| For Immediate Release December 14, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
|
OCDA ADOPTS 129 CHILDREN FROM 40 FAMILIES
IN 14TH ANNUAL ADOPT-A-FAMILY
HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
ORANGE – Children from 40 families will celebrate the holidays this weekend at the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) 14th Annual Adopt-a-Family event. The event will be held Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Yorba Middle School in Orange.
OCDA staff, affiliates, friends, and family have adopted 129 children from 40 families, who were identified as needing assistance during this holiday season by school principals from Esplanade Elementary, Handy Elementary, and California Elementary. Each child will receive donated gifts and toys and their families will be provided with grocery gift certificates for a holiday dinner.
All of the adopted families are invited to attend a holiday celebration that will include arts and crafts activities, baked goods, a photo opportunity with Santa Claus, and distribution of the gifts to the children. Staff and volunteers will be available to answer questions and discuss the criminal justice system and disseminate bilingual resource booklets.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas will be in attendance to greet the families.
Yorba Middle School, located in a Safety Zone where a Gang Injunction was served, Esplanade Elementary, Handy Elementary, and California Elementary schools participate in the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership (OC GRIP), which aims to prevent juveniles from being victims of or participants in gang crimes by identifying at-risk youth, increasing school attendance, and decreasing gang activity. OC GRIP is composed of eight law enforcement partners including the Buena Park Police Department, Garden Grove Police Department, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Orange Police Department, Orange County Probation Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department and is active in the Cities of Buena Park, Garden Grove, Mission Viejo, Orange, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Stanton, and unincorporated North Orange County, and has over 300 community partners.
This holiday event is hosted by the OCDA and Yorba Middle School with assistance from the OCDA Law Office Supervisors and the Orange Unified School District, which includes the four participating schools.
Media interested in attending the event may contact OCDA Spokesperson Farrah Emami at (714) 347-8405 to RSVP.
###