You can now find Arizona's Children Association and family of agencies online in the following social media spaces.  Please join us:

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Fry’s Food Stores donates $25,000 to Golden Gate Community Center’s Preventive Health & Fitness Program

Golden Gate Community Center and Arizona’s Children Association are proud to announce that Fry’s Food Stores has donated $25,000 to fund our Golden Gate Community Center’s Preventive Health & Fitness program.

We are very grateful of the support Fry’s Food Stores has provided for our Golden Gate Community Center’s Preventive Health & Fitness program over the past several years, specifically to provide critical preventive health services to women and families in west central Phoenix, and this additional donation to maintain the program.

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A Once in a Lifetime Trip for Kinship Families

It's not easy being a kinship caregiver, yet in Arizona there are more than 198,000 children living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives (US 2010 Census).  Instead of resting or retiring, these grandparents and relative caregivers took on the responsibility of caring for some of Arizona’s most vulnerable children. Many of these families find that relearning how to parent and adjusting to a new lifestyle can be emotionally, physically, and financially challenging.

Kinship, Adoption, Resource and Education (KARE) Centers provide support to kinship caregivers all over the state.  That support has taken on many different forms in different areas of the state, but the KARE group in Phoenix has had one goal above all others: a grown up dream for their children…to go to Disneyland! 

This past Thanksgiving, that trip became a reality.  The group of 17 families, made up of 72 children and adults, had been planning and fundraising for four years to raise the money to take the once in a lifetime trip. Initially, they had thought this vision was beyond their grasp as many of these families have never been to Disneyland or never have had the opportunity to even visit California.  However, they worked as team, created a fund and found creative ways to add to that fund. They've sold tamales and fry bread, washed cars, baked cakes and cooked lunches. A few weeks ago, after four years of hard work, they finally reached the $20,000 they needed to cover the cost of the bus trip, two nights in a hotel and their Disneyland admission.

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Peggy, a student at ASU, shared her story with us of her day at the Golden Gate Community Center...Click here to read her story

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The Golden Gate Promotoras de Bienestar (Promoters of Well-Being) project is a unique neighborhood revitalization project designed to build on the strength and commitment of the Golden Gate neighborhood.

The Promotoras project is a unique neighborhood revitalization project that says that the people who live in the neighborhood are the ones who can name the solutions to the neighborhood’s problems. The goal of the Promotoras project is to improve the holistic ‘health’ and well being of the residents who live in the Mitchell School catchment area, including the physical, mental and social well-being of the community, and to strengthen the community by integrating community residents and organizations into the planning and execution of Promotoras programs. The Promotoras program is funded by a five-year grant from St. Luke’s Health Initiatives.