photo with the groom to be- Edward! (Not the real  Edward of course, but his cardboard cut out was just as handsome).

Many thanks to our Fundraising Committee who put a lot of hard work into making this event happen, and setting up a fabulous reception.

Pictured below From Left: Ashley Dorris, Meichelle Arntz,  Susan McMillan, Marsha Kotyler, Micele White, Messina DeRose, & Sue Bickett. 

 Flowers graciously donated by Dawn O'Donnell

Pictured Below: Meichelle Arntz, Founder of Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara, introduces the film

This furry friend even made a special "guest" appearance!

The event brought a great turn out and was a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone who came out to support Angels Foster Care- we look forward to seeing you again in 2012 for the FINAL film of the Twilight  Saga. 

Changes

This fall has brought on some changes within our  agency structure and staffing. Don't worry, we are all still here and all happy to be part of a wonderful team! 

Meichelle, our fearless leader and founder of Angels,  has transitioned out of day to day operations. She is now acting as the CEO and continues to be an active member of our board, and overseeing our agency at large. Meichelle will also still be working on the development side of things, so you are still likely to catch her speaking at local events and getting the word out! 

Jennifer has now transitioned into the role of Director of Operations. Jennifer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who has been our program director for the past few years as well as the social worker for North County. Although Jennifer's role will be expanding, she will continue to carry a caseload in North County.

Stacy is now acting as the lead social worker and also continues to be the social worker for South County. Stacy will be overseeing interns, volunteers, and other aspects of our clinical program. Stacy is also studying for her LCSW exam and hopes to become licensed within the next year. 

Ellen has expanded her hours and is now in the Santa Barbara office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  She has already made a difference in the day to day work flow and we appreciate having her at the  "hub" to take incoming calls and manage the daily grind of the office. Ellen will also continue to be an integral part of our agency development as she works on outreach events, grant writing, and other fundraisers. Ellen also makes sure our monthly newsletter gets out to families and supporters. 

These have all been positive changes as we continue to grow as an agency. We look forward to seeing how we will continue to blossom in the years to come!