You've heard it said that to raise a child, "It takes a village" and at Home Front @ Camp Anza that is exactly what is happening.
Home Front @ Camp Anza is a Veteran permanent housing facility located in Riverside, California. It was a WWII staging facility for soldiers being shipped overseas. After the war it sat vacant for many years. Mercy House, a Nonprofit organization that is addressing the homeless problem, repurposed the barracks and Officer's Club and now it provides affordable housing for veterans and their families who otherwise would be living on the streets.
Today, Jian Tan APCC and I were honored to represent Encouragers Counseling & Training Centers as we served up encouragement and a hot breakfast to over 50 Camp Anza residents. Jian has been working part-time at Camp Anza providing no cost counseling services to their residents. Recently, I spoke to veterans on how to avoid the stress of the holidays and coping with PTSD.
Santa and Mrs. Claus made a surprise grand entrance and the children were amazed and delighted while Mrs Claus took time to read The Night Before Christmas to a captive audience of young children who also live at Camp Anza.
I heard a saying that makes so much sense in light of an amazing day of serving others,
"Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves."
Horace Mann
Those who served
David Jacobs (Director)
Vicki Coffman
Joanne Ebro
Janet Jankowski-Pelkey
Marlo Jacobs
Susie Curtis
Jian Tan
During this holiday season, let's not be "undone" by our lack of service to others. There are many who will be spending Christmas under a bridge, in a riverbed, or in a residential treatment center. Count your blessings--and if you would like to help us help others, be generous in your giving to Encouragers Counseling & Training Centers. Every dollar you donate is matched and given to another community assistance program (like Camp Anza) in the form of free or discounted mental health services. 100% of your tax deductible dollars goes to providing encouragement.
Thank you for your year end gift and being a valuable member of our village of love.
May God bless you richly as you bless others.