Busy making spirits bright This month has been filled with holiday programming for all ages! Our Senior Wellness team co-hosted a Holiday Lunch in Calistoga with Rianda House for 28 older adults. Attendees decorated cookies, played holiday-themed games, received a gifted blanket, and had a delicious lunch while Christmas music filled the room. Our CLAR@ youth mentoring program hosted a posada style Community Night in St. Helena and Calistoga where parents and students painted away the holiday stress by decorating Christmas ornaments and enjoyed sweet treats! Our Student Assistance Program Case Managers provided fun prizes and information about the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) available through UpValley Family Centers. Our gingerbread house decorating party in Calistoga was hosted at the Calistoga Community Center by 6 UVFC staff, 3 student volunteers, and 1 adult volunteer, and had 140 attendees, including 61 adults and 79 children. The St. Helena gingerbread party organized in partnership between the St. Helena Fire Department, St. Helena Parks and Recreation Department, and UpValley Family Centers was hosted by 21 student volunteers, 3 adult volunteers, 5 UVFC staff, 12 SHFD staff, and 6 SH Parks & Rec staff, and had 671 attendees, including 324 adults and 347 children. A special thank you to Dory Culver, Walter Nirenberg, Paula Key, John Murphy for making this event possible! If you attended the gingerbread event and took a photo with Santa at the fire station on December 14th, your complimentary download is now available. Please click here for instructions on how to get your Santa photos! Our Holiday Assistance Programs supported 144 families in St. Helena (including families form Angwin and Pope Valley) and 156 families in Calistoga with toys for children, gift cards for teens, frozen chickens, and grocery gift cards for a holiday meal. In partnership with Grace Episcopal Church, an additional 25 families in St. Helena and 25 families in Calistoga received gift baskets through Grace's adopt-a-family program. Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners who made these holiday events possible, including Calistoga Community Chest, CalMart, CHP Napa, Community Action of Napa Valley, First Presbyterian Church of St. Helena, Grace Episcopal Church, Indian Springs Calistoga, Pochini Family Farm, Salvation Army, St. Helena Fire Department, St. Helena Montessori School, St. Helena Parks & Recreation Department, St. Vincent de Paul Ministry, The City of St. Helena, Toys for Tots, Upper Valley Disposal - Waste Connections, and Upper Valley Women’s Group. |
