Wayfinder Family Services

Last year, 41 students who have multiple, profound disabilities developed communication, mobility and independence skills in our Special Education School.

Happy Holidays from Wayfinder Family Services!

This is the last week to participate in our annual holiday Toy Drive! Check out our wish list to deliver or ship items OR donate a gift card online!
https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/so-cal-holiday-toy-drive

Attention Adoptive Families!

We have a Virtual drop-in group for adoptive youth and teens every Tuesday from 4:30 pm - 5 pm.

For more information, please visit www.capostadoption.org/training/chit-chat-crew.

Wayfinder Family Services offers adoption services to find loving, lifelong families for children in foster care. Our full range of therapeutic and supportive services ensure that children reach their greatest potential in safe, nurturing homes. Learn more at www.wayfinderfamily.org/program/adoption-services.

on ! Join the global movement for generosity and consider a gift to Wayfinder today. Your gift will support children like Alan and mothers like Marie … Donate now at www.wayfinderfamily.org/donate.

“Love. That’s all Alan wanted,” says Marie, who decided to adopt Alan when he was bedridden in a total-care medical facility ... With Marie’s loving assistance, Alan has blossomed. Read More about Marie and Alan’s amazing journey on our website at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/alan-needed-someone-to-believe-in-him.

Help brighten the lives of children we serve, by donating a gift card today. Make a donation now at https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/card.

is almost here! Share this and make a gift today. Your generosity will support children like Alan and mothers like Marie … Donate now at www.wayfinderfamily.org/donate.

“Love. That’s all Alan wanted,” says Marie, who decided to adopt Alan when he was bedridden in a total-care medical facility ... With Marie’s loving assistance, Alan has blossomed. Read More about Marie and Alan’s amazing journey on our website at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/alan-needed-someone-to-believe-in-him.

Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks to our supporters, like these are possible:

“Love. That’s all Alan wanted,” says Marie, who decided to adopt Alan when he was bedridden in a total-care medical facility ... With Marie’s loving assistance, Alan has blossomed. Read More about Marie and Alan’s amazing journey on our website at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/alan-needed-someone-to-believe-in-him.

Right now, more than 113,000 children in in the U.S. are waiting for a permanent, loving family. Join us today in celebrating to help raise awareness about the urgent need for .

Take time today to read this story about a family created through foster-to-adoption at https://rb.gy/mu4co6, and you can read their Top 5 Lessons for Foster or Adoptive Parents at https://rb.gy/wgiyw3.

Join us for the launch of our 2024 Outdoor Equity Recreation Inclusion Program! We're thrilled to invite you to two in-person community meetings at Martin Luther King Jr. Park to help us shape the future of outdoor recreation in your area.

Date: November 18th / December 2nd
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 3916 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90062

Who should attend?
-Residents in and around the Exposition Park area
-Individuals with visual impairments, blindness, and other disabilities
-Families with youth
-Outdoor enthusiasts of all levels
Los Angelenos: help us create an inclusive and accessible outdoor experience for all.

Attend our community meeting in Los Angeles:
-Share your feedback on outdoor programs and activities
-Help us break down barriers to participation
-Learn about upcoming opportunities for adapted sports, nature hikes, and more
-Get involved in leadership and career development programs

Address and RSVP here: https://forms.gle/D6eKZRiwXkaLz7sq6

See you there!

In honor of National Adoption Month, our Post Adoption Services program hosts Jessica Sinarski on "Making Sense of Meltdowns." Jessica is a Certified Adoption Therapist, dynamic presenter, bilingual author, and clinical supervisor. She equips parents and professionals to be healers for hurting children.

This FREE TRAINING is open to everyone! Register now at capostadoption.org/training/making-sense-of-meltdowns/

Happy Veterans Day!

We heard from Rebeca and her husband, Lee earlier this week … she has put together her Top 5 Lessons for Foster or Adoptive Parents … read more at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/top-5-lessons-for-foster-or-adoptive-parents.

A few weeks after becoming certified as foster parents through Wayfinder, Rebeca and Lee received a call about sisters Tatiana and Tessa ... read their full story now at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/strangers-become-family.

Attention Los Angeles area holiday elves! We are collecting items for our annual toy drive and need your help! Check out our wish list to deliver or ship items OR donate a gift card online!
https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/so-cal-holiday-toy-drive

Attention Sacramento area holiday elves! We are collecting items for our annual toy drive and need your help! Check out our wish list and deliver items to our Citrus Heights office or shop directly from our Amazon wish list to have gifts shipped automatically! https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/nor-cal-holiday-toy-drive

November Is National Adoption Month, a time to increase national awareness of adoption issues, bring attention to the need for adoptive families for teens in the U.S. foster care system.

Happy Halloween, we hope you have a very spooky day!

Last year, 701 children with disabilities and 2,372 family members in our Child Development Services received home visits (virtual and in-person or hybrid) and supportive services.

To make creating your estate plan easier, Wayfinder Family Services is proud to offer you free access to Giving Docs, a tool used by many across the country to create their estate plans. By having a will or other estate plan, you ensure that the people and causes you care about most are supported in the future. Giving Docs is an easy and free online estate planning tool that many other supporters of Wayfinder Family Services have found helpful.

Many supporters have also used their will to leave a gift to Wayfinder and other charities they care about. We hope that you will consider doing the same. Giving Docs makes that easy too!

Visit wayfinderfamily.org/yourplan

To learn more contact Randy Sprabary at (323) 290-6290 or via email at [email protected] to get started today!

At Wayfinder, we understand the unique challenges facing some of our state’s most vulnerable children, youth and families. Those with disabilities, those without a home of their own, those who have been abused and many, many more. We see them.
We believe in the amazing potential in, and for, each and every one of them. If you believe in them too, then join us! This is your Wayfinder moment, donate now! https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/your-moment

“My experiences pre-and post-adoption have, without a doubt, led to my career as a social worker today,” says Nick Murray, a Wayfinder family finding social worker. When he was 2 years old, his biological parents left their apartment and never returned, abandoning him and his five older siblings ... read more at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/nicks-journey-to-becoming-a-wayfinder-family-finding-social-worker

Join us next Wednsday for October 25 for a training on Understanding and Responding to Kids with Emotional & Behavioral Challenges Using a Positive, Strength-Based Approach with Charlie Appelstein. Register now at https://capostadoption.org/training/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-kid/

Jordan, age 13, and Danielle, age 14, ride the school bus together to Wayfinder’s Special Education School. The school enrolls children ages 5 to 22 who have profound special needs. Jordan is a happy, cheerful teenager with autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability, and difficulty speaking. Danielle, who delights school staff and students with her ... read the full story now at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/a-special-friendship-from-wayfinders-special-education-school

Q&A with Jay Allen President & CEO - Wayfinder Family Services … https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/qa-with-jay-allen-fall-2023

Meet Zuber Memon, Member of Wayfinder’s Impact Council - Since 2011, Zuber Memon has combined his professional interests with philanthropic causes ... read his full profile at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/meet-zuber-memon.

Suzi’s family created a legacy of assisting foster children. “I grew up with many aunts and uncles, and many of them had foster kids,” says Suzi. “Over 40 years of fostering, one aunt took in more than 300 babies who were born addicted to drugs at birth ... Read her ful profile at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/suzi-bertino-member-of-the-wayfinder-community-council

To make creating your estate plan easier, Wayfinder Family Services is proud to offer you free access to Giving Docs, a tool used by many across the country to create their estate plans. By having a will or other estate plan, you ensure that the people and causes you care about most are supported in the future. Giving Docs is an easy and free online estate planning tool that many other supporters of Wayfinder have found helpful.

Many supporters have also used their will to leave a gift to Wayfinder and other charities they care about. We hope that you will consider doing the same. Giving Docs makes that easy too!

Visit wayfinderfamily.org/yourplan to get started today!

To learn more contact Randy Sprabary at (323) 290-6290 or [email protected].

Mark your calendar for an amazing month filled with adaptive sports events, all brought to you by Wayfinder and collaborating partners. All individuals aged 7 and above who are blind or visually impaired are invited! It's time to unite and embrace the true essence of competition, friendship, and empowerment!

Blind Soccer with Angel City Sports
Date: October 7 and October 21
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: Goals, Southgate, CA

Beep Baseball with the SGV Panthers
Date: October 14
Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Wayfinder Family Services

Blind Judo:
Date: October 14
Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Lincoln Heights Youth Sports Complex

Goalball
Date: October 28
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: Wayfinder Campus, Los Angeles, CA

Are you ready to feel the exhilaration of adaptive sports? To secure your spot, all you have to do is register through this link: https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/program/adaptive-sports

PS. Don't miss out on this important reminder! Thanks to the efforts of U.S. Association of Blind Athletes - USABA and LA Parks !, youth/teens, ages 5-17 have an amazing opportunity to participate in a series of 8 FREE blind soccer clinics this fall.

Starting from September 16th and running through November 4th, these clinics will take place every Saturday in the vibrant Los Angeles area. Don't wait, secure your spot today by registering at https://adaptivesportsla.org/.

Last year, 921 children removed from their homes received compassionate, expert care at our Cottage temporary shelter program.

“School today?” 13-year-old Jordan hopefully asked his mother, Jerilynn, every summer day. Jordan was very eager to start eighth grade in Wayfinder’s Special Education School ... However, Jordan was not so happy when he went to his prior school ... read more at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/learning-for-the-rest-of-his-life

Would you like to help support Wayfinder Family Services without changing your will or parting with any assets now? Learn more on how we can help make leaving a legacy simple at www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/a-legacy-made-simple.

We are celebrating two years of the Wayfinder Impact Council— here's a recap of our member profiles over the past two years.

Thank you, Camilla Walker, for supporting and advocating for our work and commitment to our families.

https://www.wayfinderfamily.org/blog/meet-camilla-walker-co-chair-of-wayfinders-impact-council