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PHOENIX (Oct. 26, 2017) – We Are Their Future is pleased to announce the Home for the Holidays campaign kick off on November 4, 2017 at the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing World Finals, held at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, AZ. The Home for the Holidays kick-off event is a celebration day for Arizona’s foster children that reside in group homes.
On November 4th, over 500 foster children will be treated to a day at the races courtesy of  Lucas Oil. The goal for the day is encouragement and inspiration, to remind them that they are loved and not forgotten – that Arizonans are working to insure that they have a family and a bright future. The goal for the Home for the Holidays campaign is to spotlight the need of these precious Arizona foster children, reminding Arizonans that in our own backyard are orphans, hoping and praying someone will open their heart and home to invite them to be a part of a forever family.
The celebration festivities includes a visit from World Champion Drag Boat Racer Tony Scarlata, tours of the racing pits, complimentary lunch, Santa and Mrs. Claus at Santa’s Workshop, games, and gifts. It also includes a brief inspirational program. Guest speakers include:
- The Gavazzo family, who have selflessly fostered and adopted vulnerable children with special needs and horrific backgrounds of abuse. Chris and Tiffany believe that the powerful love of a family brings healing to wounded, broken children. Their message will be a compelling one of love and encouragement.
- Maria Hinderleider, who entered the foster care system at 6 mos. of age, and aged out at 18 years old. Maria graduated high school at sixteen, earned a master’s degree, married, had children, and enjoys a successful career. Maria’s potent message will challenge the children to choose success, refusing to be defined by their circumstance.
- Racing legend and current World Champion drag boat
 racer Tony Scarlata, who holds back-to-back racing titles. Tony is truly a champion but has suffered setbacks, including a serious crash in Australia. His powerful appeal will be to value hard work, persistence, and embracing the necessity of overcoming failures in order to triumph.
The two month Home for the Holidays campaign is tightly focused on finding adoptive families. We Are Their Future believes this is the most critical component to changing the future for Arizona’s foster children. A multitude of data illustrates the grim fact that the longer a child remains in the foster care system, the less likely his future outcomes will be positive. Statistics also illustrate the heartbreaking fact that last year over 1,000 children in Arizona’s foster care system aged out without ever being adopted, and that numbers are trending to be at the same level for children aging out without families this year. High profile educational campaigns include participation in large scale events such as the NASCAR CAN-AM, commercials from influential Arizonans, and a robust public relations campaign. The goal for this campaign is to find over 2,000 forever families – half of the number of children in foster care with severed parental rights.
More information on the Home for the Holidays campaign is available at: www.getkidshomefortheholidays.org.
Additional information on adopting, fostering, volunteering, and donating is available at: www.wearetheirfuture.org.
Please contact Vickie Isaac, M.Ed to schedule Interviews, reserve press passes, and Home for the Holidays Celebration Day schedule. [email protected] 602.403.7575 cell
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Vickie Isaac, M.Ed. As the former Director of Communications at the Arizona Department of Child Safety, Mrs. Isaac believes that government should not be parenting children. She is convinced that if Arizona citizens were well informed about the plight of Arizona’s foster children, they would certainly step forward to help. As a result, We Are Their Future educates and engages citizens to meet the urgent needs of foster children. Citizen engagement includes adopting, fostering, volunteering, and donating to change the future of Arizona’s most vulnerable children. Since inception in April 2017, We Are Their Future has recruited over 600 Arizona families interested in adoption and fostering, and over 150 individuals interested in volunteering to help Arizona foster children.
