Five Acres Launches Child Abuse Prevention Campaign with Twitter Chat

[Monday April 6, 2015] Altadena, CA – Couples, parents, individuals, supporters and friends of Five Acres are invited to participate in an uplifting conversation on the topic of positive parenting and raising happy children, at the live Twitter Chat on Thursday, April 9, 2015 @ 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Chief Executive Officer Chanel Boutakidis along with the Five Acres research and marketing teams will share stories, articles and parenting tips for raising happy children. The two hour conversation will include basic tips and advice on parenting babies, toddlers, tweens, teenagers and young adults. Participants will be encouraged to share their own parenting tips, personal stories and are invited to ask questions about positive parenting techniques.

The event will be held in April tied to the launch of Five Acres Child Abuse Prevention campaign entitled, “Raising Happiness.” Five Acres will dedicate the entire month to promoting positive parenting to help raise happy children in a safe and healthy environment.

Five Acres celebrity ambassadors (and parents,) Sam Jaeger (Parenthood) Matt Lillard (The Bridge) and Emily Deschanel (Bones) will share family stories and give personal advice on how they are practicing their own positive, parenting techniques.

Everyone is invited to participate in the conversation.

To participate, at the starting time, all those who are interested should sign on to their Twitter accounts and follow along in the conversation, submit a question or comment on the topic of how you are raising happy children using the hashtag #RaisingHappiness. Five Acres will respond to all Tweets.

WHAT:           Five Acres Twitter Chat: Raising Happiness
WHEN:          Thursday, April 9, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. PST
HOW:             Hashtag: #RaisingHappiness
No registration is needed, but you must have a Twitter account

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About Five Acres

Five Acres is a child and family services agency strengthening families and preventing child abuse through treatment and education in community based and residential programs. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including foster care and adoption, supporting nearly 8,400 children and adults in Los Angeles County. Learn more at www.5acres.org or contact Director of Communications Rebecca Haussling rhaussling@5acres.org 626.773.3809.

Imagine Tea – September 13

Enchant the young and young-at-heart with New Imagine Tea on September 13, 2015. Providing Special Entertainment by Young Magicians from The Magic Castle.

Imagine Tea is designed especially for children and will feature a remarkable touch of magic. As part of the upcoming Imagine Tea experience, junior performers from the famed Magic Castle will be on hand to entertain young tea guests, performing close-up magic while children dine on a specialty tea menu of magically-decorated cookies, ham, turkey and PB & J sandwiches and whimsical desserts, all accompanied by pink lemonade, milk and a selection of fruit-infused, caffeine-free teas.

Young tea guests will also have the opportunity to make their own magic during the tea, as they are invited to attend dressed as whichever character, person or animal most appeals to their imagination. During the tea, each child will then be invited to enjoy a special photo op on the magic stage of The Langham Huntington, Pasadena Lobby Lounge.

The next Imagine Tea is scheduled for September 13, 2015, benefiting Five Acres, a child & family services agency promoting the safety, well-being and permanency for children and their families since 1888. Seatings will be presented at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Priced at $48 for adults and $36 for children 12 and under. Reservations are required and may be requested at 626-585-6218.

Imagine Tea at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is part of a family-oriented partnership created between the hotel and the junior program of Magic Castle. Presented quarterly, the new Imagine Tea series will also benefit several local children’s non-profit organizations. The Langham Huntington, Pasadena will donate a portion of each tea date’s proceeds to such charities. The organization will also receive its own table at each seating of the tea, with the ability to bring their own special guests to the event.

2015 Imagine Tea:  September 13

For reservations, please dial (626) 585-6218            Click here to download the flier shown above                                  

Five Acres Celebrates 127 Years of Service with Annual Awards Ceremony

[March 16, 2014, Altadena, CA] Five Acres celebrated 127 years of service with its Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony on March 11 at the Altadena Town and Country Club. Over 125 guests were in attendance to honor Five Acres’ years of success in the field of children and family services. Dignitaries and guests included Congresswoman Judy Chu and Ed Honowitz, Education Policy Advisor to State Senator Carol Liu’s office.

 

An esteemed guest list of past board chairs, current board members, volunteers, agency ambassadors and special guest speaker, Mark Medley was on hand for the special ceremony.  Mark shared his journey with Five Acres, from when he was introduced to the agency to today and working closely with our Adoption Promotion Support Services on the adoption of Victor, his eight year old son. Mark’s presentation moved the audience to tears and showed the true testament of important work Five Acres performs in greater Los Angeles, every day.

 

The annual awards ceremony gives special recognition to individuals and companies that have made a significant contribution to Five Acres’ mission and services provided to more than 8,400 children and family members, every year.  Several awards were handed out, including the Special Recognition Award, given to Chantal and Stephen Bennett; supporters who have been part of the Five Acres family for over a decade. Anita Yagjian was acknowledged for her service to Five Acres as a volunteer for nearly twenty years and awarded Volunteer of the Year. Current board member and CEO of Concept Builders, Don Boline received the Person of the Year Award for his active involvement with Five Acres.

 

The Special Service Award was given to Bolton & Company and the Bolton Foundation for their tremendous partnership; beginning with Brad Reaume’s involvement twenty years ago and Brad’s strong endorsement once he joined Bolton & Company.  Nancy and Hugh Helm and Heather and Matthew Lillard were jointly awarded the Five Acres Award for their inter-generational support and many years of devoted service to Five Acres. The Commitment to Service Award was given to Catherine Simms with Wells Fargo Bank; she started her commitment to the agency in the early 1990’s as a volunteer. Nearly thirty years later Catherine continues to be involved as an active board member. And finally, supporter and TV actor, Sam Jaeger was given the Special Friend Award; recognized for championing the work of Five Acres both as a celebrity advocate and as an active Special Friend Mentor for a child in residential care.

 

“As we celebrate 127 years of impacting hundreds and thousands of children and families throughout Southern California, we are honored to share this special occasion with generations of committed supporters, passionate leaders and inspiring clients who have all played a vital role in achieving Five Acres’ continued success, “ said Chanel Boutakidis, Five Acres’ Chief Executive Officer.

Departing board of directors Andrew Crowell, Josef Farrar, Alex Blecksmith, Catherine Simms, Brad Mohr, Anita Yagjian and Nishat Ahmed were recognized and the newly inducted board of directors, Keri Crowell, Peter Diedrich and Paul Maurin were welcomed.

Guests enjoyed a gorgeous view of the country club from the floor to ceiling picturesque windows in the ballroom, and dined on a menu of heirloom tomato bruschetta, eggplant caponata, shaved romano, garlic crostini mushrooms stuffed with crab, kobe sliders on Hawaiian bread, garlic aioli & dill pickles and thai vegetable spring rolls.

For the entire list of attendees and additional information about Five Acres, please contact Director of Communications Rebecca Haussling rhaussling@5acres.org or 626.773.3809.

 

About Five Acres

 

Five Acres is a child and family services agency strengthening families and preventing child abuse through treatment and education in community based and residential programs. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including foster care and adoption, supporting nearly 8,400 children and adults in Los Angeles County.  Learn more at www.5acres.org

Five Acres Receives Prestigious Grant of $100,000 from the S. Mark Taper Foundation

 

(February 17, 2015, ALTADENA, CA) – Five Acres is thrilled to announce it has been awarded $100,000 from the S. Mark Taper Foundation in support of Residential Treatment Programs for children.  These programs offer intensive therapeutic services for children referred to Five Acres by the Department of Children and Family Services.

 

The S. Mark Taper Foundation funds were awarded in December of 2014, specifically in support of residential programs which provide round-the-clock care to some of the most at-risk children in Los Angeles County.

 

“This generous grant allows us to further our work to find safe, healthy and permanent family solutions for the most vulnerable children in Los Angeles,” said Five Acres Chief Executive Officer Chanel Boutakidis.

 

The S. Mark Taper Foundation, founded in 1989, is a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of people’s lives by supporting nonprofit organizations and their work in our communities.  The Foundation had previously granted funding to Five Acres in support of quality mental health programs, in 2007.

 

Five Acres relies upon the great generosity of many individuals, corporations and foundations to both build and sustain its vital programming.  The S. Mark Taper Foundation gift underscores the importance of sustaining services which help children and their families attain safety, well-being and permanency.

 

About Five Acres:

 Five Acres is a child and family services agency strengthening families and preventing child abuse through treatment and education in community based and residential programs. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including foster care and adoption, supporting nearly 8,400 children and family members in five counties.

 

For more information please visit www.5acres.org or contact Director of Communications, Rebecca Haussling at rhaussling@5acres.org

 

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Five Acres receives grant of $20,000 in support of the Pasadena Mental Health Center and Domestic Violence (Grace) Services

(January 26, 2015 – Altadena CA ) – Five Acres has been awarded $20,000 from the Orange County Community Foundation. The funds will be used towards the Pasadena Mental Health Center (PMHC), a program of Five Acres, which provides comprehensive, affordable mental health programs to uninsured people in the greater San Gabriel Valley.  Domestic Violence (Grace) Services are included.

PMHC serves individuals, families, couples, and groups, as well as parent classes and couples counseling. The mission of PMHC is to help individuals make measurable progress toward personal goals, and to build skills for better working relationships at home, at work and in the community.  Each year, more than 1,000 people are provided domestic violence and/or mental health services at PMHC.

This is the sixth grant Orange County Community Foundation has given to Five Acres, primarily in support of Domestic Violence (Grace) Services.

The Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) has more than 450 charitable funds and helps people support the causes they are most passionate about. OCCF collaborates with individuals, families and businesses for stewardship and to match their charitable interests with the community’s needs. Since its inception, OCCF has granted over $257 million to meet needs in Orange County, LA County, across the nation and around the world.

About Pasadena Mental Health Center

 

The Pasadena Mental Health Center (PMHC) was founded in 1965 by a group of mental health professionals and concerned community members to provide high quality, accessible and affordable mental health services to women and others in the local communities. PMHC became part of Five Acres 6/30/2014, where it joined with Domestic Violence (Grace) Services, a program of Five Acres since 2003.

 

About Five Acres

 

Five Acres is a child and family services agency strengthening families and preventing child abuse through treatment and education in community based and residential programs. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including foster care and adoption, supporting nearly 8,400 children and adults in Los Angeles County.

 

For more information please contact Rebecca Haussling at rhaussling@5acres.org or go to www.fiveacres.org

 

 

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