F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E
CASA PACIFICA CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
A California Non-profit 501(C)(3)
Contact: Carrie Hughes
Phone: 805-366-4011
Email: chughes@casapacifica.org
For: Assignment Editor
Community Volunteers Vital to Hauntingly Great Time at Casa Pacifica’s Children’s Halloween Party
Camarillo, CA – Casa Pacifica’s Halloween Party for the children who live on its campus took place on Wednesday, October 26th. Each year, the children enjoy games at various booths created and manned by staff from Casa Pacifica’s various departments where they win prizes. This year a very popular booth was the dunk tank, donated by Ventura Rental Party Center, where Casa Pacifica’s Youth Advocates, who work with the kids, were the “targets” as they sat perched on the tank’s bench. They spent a lot of time in the water. The annual favorite, however is the Haunted Maze. With this year’s party theme of “Haunting Nemo,” the maze was filled with rooms of undersea beauty, fish, anemones, coral, and lots of sharks (and their aftermath).
An army of volunteers come to construct the maze each year and decorate Casa Pacifica’s gym with the chosen theme. They start the process days ahead of the party, guided by the vision of the Angels Auxiliary co-chairs for Children’s Parties – Susan Burgos and Terri Parks, along with Angel Oksana Zussman. About 85 volunteers from Boys Team Charity-Conejo Valley League, parents and sons, volunteered over 4 different days, including constructing the maze, coming to man it during the party, and helping tear down/clean up that night following the party. Another group of approximately 10 volunteers from Amgen volunteered over two different days and also attended the event. The Amigos Auxiliary’s Tim New and Stefanie Wennes (the new Amigos President) were in charge of designing and building the Haunted Maze, and in addition to them and the Angels co-chairs, approximately 20 other Amigos and Angels leant their hands to the building and decorating efforts.
“The task is enormous, but well worth every single minute of our efforts just to see the joy and excitement on the children’s faces. We are so happy we can give them the opportunity to enjoy Halloween,” shares Tim New, “These children deserve it.”
If you are interested in becoming an Angel or Amigo, please contact Juliana Thiessen, Casa Pacifica’s Development & Events Coordinator, at (805) 366-4014 or email Jthiessen@casapacifica.org.
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About Casa Pacifica Center for Children and Families
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families is a crisis-care and residential treatment facility for abused, neglected, or at-risk children in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The agency is the largest non-profit provider of children’s mental health services in both counties and along with its campus-based programs administers a number of community-based programs which are designed with the intent to strengthen families and keep children in their homes. For more information about Casa Pacifica or to learn about its “Building New Foundations of Hope” Capital Campaign that is underway, please visit its website www.casapacifica.org or call the Development Department at (805) 445-7800.