Past Gift~Away Events

We also had approximately 45 volunteers who helped throughout the day. We are not able to host our events without the tremendous support from our volunteers: community members, families such as the McKees, Kwasts, Rodriguezes, Wolfs, Duquettes, and the Whatley family, schools such as Buena HS, CSUCI, Rancho Campana HS, Pacifica HS, Girl Scouts, CHP Explorers, and Meathead Movers.  

We had a blast and we are looking forward to our next event on April 9th for our Annual Spring Fling Gift~Away…stay tuned for more information coming soon!

Here is what some of our caregivers have to say who benefited from our holiday giving, “thank you for everything and all the blessings, thank you for helping us, thank you for your generous spirit, thank you for caring and sharing…this made our Christmas possible and bright!”

Cozy Holiday Gift~Away 2021 Highlights….this event has always captured the heart of the holiday season and this year, was no different!

Cozy Holiday 2021 was a walk-up event this year with a beautiful set up including holiday themed booths, Santa’s Toy Shoppe, Santa’s Living Room, and a Nightmare Before Christmas booth. The need was great again this year and with amazing support from our community, we were able to provide to the children in care with their families a gift card, toys, sport balls, electronics, teen items with gift cards, pajamas, stuffed animals, throw-blankets, and more! This was a fun family event with music, lots of holiday decorations and holiday spirit from all. Families were able to shop for the children and this year we had a tent just for teens. The teens were able to pick out a few items and receive a gift card. We hope they felt cared for and made their holiday celebration special! Children were able to pick out an ornament craft kit and make a holiday thank you card. Before getting a picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus, children were also able to drop off their Santa letter in a handmade mailbox. Cozy Holiday was blessed again this year with continued partnerships from so many organizations and families. Thank you for showing up for the families we serve in devoted and astonishing ways!

We would like to thank our partners & donors who made this event possible…

The Gene Haas Foundation, California Family Resource Association, Spark of Love Toy Drive, Fire Departments of Ventura County, CHiPs for Kids CHP Toy Drive, St. Jude’s Catholic Community~Loaves & Fishes, Rotary Club of Simi Valley, James Storehouse, Project Bicycle Love, Betty Belts, Roxanne & Keira Danielsen representing Camarillo Amber’s Light Lions Club, Left Coast Parrot Heads, Vivian & Angel with Glitter Brunch, Ford Dealership of Ventura, Forty Leaguers of Ventura, including individuals, and those who purchased from our Amazon wish-list.

We are also extremely grateful to our numerous volunteers who helped us prep for the event and the day of the event. We are only able to do what we do with the caring hearts and dedication of our countless volunteers! Our volunteers help to make a difference in the lives of our families and during a critical time where help is needed the most!

Many of our volunteers and patrons dressed up in costume and many of the families decorated their cars for a Harvest Parade! We were able to serve 135 children with 53 families providing: pirate treasures, Halloween bags filled with candy, coloring sheets, stuffed animals, toys, flashlights, hand sanitizer, masks, pens/pencils, stamps, takis treats, pumpkins, more candy, pumpkin decorating kits, new costumes/coats, clothing, shoes, household goods and more! The children and families driving through the event had so much fun and enjoyed getting out of their cars for a picture with VPD/K-9 Deco & CHP, also in the pumpkin patch area, and picking out their own pumpkins!

Our amazing Trunk o’ Treat included….Crimson Tide Pirates, Day of the Dead, Walmart-Witches, Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Bart the Bat, Ghost Busters, Scare Crow, Skeletons with VPD-Sean/K-9-Deco and CHP-Steve, David’s Pumpkin Patch, Nightmare Before Christmas, Black Cat, and our costume, coats and give-away areas! Wow! 

With the help of our donors and partners, 135 children in care and 53 families were able to enjoy a wonderful experience together!

We had over 60 volunteers throughout the day who helped make this a spooky and fun event!
We could not do what we do without the amazing support of our volunteers: Walmart, Amber’s Light-Danielsen family & Katherine, Left Coast Parrot Heads, Catherine Davis & the Crimson Tide Pirates, VPD-Sean, K-9-Deco & CHP-Steve, Coffee Bean employees/family, Got Rhythm, Newbury Park-Wings to Grow, Turquoise Division-Youth, Becker & McKee family, Rodriguez family, Jennifer Heuertz and family, Helpful Honda, Lisa Wolf, Jeannie Ortega, Robyn our photographer, Quetellen Johnson, Summer Khouvilay, Ernesto Sandoval, Jonathan Dudley, Kaley Robinso, Jack Goldberg, Nora Asp, and many other individuals. We are extremely grateful to our events planning committee and the KFT staff who helped at the event~ Alex, Jamie, Gina, Kim, and Amy! Thank you for your service and working so hard to help us put on a spectacular event for the families we serve!

Happy Harvest & Halloween everyone!

This year’s theme was Pirates & Mermaids!  As with prior drive-thru events, our guests and volunteers had a great time dressing in costume or decorating their vehicles! It was a beautiful day at River Community Church for our back to school gift~away event with pirate & mermaid decorations, live music, and sparkly bubbles…..making it fun for all! With 50 jolly buccaneer volunteers, we provided backpacks filled with age appropriate school supplies, clothing and other donations.  As families left the event, a box lunch was provided, allowing them the opportunity to enjoy a nice afternoon picnic together at the beach or a local park.

We are grateful to everyone who make this event possible and for helping so many children in care return to school with confidence and the supplies they need for a fun and successful school year! Until our next adventure…..Shoes for You in September!

We are grateful to our partners and sponsors for donating helmets, bikes, coloring books, bikes safety gear, and more:

• Crosspointe Church
• Bike Ventura
• CHP Ventura and retirees, CHP Moorpark, and CHP San Luis Obispo
• The Gene Haas Foundation
• Project Bicycle Love
• Royal Family Camp
• Amber’s Light Camarillo
• The Local Love Project
• Open Air Bicycles
• Raising Hope
• Community members

Also, we had a successful event due to our dedicated and amazing volunteers from:
Bike Ventura, CHP, Amber’s Light, Left Coast Parrot Heads and our local community! We are grateful for their service and helping so many children in care…just in time for some Summer fun… in the sun and on their bikes! We cannot do what we do without the help of others! We are truly grateful!  

On behalf of Kids & Families Together and Heart 2 Heart, we would like to thank you for your generous in-kind donation toward our 2021 “Spring Gift~Away” event in support for the families served in our programs. We want to thank you for your support during this challenging year.  We are grateful for you! From one of the caregivers who attended our event, “it was my first gift~away event and it was wonderful!”

Last year, Spring Fling 2020 was the only event we had to cancel, so we really tried to make up for that this year!

Spring Fling 2021 was a contactless, drive-thru event featuring the Spring Bunny and a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands from the foothills of Ventura.  With your support, we served 154 foster/resource, kinship, adopted and birth children living with 54 families.  Children and families were provided with items such as: gift cards, luggage, spring-time themed baskets, teen items, toys, clothing and more! Despite the current situation, our family-centered event was filled with music, bubbles, decorated booths, a dance troop from Got Rhythm and well-wishers ( our volunteers)! Families were able to stop for a socially distanced picture with the Spring Bunny and with Officer Steve from Ventura CHP. For many of us, the best part of the day was seeing the eyes of the children lite up when waving at the Spring Bunny!

We would like to thank our partners & donors who made this event possible:

We are grateful to Poinsettia Pavilion in Ventura for being our host this year by providing us with this location and the spectacular backdrop direct from Mother-Nature herself! The Gene Haas Foundation (gift cards for our families and teens), Old Navy @ Pacific View Mall-The GAP ( much needed funds ), Ventura CHP-Chips For Kids (toys and gift cards for teens), James Storehouse (Spring baskets), St. Jude’s Catholic Church-Loaves & Fishes (Spring baskets), Newbury Park High School-Wings to Grow (Spring baskets), My Stuff Bags (for teens), Peninsula Luggage, Amber’s Light Lion’s Club (in-kind donations), Left Coast Parrot Heads (in-kind), Shelter Care Resources (clothing), Valentino’s (sandwiches for our volunteers), Free Store (clothing), Crosspointe Church ( storage ), Genesis Programs, Inc. (bunny suit), Cooper’s Closet (clothing and more), Tuesday Morning (household goods), Poinsettia Painters (painted backpacks), Trader Joe’s (bags), SoCal Honda Helpers (2 toddler cars), Volunteer Ventura County-United Way, and to all the wonderful individuals and families filling our wish list via Amazon!

We are also extremely grateful to our numerous volunteers:

Thank you to our volunteers who come from all over Ventura County to support our families. Thank you for showing up to our families and helping them in astonishing ways. We are grateful to those who helped us prepare for the event and for those who attended the day of the event. We are only able to do what we do with the caring hearts and dedication of our countless volunteers! Striving alongside our volunteers allows for positive experiences for the children.

A very special thank you to the McKee Family, Wolf Family and Danielsen Family,

Amber’s Light Lion’s Club, Left Coast Parrot Heads, Corey Branchflower of Shelter Care Resources, SoCal Honda Helpers, Got Rhythm dance troop, Ventura Downtown Lion’s Club, Ventura Rotary Club, Amanda the amazing Bunny of the Poland Family ( and her hubby, Rob ), Girl Scout Troop 65218, and individual community members who found their way to us via Volunteer Ventura County-United Way.

Together, we are stronger!