As we celebrate the holidays we also want to celebrate all of our donors, sponsors, Board of Directors, volunteers, and the community. Thank you to each and every one of you for your support and generosity this year! Our Donor Reception was held on December 9th - hosted by the Wine Tailor and Sam's Club. We honored Daniel Richards and Jeffrey Burum, managing members from Colonies Partners. They recognize the importance of supporting Foothill Family Shelter's programs. They want to know where you see yourself assisting Foothill Family Shelter's mission. FFS Board President, Ken Lineberger presented the Housing Hero Award to Daniel Richards and Jeffrey Burum for their many years of monetary support, as well as volunteering for the shelter. Sam's Club donated $1,000 to the shelter at our donor reception on December 9th at the Wine Tailor. Sam's Club representative, Robert Green presented the check to our Board President, Ken Lineberger. In addition, thank you to dignitaries, Senator Bob Dutton and his wife Andrea and Ontario City Manager, Greg Devereaux, for attending the presentation and festivities. The evening was catered by Angelina's Cafe and all of the guests enjoyed wine tasting from the Wine Tailor. ABWA (American Women's Association) & Barnes & Noble have been conducting a fundraiser at Barnes & Noble - Rancho Cucamonga location on December 2nd, December 9th & December 16th. They will gift wrap any Barnes & Noble purchases, while accepting donations for FFS. In addition, FFS negotiated a book fair - on all dates. When you mention FFS at check-out for your purchases, a minimum 10% donation will come back to FFS. This includes any on-line purchases done at the store (bonus -no shipping & handling charges).

As the weather turns colder, the foot traffic for our food pantry and clothing increases. We are in need of food, blankets, sweaters and coats. All donations are tax-deductible. It costs $4/day, $28/week, approximately $112/month to house a family in our transitional housing (120-day) program. If you would like to adopt a family for a day, a week, a month or more, please contact the shelter @ (909) 920-5568.

We have a variety of volunteer opportunities available - everything from sorting through donations, to mentoring to fundraising. Below are our current needs prioritized. We need volunteers for our Reading Room! The Reading Room implements an incentives based literacy program to help our children. (K-12) practice and improve basic literacy skills using age appropriate activities, rewards for personal reading goals, and parent participation opportunities. If you are 18 or older and would like volunteer some time, we have applications available. We are especially looking for men to work with the male students & mentor them as well. We also would welcome any retired teachers. The hours of operation are from 2:30p - 6p Monday thru Friday. If you can only come a few hours a week, that's okay. Every little bit helps. We are looking for women to mentor our group of parents and parents-to-be for our Big Steps for Little Feet and Harold Cares programs. The classes are held on Wednesday and Thursday evenings for 10 weeks. Volunteer applicants must be able to commit to attending the classes with one of our clients once a week and maintain a relationship after the baby is born. Our next session begins in January. Employment Program - we need mentors to implement a four-week employment program one night per week. The curriculum will include resume building, internet job search/applications, phone skills and taped mock interview exercises. Once our clients have completed the first classes and have a job interview scheduled, we would like the mentors to sponsor a client with the image-building portion of the training, including taking the client out and purchasing an interview ensemble and getting their hair & make-up done. In addition, one of our future goals is to implement a Dress for Success "store" (professional clothing and accessories) at no charge for our clients. Any interested in volunteering to pilot the Employment Program, please call Pam Poliakoff.

The Reading Room has been open for a little more than three months & we have several children of various ages enrolled. We need volunteers to help with homework, reading and computers. Please call Megan @ (909) 931-1732 if you are interested in volunteering. We would love to have a few men and retired teachers to lend a helping hand. We are currently in need of diapers sizes 4 and 5 and wipes; large bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion for our clients.

Each month we will be celebrating one of our clients. This month, we celebrate the growth and successes of Yvelle. Yvelle is the epitome of what our clients can accomplish through our program. Yvelle and her 15 year old daughter, Whitney, are now residents of the one-year program. During her time with us, Yvelle has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Public Relations, is very involved with her church, tithes every week, gives back to her community through serving as a mentor in our Big Steps for Little Feet Program, has managed to save over $4,000.00 and most importantly, she has been a good Mom and role model for her teenage daughter, Whitney. Where she is today is a far cry from her apartment eviction two years ago. As a student, she was living pay check to pay check & using her financial aid to pay her rent. It finally caught up with her & she found herself & her daughter both homeless and penniless. This month Yvelle graciously shared her personal story at our donor reception. Her story was captivating, moving, motivating and was delivered eloquently. One would think she was a motivational speaker…maybe that is a career path Yvelle will choose to follow. No matter what she pursues, she will excel. We are all very proud of Yvelle. Way to go!!!

The holiday season is filled with high expectation, kindness and the universal desire to celebrate with family. What are your fondest memories of this special season? I bet that most of our fond holiday memories center around hearth and home, that feeling of safety and love, dressed in pajamas, sipping hot chocolate as you tear into presents found under the tree... Or the heady expectation of waking as a child to scurry into the living room and see what Santa left in your stocking. For the majority of the 42 children (we are renovating two of our shelter apartment complexes, so this number is low) living in our shelters, this is their first "real" Christmas. Many have single mothers who were incarcerated and they lived with foster parents, longing to be reunited with their mothers and siblings. I can only imagine that past holidays must have been bitter sweet for them- or just unbearably sad. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. Because of your generosity and support, all of the children in our shelters received a decorated Christmas tree, a "wish list" that their moms gave to Santa (and the Shelter provided the toys), and holiday food baskets to ensure that their Christmas meals are hearty, nutritious and festive. Most importantly, they all reside in safe, clean, two-bedroom apartments and each family was able to decorate their home to express their individual feelings of home and holiday celebration. And you made it possible! I wish you countless blessings for your family and home and thank you for making it possible for hundreds of families to have fresh start and forge new, healthy memories and traditions in our housing and support programs. We are so blessed here at the Shelter, because we get to see the manifestation of the holiday spirit daily as community members walk-in to donate toys, send in financial contributions and "adopt" families for the holidays. Our gratitude, and the gratitude that the families feel, cannot be expressed in words. Merry Christmas and happy holidays! May the New Year bring you peace and prosperity! Evette De Luca Executive Director

Greetings to everyone! During this time of year, we all wrestle with a variety of conflicting emotions because each of us are blessed to have a roof over our heads, food on our tables, and people to share the joy of the holidays. We warmly embrace our friends and relatives, while knowing there are others who sit alone hoping that someone cares about them. We are anxious about our jobs and the economy but are also aware that there are some families nearby who have no job. We lovingly cook and prepare our meals to feed our holiday appetites, but in the back of our minds we know there are people among us who would gladly take our leftovers as their family dinners. We realize that while we experience the joy of giving and receiving gifts, there are people in our community who will receive none. As I consider each of these feelings and count my blessings, I am compelled to remember those we serve at Foothill Family Shelter. The command "Love thy neighbor" can be done by making a resolution to become more involved with our mission in 2008. Your commitment can be through financial assistance, volunteering, or just telling other potential supporters about our unique operation that helps members of our community, our neighbors, to get back on their feet. It's the best way for each of us to ensure that the people in our program know that someone cares, that they have hope for the future and food on their tables. It is the best gift you could give to your neighbor. So I ask each of you who are reading this to make a resolution to become more charitable in 2008. There can be no higher goal you can set in your life. I wish each of you a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your support in 2007 and I wish you all the best for you & your family! All the best, Ken Lineberger President, Board of Directors, Foothill Family Shelter