Altadena, Calif – The Five Acres 2016 Giving Tuesday campaign, scheduled for Tuesday, November 29^th will be featured with digital and social media. For the 2^nd time, Five Acres will team up with Wells Fargo for a $10,000 match to raise much needed funding for a new literacy curriculum.  The literacy curriculum will support more than 1,000 students at the Five Acres Therapeutic School (non-public) over the next ten years.

Giving Tuesday is a global day for giving. After Black Friday, “small business” Saturday and “cyber” Monday, comes Giving Tuesday. The day is designed to encourage people to donate to their favorite charities during the holidays.

In 1981 Five Acres opened its on-grounds, therapeutic non-public school. This program offered many children their first opportunity for academic success. The school was originally housed in what are now the Willow and Spruce Cottages on main campus.

As success of the program grew, in 1990 a larger therapeutic school was constructed on a property adjacent to the main campus. As the surrounding community’s needs have changed, Five Acres Therapeutic School has evolved. With success of their programs and working closely with students with the special education eligibility of “Emotional Disturbance” the community of educators requested that Five Acres expand the student population to serve children with learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability.

While widening the special education offerings, the students with these additional emotional disturbance eligibilities also quickly came to Five Acres Therapeutic School for support with severe overlying behavioral and emotional deficits.

Today, Five Acres nonpublic school serves 24 school districts within a 50 mile radius and classes are close to full capacity.

The new literacy curriculum will greatly benefit the students at the nonpublic school. Five Acres is thankful for the ongoing community partnership with Wells Fargo.

Area President of the San Gabriel Valley Division, Sandy Walia shares,

“Wells Fargo is proud to support this year’s Giving Tuesday campaign and the selfless work Five Acres does every day. As a good corporate citizen, it’s our job to identify local needs, bring resources to the table and help our community partners create sustainable change. Together, we hope to enrich the lives of these remarkable students. We recognize we are only are strong as the communities we serve.”

To learn more about the Five Acres 2016 Giving Tuesday Campaign, please visit www.crowdrise.com/fiveacresorg  Facebook – www.facebook.com/fiveacresorg , Twitter  www.twitter.com/fiveacresorg, Instagram – www.instagram.com/fiveacresorg #GivingTuesday, #5AGivingTuesday

About Five Acres

Five Acres is a child welfare agency ensuring every child has a safe, healthy and permanent family solution through advocacy, prevention and evidenced-based services. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including community – based mental health and deaf services, wrap around, therapeutic behavioral services, residential care, foster care, adoption and a nonpublic therapeutic school. In 2015 Five Acres served over 8,500 children and their families across five counties. Visit us at 5acres.org

Pasadena, Calif. – Wednesday October 26, 2016 kicked off the 3rd annual Permanency Campaign to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month; as part of Five Acres mission to provide safety, well-being and permanency for children and families. This advocacy event was held in Pasadena at, NOOR.

The program included welcome remarks from distinguished guest and First Lady of Los Angeles (Mayor Eric Garcetti’s wife, plus foster, adoptive mom,) Ms. Amy Elaine Wakeland. Ms. Wakeland shared in front of guests the importance and need for more foster and foster adoptive families in LA County, including Deputy Supervisor, Kathryn Barger, representatives from Assembly member Chris Holden’s office, Five Acres board members, corporate partners and major donors. Of the 20,000 children currently living in LA County foster care, nearly half are under the age of 5 years. Ms. Wakeland encouraged guests to help advocate and be the voice for the children in foster care who cannot speak on behalf of themselves.

Ms. Wakeland’s powerful remarks were followed by a short Q and A featuring best-selling author, wife to bassist of the rock band, Weezer Scott Shriner and recent adoptive mom Jillian Lauren. Guests listened while Ms. Lauren shared her pathway to foster, adoption through Five Acres programs and told anecdotal stories (that garnered lots of laughs from the audience) and offered advice for people thinking about fostering or foster adoption.

The 2016 Permanency Campaign which will feature adoption stories and photographs on the Five Acres website and on social media throughout the month of November, has a focus on raising awareness for the need for more foster families to adopt sibling sets, (with the campaign titled, “Siblings 5A”.) More than 50% of siblings are separated when entering the foster care system. In March of this year, Five Acres opened its Transitional Shelter Care Program at the residential campus in Altadena, designed to keep sibling sets together, specifically sisters.  Since opening, Five Acres has served more than 175 girls.

In 2014, Five Acres launched its first Permanency Campaign with “Boy 5A” a sculpture of a four year old boy representing the 20,000 children currently living in LA County foster care. The campaign included corporate partners “fostering” Boy 5A in various lobbies, courtyards and offices around the Los Angeles and Pasadena areas. The campaign concluded with Boy 5A sculpture becoming “adopted” by Berkshire Hathaway Foundation by way of a contribution to Five Acres.

In 2015, Five Acres introduced the community to, “Girl 5A” a five year old girl featured in a one minute video sharing her story of going through 11 different foster homes and still needing to find a forever family. The video was featured on a large, multi-media interactive display comprised of a flat screen TV, nine foot vertical banners with information on Five Acres foster care and adoption programs, along with a portable iPad featuring a link to the agency website and contact form.

This year’s event ended with a call to action from Ms. Jillian Lauren to help get the word out about the need to not just advocate, but donate to agencies like Five Acres and if you have a lifetime to give, to consider adoption.

The event was sponsored by Morgan Stanley Investments.

Five Acres will feature hopeful and inspiring stories of adoption for the entire month of November in honor of Adoption Awareness Month. Follow us on social media at Facebook, www.facebook.com/fiveacresorg, Instagram www.instragram.com/fiveacresorg and Twitter www.twitter.com/fiveacresorg.

For interviews please contact Director of Communications Rebecca Haussling at rhaussling@5acres.org or mobile 310.922.7384.

About Five Acres

Five Acres is a child welfare agency ensuring every child has a safe, healthy and permanent family solution through advocacy, prevention and evidenced-based services. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including community – based mental health and deaf services, wrap around, therapeutic behavioral services, residential care, foster care, adoption and a nonpublic therapeutic school. In 2015 Five Acres served over 8,500 children and their families across five counties. Visit us at www.5acres.org

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Monday October 3, 2016 [Altadena, CA] – With temperatures in the triple digits more than 100 golfers showed up ready to play in support of Five Acres for the 2016 Golf Classic. Activations on the course kept golfers cool, hydrated and fed including lemonade and sliders from Paul Martins, Monster Java energy drinks, beer, wine from San Antonio Winery, Philippe’s cheesesteak sandwiches, sweets from Nothing Bundt Cakes and Choctal Ice Cream, along with plenty of water!

Golfers joined their spouse, partners, friends and colleagues later in the day at the Old School Cool Lounge where nearly 230 guests sipped martinis and champagne and dined on a cool iceberg wedge salad, baked champagne chicken and chocolate cream tarts.  Everyone was encouraged to don rat-packed inspired outfits. Ladies had everything from stripes, polka dots to gowns and white gloves and the men rocked their best, “zoot suits” skinny ties or bow ties and sear sucker jackets.

Guests were treated to a live performance and speech by former foster child and award-winning jazz musician Janiva Magness. The silent auction and live auction was facilitated this year with the help of Bidpal, an online bidding company as guests were seen throughout the evening busily bidding on their smartphones to raise funds for Five Acres programs.  Highlighted live auction items included a trip to Hawaii, a trip to Mexico, and a gorgeous Porsche timepiece along with an always popular raffle of a Black Label Edition URB-E donated by Urban 626.

Five Acres Chief Advancement Officer shares,

“For more than 128 years Five Acres has helped children and their families in crisis. The funds raised at our annual golf tournament help support all of our programs such as, prevention and intervention in our community-based, foster care and adoption services, our residential and group home and our non-public school. I want to thank our entire golf committee led by co-chairs Rustin Mork and Scott Street and all the supporters, board members and volunteers who help make this event possible.”

More than 3.7 million dollars has been raised for Five Acres programs and services since the golf tournament started, 29 years ago.

This year’s title sponsor was Brad Reaume and Bolton & Co.

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About Five Acres:

Five Acres is a child welfare agency ensuring every child has a safe, healthy and permanent family solution through advocacy, prevention and evidenced-based services. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including community – based mental health and deaf services, wrap around, therapeutic behavioral services, residential care, foster care, adoption and a nonpublic therapeutic school. In 2015 Five Acres served over 8,500 children and their families across five counties. Visit us at www.5acres.org

For Immediate Release:

Long Beach, Calif. –Motivational speaker Gabrielle Bernstein, “Getting Things Done” best-selling author David Allen and fitness guru and creator of TurboJam, Chalene Johnson are just a few of the keynote speakers during the 30th Annual California Women’s Conference at the Long Beach Conference Center in Long Beach, California on December 7-8, 2016. Kaynote speakers will present on the Conference theme of, “Women of the Future – Leading the Way,” along with other notable speakers, songwriter Lovey James, CNN news anchor Carol Costello, businesswoman and author Sharon Lechter and American actress Chenoa Maxwell. They are among more than twenty speakers along with Five Acres CEO Chanel Boutakidis, who will address the conference this year. Attendees will be encouraged to get inspired, get connected and get results with other women who are making major moves around the globe!

Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Peterson shares, “Go into the new year giving yourself the gift of two days to redefine what it means to live YOUR best life.  I’m overwhelmed by the change in women from when they walk through the door to the time they leave….and the projects they take on that make our world a better place for all of us!  It’s truly inspirational to see Women of the future leading the way by collectively building a growing community of empowered, business savvy, forward looking women!”

 Registration is now open for the Conference which will be hosted at the Long Beach Convention Center on December 7 and 8, 2016. California Women’s Conference is the longest running and largest women’s conference in the country, attracting more than 18,000 attendees globally; in person and via live web camera. Attendees come together for two full days with the world’s top speakers for empowerment, networking, professional development and personal growth.

Speakers will share their experiences and expertise on a variety of topics including leadership and motivation, small business and entrepreneurship, social media and branding, healthy living, human rights, social services, education, fashion and film. This year’s theme of, “Women of the Future – Leading the Way” encourages women to take a bigger part in changing the course of their own lives and within their communities.  The Conference will focus on the “5 to Thrive” program which focuses on the five key areas of life: Financial, Career, Physical, Social and Community well-being.

In year’s past, the California Women’s Conference has hosted top speakers from around the globe including Huffington Post co-founder Ariana Huffington, Jack Canfield, author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and acclaimed actress, Rosie Perez.  The entire list of speakers and their biographies can be found on the California Women’s Conference website http://womennetwork.com/cwc/speakers-2016/

The Conference Exhibit Hall features a bustling “town center” for attendees to delight in with dozens of businesses and charities offering services and products, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy other exciting opportunities that appeal to women!

Tickets range from individual for $149.00 up to VIP Platinum for $750.00. Tables can be purchased for $2500.00 up to $7500.00 for VIP. To register for the Conference or learn more please explore our website, http://womennetwork.com/cwc/home/  follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/thewomennetwork Like our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/thewomennetwork

To apply for a media credentials please contact Media Advisory Leader and Five Acres Director of Communications, Rebecca Haussling @ (310) 922-7384 or email at rhaussling@5acres.org

About California Women’s Conference and Women Network

Women Network is a global community for women offering tools and resources to empower women to live their best lives, spotlight achievements from women around the world, and support women in leadership roles. WomenNetwork.com is a natural spinoff that continues the important conversations that happen at the California Women’s Conference – the longest, largest conference for women. More at www.womennetwork.com

About Five Acres

Five Acres is a child welfare agency ensuring every child has a safe, healthy and permanent family solution through advocacy, prevention and evidenced-based services. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including community – based mental health and deaf services, wrap around, therapeutic behavioral services, residential care, foster care, adoption and a nonpublic therapeutic school. In 2015 Five Acres served over 8,500 children and their families across five counties. Visit us at www.5acres.org