Child Crisis Arizona’s hybrid Brunch for Love shared stories of hope, possibilities and strong futures and exceeded its fundraising goal of $600,000 for the children, youth and families it serves.
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Through this event and other philanthropy efforts, the organization has been able to expand its continuum of care to serve more children and youth in the foster care system ages 0-21, provide early education to low-income families, and offer counseling and free parenting classes online and in person. Torrie Taj, CEO, shared the impact of these programs during the event.
“Today, I am able to share that Child Crisis Arizona has grown services tremendously in the past 18 months in spite of the daily challenges brought about by the pandemic,” she said. “Our workforce, a team of over 350 professionals, have remained strong and resourceful, investing in those who need our services, now more than ever.”
Child Crisis Arizona provided 69,916 nights of care to children in need in 2020. Among those was a baby boy successfully adopted and a current ASU student taken in by a friend’s family during his final years of high school, Hafeez Ahmed-Momoh.
“I now believe my journey is filled with unlimited possibilities and I recognize without the help of friends and all of the people in the community who support Child Crisis Arizona I most likely would not be here today,” he shared.
Over the past year, Child Crisis Arizona has expanded its early education program to serve more than 300 children each day. Melissa Figueroa shared the impact the program has had on her as a single mom with two boys.
“More than anything for a single parent to know that your child is in good hands, to have faith and trust in the services that they are going to get … that was the biggest weight off my shoulders,” she said.
The entire Brunch for Love program can be viewed at https://childcrisisaz.org/brunchforlove2021.
