Foster Youth Holiday Shopping Spree!
Christmas season is a time for family, holiday memories, and above all, it’s about giving. During the month of December the temperature is colder, calling for sweaters and jackets to keep warm. For children in foster care, they might not have access to these to keep warm during the holidays. The holiday season is difficult for foster children to go through without a loving family to make it extra special. We took the opportunity to let foster children experience a shopping spree, where they could pick anything from shoes to jackets at Active Ride Shop. Active Ride Shop sells clothing, skateboards, shoes and accessories of top brands such as Nike, Obey, Vans and other popular names.
Foster Love - Together We Rise dedicated two days to taking 159 foster kids on a $100 dollar holiday shopping spree. December 14 was our first day of the shopping spree. We took 100 foster kids to Active Ride shop in Chino, CA. Each with 100 dollars to spend, they had the opportunity to purchase what they wanted from the store. The following day consisted of 59 foster kids, and a trip to Active Ride Shop in Tustin, CA.
Shopping sprees are exciting for everyone, especially older youth in foster care. Most of the time, younger children in foster care receive the most donations during the holiday season.
One mother was sharing a sweatshirt with her daughters, so giving them each a sweatshirt of their own kept them warm for the winter. Foster Love - Together We Rise has brought great joy to the youth who participated in this event. Their families can’t express how grateful they are, having their children purchase warm clothing for the season.
Foster Love - Together We Rise thanks our volunteers at Simplicity Bank, Toyota, Toshiba, jetBlue, and Samuel Adams Boston Brewery for assisting with this event, and helping children experience a fun shopping spree. Hubert’s Lemonade supplied lemonade for the kids, families and volunteers. Thank you to Active Ride Shop in Chino and Tustin for opening their store doors as well as feeding the kids hot dogs and snacks at the end of their shopping spree.
