James Storehouse: Christmas Catalog 2018

Dear Friend, Merry Christmas!

It is truly a joy to bring hope and practical support to thousands of foster children each year through James Storehouse.

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to look through our catalog. It’s full of items that our local children in foster care and aged out youth desperately need! Each of these items supports their placement and eases their transition as they enter into a new home. This essential support truly helps these children FEEL loved and cared for in the midst of their trauma. These items also show foster families that there is a loving community rallying behind them as they do the hard job of fostering. The saying, "it takes a village!” comes to life every single day as you offer your essential support.

James Storehouse is ground zero where needs are met during the critical first hours of placement. The high-quality resources and care these kids and families receive reflect the love, honor, and dignity they so deserve. It's donors like you who make all of this possible!

Thank you for caring for the most vulnerable and at-risk children in our community!

With love,

Stacy DeWitt Stacy DeWitt, Executive Director

Gift Giving Guide Amazon Wishlist 5 Bless a Foster Family 9 Aged Out Youth 11 Sponsor a Foster Child 15 Outtings & 16-17 Meaningful Experiences

Christmas Giving

While this group needs our help 365 days of

From cribs to colleges, James Storehouse

wonderful time to give. In this catalog, you

supports children in foster care and those aging

will find a variety of items that we often

out by providing resources that will ease

receive as requests, as well as other ways

transitions and improve living conditions. Since

that we can support this deserving

children in the foster care system are more

community. All donations are tax deductible,

the year, the holiday season is an especially

susceptible to challenges such as homelessness, and certificates are available if you are substance abuse, trafficking, and lack of interested in donating an item in someone's education, James Storehouse seeks to facilitate name as a unique holiday present. systematic change in the Ventura and Los Angeles counties by advocating on behalf of

As you consider giving this holiday

these underprivileged youth.

season, we hope that you will remember James Storehouse and the precious foster

When they succeed, we all succeed.

babies, children, and youth we serve.

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James Storehouse Amazon Wish List Sponsor a Foster Child - $35/month Each month you will partner with us to fulfill emergency requests that will help expedite the safe placement of babies and children. Your monthly donation helps provide critical, age-appropriate resources such as cribs, beds, car seats, toiletries, clothing, and bunk beds to keep siblings together.

Emergency Placement Kit - $55 When the lives of foster children are in constant upheaval, the last thing they should worry about it whether or not they can brush their teeth at night.

Emergency Placement Kits encompass all the basic resources a youth would need ranging from pajamas and blankets to deodorant and floss. Start a kit and make their first nights in a new home feel comfortable and safe.

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Case of Diapers - $33 Government care programs do not cover diapers, and many families cannot afford the price of purchasing them in bulk.

Since diapers are a necessity, many under-resourced foster and kinship families have to choose between covering the cost of utilities and purchasing diapers. This gift means peace of mind for struggling families and happier, healthier babies. All sizes are listed on our registry.

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Baby Wipes - $14 Baby wipes are an essential for each little one.

Help encourage struggling foster or kinship families by providing this much-needed resource.

Baby Crib - $125 Help expedite the emergency placement of a baby into a safe and loving home by providing a safe crib for him or her to settle into.

Toddler Bed - $55 With a bed of their own, our toddlers in foster care will feel at home and comfortable. And with so many cases of emergency placements, toddler beds are always in high demand.

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Crib Mattress - $37 Crib mattresses are in high demand, along with the cribs, for each baby and toddler in foster care we serve.

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Crib Sheets - $11 Help our babies in foster care enjoy the comfort of a warm bed with soft crib sheets.

Bed in a Bag - $39 Provide a bed-in-a-bag set to help a child in foster care transition to a new home more easily. Help make them feel at home from day one!

10 Cosco Simple Fold High Chair - $36 During feeding time, keep our sweet babies and toddlers secure in a safe high chair.

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Cosco Apt 50 Car Seat - $60

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Keep our precious toddlers safe in the car! The number of requests for toddler car seats we receive is far greater than the amount we have available each month.

Cosco Finale DX 2-in-1 Combo Booster Car Seat - $60 Keep our preschoolers safe in the car! The number of requests we receive for preschooler car seats is far greater than the amount we have available each month. A proper car seat is mandatory for a child to be placed into a safe and loving home.

Evenflo Vive Travel System Stroller - $150 Drug exposed foster babies often have lots of doctor appointments. Help a caregiver with limited resources easily and safely transport a baby in their care.

Baby Trend Rocket Lightweight Stroller - $50 There are so many toddlers recently placed into foster care. Help a foster family or relative caregiver by providing a much-needed stroller.

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Bed Frame - $55 In order for a child to be placed into a safe and loving home, a bed frame off the floor must be provided. Help a child today by giving this emergency resource.

Twin Mattress - $85 Our foster babies are not the only ones that need a safe place to sleep! Help a foster child or teen to be placed into a safe home by providing a comfortable mattress to sleep on.

Bunk Bed -$147 Too often, siblings become separated when foster families only have resources for one child. Bunk beds ensure that siblings are kept together, which helps lower experiences of PTSD, anxiety, and depression for children in the foster care system.

This gift can come with just a bunk bed, or a bunk bed and mattresses.

Bibles (Spanish or English) - $21 Give the ultimate gift of hope to a foster family or group home. Many of the kids and adults we serve have never had a Bible of their own, and many request them.

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Bless a Foster Family Very often children are placed into homes on an emergency basis and the foster family or family friend has no time or no resources in order to prepare.

You can bless them with a gift card donation of any amount to meet their emergency needs.

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Meet Brandon!

Brandon is one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet. As a recent graduate of CSUCI with a double major in biology and biochemistry, he is working to go into the medical field! We had the privilege of helping him get professional attire and appropriate winter wear for a trip he took to the east coast, where he attended the AMSA national convention.

Our James Storehouse Transitional Youth Program helped him succeed. We partner with Cal State Channel Islands and their P.A.T.H. program to provide aged out youth or formerly homeless students, like Brandon, with professional attire, dorm and off-campus apartment set ups, and care packages throughout the year.

Brandon, we are so incredibly proud of all you have accomplished, and cannot wait to see what your future holds. We are thrilled to have you as a part of our James Storehouse family!

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Give the Gift of Hope & Help to Aged Out Youth Foster care support doesn't stop after the children age out of the foster care system.

Most 18 year old young adults have a network of support to guide them into adulthood. However, most youth who age out of the foster care system find themselves living alone and without support. Foster youth often lack the experience and knowledge to live on their own and are at high risk for dropping out of school, homelessness, unemployment, early parenthood, and crime.

We've developed our Transitional Youth Program to help connect these wonderful youth to critical resources which prevent homelessness, as well as to our wonderful support system of caring community members.

We provide resources and community connections to help them launch successfully to independence.

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See pages 12-14 for most requested items for these youth.

Most requested items for older foster youth...

Kitchen Starter Pack - $19 Help foster youth make the transition to adulthood with furnishings for a first apartment!

Kitchen starter packs provide the food preparation essentials that young adults need when they are learning to live on their own.

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Cookware Set - $15

This seventeen piece cookware set provides the food preparation essentials that young adults need when they are learning to cook for the first time.

Dinnerware Set - $30 Most of the foster youth we work with never had the opportunity to grow up in a functional home. This is often their first experience getting essentials like a set of dishes. Help make a difference in their lives and show them that they are loved.

Silverware Set - $6 To complete the dinnerware set, utensils are a necessity.

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Drinking Glasses Set - $20 Drinking glasses are a necessity! Provide this essential to help an aged out youth set up their kitchen for the very first time.

Pyrex Baking Dish Set - $18 Aged out youth are often learning to cook for the very first time. Help provide this dish set as they learn to prepare healthy meals for themselves.

Small Dresser - $75 When youth grow up in the foster care system, they easily have been placed into 10 or more homes.

With so many disruptions, they inevitably lose their belongings. Help encourage an aged out youth by providing a small dresser for clothing to stay neat and organized in their first apartment.

Detergent Pods - $20 Detergent pods have been very helpful for the foster youth in their transition to adulthood. Donate detergent pods and help the foster youth learn to do their own laundry, an important life skill.

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Youth in foster group homes must become independent long before they are ready, as they have no family to fall back on. That's why we want to be there for whatever they may need.

Thanks to donors, we were able to provide a bike, helmet, and lock for this beautiful youth who needed reliable transportation to school and to the horse ranch where she works.

She was ecstatic to receive it, and we were so excited we were able to help another member of our James Storehouse family!

Bike - $78 - $113 Lack of adequate transportation impacts both the physical and the economic security of many youth in Ventura County. With the gift of a bike, a child can get to school on time, secure the job they need, and enjoy the freedoms of being a teen! Our registry has both a women's and men's bike.

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Sponsor a Foster Child Every child in foster care has their own story.

By sponsoring a foster child, your $35 donation allows James Storehouse to provide the critical, age appropriate items to help place a child into a safe and loving home. Some of these items include: cribs, beds, car seats, clothing, apartment essentials, toiletries, and bunk beds to keep siblings together.

James Storehouse directly helps over 3,260 foster children each year and each child desperately needs a sponsor. To sponsor a foster child, please click here and select "recurring donation."

Thank you for making a difference!

$35 per month changes the life of a child in foster care!

Sometimes children are placed into the foster care system immediately after being born due to a variety of reasons. Jonathan was drug-exposed and two weeks old when he was ready to be placed into a foster home. We provided a car seat, stroller, diapers, wipes, clothes, and other supplies to expedite his placement into a safe and loving home.

After Sophia's mother passed away, she was placed into the foster care system and her grandmother stepped in a as caregiver. With other children already in care, bunk beds, mattresses, a crib, and storage solutions were need in order to meet required standards with Child and Family Services. James Storehouse was able to provide these things and more in order to make this new living arrangement possible.

Alexander has been in the foster care system for 4 years. His mother passed away, and he was placed into the system when his father could no longer take care of him. He has had a difficult life already, as he was moved from foster family to foster family. Alexander has many goals and aspirations, but has fallen behind in school.

We were able to connect him with a mentor, gave him much-needed clothing, hygiene products, school supplies, and other necessities to show him that his is worthy of love and support.

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Provide a Meaningful Activity for a Foster Child or Group Home Night at the Movies for a Group Home - $150 Provide eight foster youth with the opportunity to enjoy a fun night out! Your gift supplies movie tickets, popcorn, and a drink.

Dream Day - $50 Support a dream day for a little girl in foster care. Give her the gift of a special doll, lunch, and a carefree fun day at the American Girl Cafe.

MB2 Raceway - $100 Support a fun day of go-karting for a little boy in foster care. Give him hope during a traumatic time in his life.

Disneyland Trip

$120 for one ticket, reunite siblings for $240

Help us give foster children a day they will never forget at the happiest place on earth! Purchasing two tickets would even allow us to reunite siblings that have been separated as a result of the placement process.

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If you are interested in making a donation, here are some instructions: Donating by mail • Write a check made out to “James Storehouse” • In the memo line, designate “Christmas 2018” followed by the specific gift description.

• Mail it to us at: 3541 Old Conejo Rd. #117 Newbury Park, CA 91320 Donating online • Move your cursor over the image of the item you are interested in: • Most items will lead you to our Amazon registry. You can have the items shipped directly to us (address above), and we will deliver it to the foster children in need.

• A few items lead directly to our website. Select the gift you are giving, and enter your info. (If you are choosing to sponsor a foster youth and are interested in making a monthly donation, please select "Recurring").

• Finish and hit submit! You will receive a donation receipt through email with a link to a printable certificate to present to the gift recipient! If you donated through our Amazon registry, we will mail a certificate to the address included in the order.

Thank you so much for helping this deserving community. All donations are tax deductible. Please remember that your help is appreciated year-round so that we may serve these children no matter the season.

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“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

James 1:27