April 29, 2020
Easter Basket Miracle
About a week before Easter, an immunocompromised Koinonia foster parent expressed her concern about being able to make the upcoming holiday special for her kids. Avoiding any public places like the store was the best way to protect herself and her family from the coronavirus, but that meant there were limited ways to purchase Easter goodies in time for the special day. Malia Phillips, a supervising social worker at Koinonia’s Gardena office, reached out to the rest of the staff and was able to find a way to make sure the Easter bunny still came.
Gardena’s resource parent coordinator, Regina Martin, had a friend who decided to take it upon herself to shop for and assemble not just one, but eighty-nine Easter baskets! With the help of her family, she sanitized every single item to ensure no one was put at-risk. There were so many Easter goodies that the Gardena office was able to pass on extra baskets to the foster kids at the Santa Ana office as well! Koinonia families and staff cannot express how grateful they are to volunteers who go out of their way to support them, especially in the middle of a pandemic. The kindness of these volunteers allowed immunocompromised foster families (and many others) to have a sense of normalcy at Easter, without having to go out shopping, putting themselves at risk. Malia expressed her gratitude, saying, “This quarantine has been difficult for me and the rest of the team…being able to provide this resource for our families, lifted us up and brought us joy.”
Over the River and Through the Woods
Banetta Bacchi, Koinonia’s Family Partner at our Loomis office, was able to provide Easter baskets for her foster families thanks to funds raised at last year’s golf tournament. “It was my pleasure to deliver Easter baskets to our Loomis office families. My travels quite literally took me over the mountains and through the woods to happy faces,” she said. Due to Covid-19, Banetta left the special deliveries on families’ porches. There were many excited recipients of all ages; one child was so delighted, they exclaimed, “that’s for me?!” Koinonia is overjoyed that our communities help care for our kids and families so well. Fundraisers like the golf tournament and other donations received throughout the year make these wonderful moments possible for our families!
