St. Germaine Children's Charity

Thank you to the La Jolla Light for covering last week's "Cocktails & Conversation" event. Providing public awareness of the escalating crisis facing the vulnerable youth population is an integral part of what we do.?We host Cocktails and Conversation gatherings highlighting speakers from our supporting agencies. Last week's event featured speaker Jennifer Telitz of Just in Time for Foster Youth. "Just in Time" is a San Diego nonprofit that assists people ages 18-26 in transitioning out of the foster care system. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gA8-QZkS Photo featuring: Sherry Macelli Janice Farnow Keri Riney Bree Arellano Jennifer Telitz

On June 4, 2024, we hosted a luncheon at the La Jolla Country Club, featuring an exceptional program arranged by Chair Lisa Rhoads. Our keynote speaker, San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, expressed her deep admiration for St. Germaine’s impactful work in protecting San Diego’s most vulnerable children. During the event, we proudly presented $131,420 in grants to eight outstanding non-profits, all carefully vetted by our grants team. This luncheon also marked the kickoff to our 40th anniversary celebration, reinforcing our commitment to supporting agencies aligned with our mission. Andrea Anderson, VP Philanthropy and Katie Oliver, Grants Chair, presented checks to the following 2024 Grant Recipients: Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County Casa de Amparo Crisis House VISTA HILL FOUNDATION Just in Time for Foster Youth San Diego Police Foundation Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego Walden Family Services The prestigious?Barbara Christensen Heart of San Diego?award was given to San Diego Police Foundation for their exceptional work in battling internet crimes against children through the SafteyNet school assembly program.

The early bird catches the worm ?? Our Silver Tea planning is full steam ahead! Thank you to our sponsors who have already committed to support this year. Reminder: For recognition in The Silver Tea invitation, please make a sponsor donation of $1,500 or more by October 4th ??? ??????More info on sponsorship opportunities: https://lnkd.in/gCTMifcN #StGermaineChildrensCharity #LaJollaCA #SanDiegoCharity

St. Germaine is celebrating its 40th Anniversary Silver Tea in December. Sponsorship Opportunities are now available! Use the QR code to learn how you can sponsor and support this incredible event.

Save The Date! The 40th Silver Tea will be an amazing event to kick off the holiday season!!!

Every December for the past 40 years, attendees don holiday attire, arrive at a festively decorated private La Jolla residence of a welcoming hostess, nibble on elegant tea sandwiches, sip on tea and wine, enjoy holiday cookies and bid on amazing silent auction items and donate by placing cash donations into the iconic Silver Bowl at The St. Germaine Silver Tea, a joyous event that nearly 300 people mark on their calendar as the kick-off to their holiday celebrations. The Silver Tea is the organization’s signature fundraising event. The event is entirely volunteer organized and run, just like the organization itself. The goal at this event is to raise funds that will be donated through a grant process to local agency that provide services to San Diego’s most vulnerable and neglected children. 2024 is a special year for St. Germaine as they mark their 40th anniversary since founder Barbara Christensen started the organization in La Jolla in a quest to prevent and end child abuse. “Child abuse was not recognized as a problem until the mid-70s.?Barbara Christensen and nine of her friends didn’t just talk about it, they took action and started St. Germaine Children’s Charity to help raise awareness to prevent child abuse,” comments Janice Farnow, Board President. “St. Germaine does not have a building?or a paid staff. What we do have is a talented Board of Directors and hundreds of members and volunteers. We are uniquely positioned to fund pilot programs with agencies, which once prove successful results, can secure on-going funding from public (government) sources." St. Germaine?Children’s?mission?is?to?raise funds?and awareness about the plight of?abandoned, abused, and neglected children?in San Diego County. These children?are: -?on the run from domestic violence?or? -?through no fault of their own,?living in Foster Care, or -?being pursued by predators on the internet. The membership dues cover their operating costs allowing 100% of donations and money raised during their fundraising events to directly fund their grants. Unfortunately, child neglect and abuse has not ended. Sadly, the number of reported cases escalated in 2020 due in part to the pandemic lockdown.?Mandatory quarantines and in-home schooling increased children’s exposure to online predators and traffickers using web cams and videos for exploitation. Barbara Christensen laid the foundation and over the past 40 years countless volunteers and philanthropic minded locals have served in many roles to keep St. Germaine’s efforts and mission alive.

St. Germaine Children’s Charity’s annual Silver Tea event held on December 5, 2023, at a private ocean view home in La Jolla, was a huge success raising $125,000. “The success of the Tea demonstrates the commitment the volunteers, members and community have to the organization’s mission,” comments Kathryn Stephens, 2023 Silver Tea Chair. St. Germaine has been a positive force in the fight against child abuse. Their mission is to provide financial support to San Diego County’s abandoned, abused and neglected children through grants to local agencies that provide care, shelter and treatment for them. “Our mission is locally focused,” states Janice Farnow, SGCC Board President. “An average of 400 investigations of alleged child abuse and neglect are assigned to County social service and law enforcement agencies in San Diego County, each week.” St. Germaine is protecting children who are: -???????victims of child trafficking -???????on the run from domestic violence? -???????pursued by predators on the Internet -???????embroiled in legal custody battles without representation 2024 marks the 40th Anniversary of St. Germaine Children’s Charity. Since its founding in 1984, SGCC has contributed over $4.8 million in cash and in-kind donations.

June 2023-With the scenic backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, St. Germaine Children’s Charity members came together on June 6, 2023 at the iconic La Valencia Hotel for their Annual Grant Awards and Membership Luncheon. With over 100 attendees, this year’s luncheon chair, Coco Bancroft and her volunteer team, orchestrated a beautiful event featuring stunning table florals from Bridget’s Blooms, a delectable lunch menu and an atmosphere of celebration. The new Board of Directors was introduced. The annual membership drive was launched. This year’s membership theme is You + One, a campaign that encourages members to renew their membership and recruit a new member or give the gift of membership to one person. The highlight of the luncheon was the grant ceremony. St. Germaine awarded $135,000 in grants to 12 agencies that support the organization’s mission to stop child abuse. A special thank you to Andrea Anderson, VP Philanthropy, Co-Chairs Cathy Boychuk and Sue Kalish, and the entire Grants Committee for their work in reviewing agency requests, conducting site visits and creating detailed evaluations of the agencies. In her speech at the Luncheon, Andrea made this salient point: "One of the most powerful things for me about St Germaine is that our focus on preventing and ending child abuse means it is not about only the children we are serving today, in present time, but about their children, the children of the future." The new Board President, Janice Farnow, drove home the reason why the members are so passionate about their work with St. Germaine during her speech sharing, “Did you know Charity Navigator, the largest evaluator of charities in the U.S., awarded St. Germaine its highest rating: four out of four stars. Our classification--?Crime Prevention.?To me, this drives home the reason why we're members of SGCC -?to help prevent crimes against children.”