“Cindy Goodfellow has joined the Van Nuys Citizens Advisory Body for the San Fernando Valley airport. Goodfellow is administrative manager at Aerolease Associates LLC, owner and manager of properties at the airport. She brings a background commercial office,warehouse and aviation property management experiance to the council.

Advisory council members are selected by Los Angeles City Council members whose districts include the airport, the mayor and the Airport Commision. The advisory council meets the first Tuesday of the month in the conference room of the Van Nuys FLyAway on Woodley Ave.”

Cindy Goodfellow also sits in the Board of Directors for The Eddie Nash Foundation and is involved in fund raising and public relations efforts that benifit Foster Youth. The foundation is credited with bringing the Camp To Belong Orange County program to So. Cal and has recently launched their Village Passports 20/20 Tutoring program that offers free tutoring to Foster youth here in Orange County.

JETAINE HART: When you look at the outcomes for youth in foster care in terms of education, incarceration rates, and mental health issues, and dependency on public assistance all of those things, when it really comes down to it, we’re gonna pay more for that in the long run than if we invest in them now.

To put on such a big “show,” you cannot do it alone. Volunteer teams are so important. Going into this project, I would have thought that our group could do it all on their own. Five people can only stretch only so far. The non-profit executive board was of great help because of their communication daily. They aided in assigning us projects, as well as, positive reinforcement. There were different school teams from both Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach. They helped in dividing up different tasks so that we could be overall more successful.

Our goal for this exclusive “A Night under the Stars” Wine Tasting Event is not to have as many guests as possible, but rather, we intend on making this a feel-good, cozy, and relaxing night to be in one another’s company where we will give recognition to those who have donated time and service and to gain awareness for a cause.

To say that this event was beyond successful would be an understatement. The amount of guests compared to last year nearly doubled. Next year, we expect to have to move venues due to lack of space for the continuing growth. All because of events like these, we have been given the opportunity to reunite siblings separated by the adoption system and to change their lives while away at summer camp.

-Danielle Castle

In Orange County there are nearly 4000 youth in foster and other out of home placement. Some in kinship care while others live in a group home setting. Nearly half of these youth are separated from their biological siblings as a result of this placement and have little if any chance to enjoy a normal childhood sibling relationship. Camp To Belong Orange County reunification program provides the opportunity for brothers and sisters to meet and spend time in a nurturing and safe environment where they can begin rebuilding the relationship that was shattered as a result of their out of home placement. Giving the younger sibling an older brother or sister to look up to and returning to the older sibling the privilege of being a role model to their little brother or sister.

With the support of the greater Orange County community, OC Children Services, Orangewood Children Foundation, CASA and The Kinship Center, Camp To Belong OC has reunited 175 youth through the week long camp event. All of these youth have siblings that were either separated by placement in the foster care system or were adopted and had siblings still living in foster care.

The proceeds from the November 5th event support foster youth sibling relationships and educational programs. In Orange County 46% of foster youth will leave the system without a high school diploma compared to 16% of the general population.

65% will be homeless within 1 year of emancipation –

They make up 40% of our homeless population –

And they take up 60% or more of the beds in our state prison system -

In a statement to the guests Bryan “Eddie” Nash, Founder of the Eddie Nash foundation said:

“Although there may be groves of foster children in our community, many of who might be out of our touch. Still, there are hundreds to be gathered that are well within our reach. I call this the low hanging fruit – and there is no reasoning for us as a community to watch this population spoil on the vine. Healing for these kids begin with the sibling connection – The opportunity to excel academically – and the privilege of learning basic life skills like social responsibility and financial literacy. So that’s why we do this – This call to action – that is becoming a National Conversation to help our disadvantaged youth who are well deserving of our support.”

What we are doing today will help us reach our 2012 goal of 100 foster youth next July at Camp To Belong Orange County. If you would like to be a part of this unique and life changing program that literally changes the lives of these kids forever, please contact Bryan Nash at Bryan@eddienashfoundation.org.

This year we’re working in teams of 10-12 people, allowing each person to finish part of the race for the team. Some of the fun adventures will be:

* Archery
* Tomahawk throw
* Ropes and zip line
* Cross-country run
* Sprint

Our campers had so much fun doing these activities last year, we thought it would be great fun to allow our fundraisers enjoy the same activities!

Sponsor one of our teams or join one yourself!

For more information, contact Bryan Nash.