| For Immediate Release December 9, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
OCDA ADOPTS 140 CHILDREN FROM 44 FAMILIES IN 13TH ANNUAL ADOPT-A-FAMILY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
ORANGE – Children from 44 families will celebrate the holidays this weekend at the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) 13th Annual Adopt-a-Family event. The event will be held Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Las Palmas Elementary School in San Clemente.
OCDA staff, affiliates, friends, and family have adopted 140 children from 44 families, who have been identified as needing assistance during this holiday season by Las Palmas Elementary School, and Shorecliffs and Bernice Ayer Middle Schools. 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.
The participating schools were identified and selected by the OCDA as a way to improve and give back to the community, as they are located in a gang injunction Safety Zone. The selected schools all participate in the Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership (GRIP), which currently operates in eight cities and is run by the OCDA, Orange County Probation Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Buena Park Police Department, Garden Grove Police Department, Orange Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Santa Ana Unified School District Police and has over 300 community partners.
This holiday event is hosted by the OCDA and Las Palmas Elementary School with assistance from the OCDA Law Office Supervisors, Corrective Solutions, and the Capistrano Unified School District.
Media are invited to attend and are asked to RSVP to OCDA Chief of Staff Susan Kang Schroeder at (714) 347-8408.
###