On December 9, 2023, ACFPA hosted its annual Christmas celebration at the New Life Church in Dublin. This was an ACFPA member-only event. Ninety-one (91) ACFPA members and 244 children-in-care attended this walk-through event.

The church was transformed into a winter wonderland. The main hall was decorated with a towering Christmas tree and beautiful Holiday village scene. Friendly volunteers greeted the guests with signs saying “Glad you are here”. There were different stations set up throughout the main hall where guests could pick up stuffed backpacks, packages of Christmas cookies and red bags filled with pijamas and toys. In the corner of the main hall, the star of the show, Santa (AKA Charles Bracey, ACFPA Vice President) and his elves greeted the kids, took pictures with families and gave out stuffed Christmas stockings containing small toys, candies and other fun treats.

Inside the sanctuary, the mood was even more magical. Multiple Christmas trees and other decorations with twinkling lights and a video of a cozy fireplace created a glorious sense of warmth and peace. The room was filled with excitement as kids were escorted to the popular toy section, where they explored the array of new toys, selecting their favorites to fill their huge shopping bags.

The older kids and teenagers stopped at the teen table where they could choose from a variety of fun gift options like blankets, art supplies, sport equipment, journals and puzzles and collected their individual gift cards.

As always, this event would not have been possible without the generosity of our partners and volunteers, most importantly, New Life Church of Dublin for allowing the use of their beautiful space for this event and for creating such a magical Christmas experience. We are also grateful to members of the church for their donation of red bags filled with new pajamas and toys, and for volunteering to greet and guide the guests through the event, ensuring a fun and organized experience.

ACFPA would also like to thank First Presbyterian Church for their donation of Target Gift Cards for teens. Their partnership and generosity throughout the years has been a huge blessing and we are so appreciative of their ongoing support.

A huge thank you to Tatyahna Munoz who organized both the backpack collection and Christmas stockings. This isn’t the first time Taty, 18 years old, has supported the ACFPA through her fundraising and other efforts. To learn more about this amazing young lady, read about Taty in her own words here.

Finally, we are grateful to our corporate and private donors for their support and to the Children’s Place, the Pajama Program, Toys for Tots and the Alameda County Sheriff Department for their donations of toys and pjs.

Check our photo and video gallery page to see more pictures.

On December 17, 2022 ACFPA hosted another smashing Christmas party for Resource Parents, including relative, foster and adoptive families, and children in Alameda County. Over 440 families and kids registered for the event. This year, the families were given the option to either drop by and pick up their gifts or walk through the event; more than 300 opted to walk through the event.

Once again this year, the First Presbyterian Church of Hayward allowed the use of their facilities and sanctuary for this wonderful celebration. Families who opted to pick up their goodies received extra large pre-packed gift bags filled with clothing, toys, books and gift cards. Those who walked through had a chance to choose their own gifts from the Toy Room. Babies and teens received Target gift cards, thanks to the generosity of New Life Church, Bay Area Chinese Bible Church and East Bay Orphan Care. There were also bags filled with cosmetics and of course, yummy sugar cookies.  

In addition to the wonderful gifts, Santa was prominently displayed in the Sanctuary this year and families had a chance to take their pictures with St. Nicolas. The Sanctuary was decorated to the hilt by our wonderful volunteers and looked truly magical.

As usual, we couldn’t pull off such a fabulous celebration without the generosity of our donors and tireless work of our volunteers. These included East Bay Orphan Care, New Life Church, Chinese Bible Church of Alameda and San Leandro, Sephora, Mary Kay, Toy for Tots, First Presbyterian Church of Hayward and many individual donors who support this event every year. We are grateful to Rendy Orlando, the ACFPA Fundraising and Donations Co-chair, who led much of the volunteer effort and with her family, dedicated many hours to make this event possible, as well as Carol Graham who spent countless hours organizing the registration. Click on Gallery to see more pictures of the event.