Priority Center: More Volunteers Needed for Holiday Campaign

The Priority Center in Anaheim, California, formerly the Child Abuse Prevention Center, is making an urgent call for volunteers for this year’s Families Helping Families holiday campaign.

According to Lisa Fujimoto, executive director of The Priority Center, the nonprofit is still seeking 100 families to adopt other families who receive assistance from the center. Each year the campaign benefits more than 200 of Orange County’s neediest families, many of whom struggle to provide basic wish-list items for family members such as socks, jackets, shoes and clothing, as well as special holiday requests for their children. The deadline to adopt a family has been extended to Wednesday, Dec. 11.

“We are appealing to churches and their members, as well as corporations, service clubs, small businesses and individuals to join us for this program,” Fujimoto said. “We are definitely concerned that many of our families will have to go without their holiday wish-list granted this year. We are appealing to our generous and philanthropic Orange County community to assist us with this vitally important program so we can create a memorable holiday season for disadvantaged families living among us.”

The Priority Center is also seeking department store and grocery store gift cards for the families in $25 increments. The Priority Center welcomes cash donations as well this holiday season to support its 10 critical life-changing programs serving the vulnerable children and adults in crisis in Orange County.

Volunteers can sign up through The Priority Center’s Families Helping Families website at www.preventioncenter.org. The website also offers information on donations and sponsorship opportunities. For assistance with adoption of a family, contact Cierra Creer at ccreer@theprioritycenter.org.

The Priority Center

Established in 1983, The Priority Center (formerly known as the Child Abuse Prevention Center) serves at-risk adults, families and children in crisis to prevent and break the generational cycle of trauma and abuse. The center matches individuals and families at risk of trauma with professional caseworkers who work with them directly within their homes. The Priority Center also works with adolescents and adults in crisis who need intervention services dealing with a mental illness and suicidal ideations.

A recent report by the Orange County Health Care Agency notes that suicide in the county is at an all-time high with a rate of 10.9 people per 100,000 people. The Priority Center teams work with adolescents and adults experiencing suicidal ideation and self-harm. The Priority Center is the only nonprofit organization in Orange County offering in-home crisis stabilization for children, adults and families. The center employs more than 120 professional staff members, two-thirds of whom provide direct services to individuals in need. In 2018, the center’s programs served more than 6,000 individuals in crisis and families.

# # #