Boeing Honors Kidsave with Crystal Vision Award
By Terra Hernandez
Each year, Boeing grants awards to local organizations who are making positive change in their communities through the Boeing’s Employee Community Fund. Boeing’s Employee Community Fund is a nonprofit organization with chapters at 20 different Boeing sites across the United States, allowing their employees to support charitable work in their local communities.
Kidsave was honored to receive the Crystal Vision Award from the Southern California chapter of the Employee Community Fund for its life-changing Weekend Miracles program in Los Angeles, California. The award and the accompanying $35,000 grant were presented to Kidsave at the 32nd Annual Crystal Vision Award Ceremony on February 2nd.
Kidsave’s Development and Events Manager Sophie Westacott said that Kidsave plays a paramount role in empowering youth in foster care, along with the other youth mentoring organizations honored at the event.
“Mentorship, academics, and supporting families are all part of the puzzle that empowers youth in foster care and gives them the necessary resources to succeed,” said Westacott. “They say it takes a village, but it really takes a whole country.”
Along with Kidsave, the Employee’s Community Fund honored six other organizations at the award ceremony: Camp Alandale, CASA of Orange County, Extraordinary Families, Olive Crest, Samueli Academy, and Together We Rise. Westacott said she found the award ceremony very moving, as a representative from each recipient organization spoke about their work and services to the community.
Trish Healy, CEO of WonderTent Parties and adoptive mom through Kidsave, shared a moving account of how she met her daughter, Celia, through the Weekend Miracle’s program.
Kidsave’s Weekend Miracles program facilitates mentorship and connection for older children, ages 9-17, in foster care in Los Angeles and Houston. Youth in foster care and caring adults meet and bond during supervised weekend events and build connections that can lead to mentorship, hosting, and adoption.
This program uses Kidsave’s innovative Family Visit model. Under the Family Visit model, caring adults and children can form connections and get to know each other over time through supervised weekend events. Children have a choice in who they want to continue spending time with, which may lead to an adoptive match. If both the child and the family want to continue getting to know one another, they can move to hosting, or approved overnight and weekend visits. The child and family can then determine if they would like to move forward with the adoption process together.
Kidsave also operates its Weekend Miracles program in Houston, Texas, and operates its Summer and Winter Miracles program nation-wide.
You can learn more about Weekend Miracles here.
