Stacey Montoya had just started her new job as a teacher at Wayfinder’s Special Education School when COVID-19 forced the school to transition rapidly to online education. “A lot of us were in such denial,” Stacey remembers. “We thought that the pandemic wasn’t going to be very long.” “All teachers were flying by the seat…
Mayra and Pedro’s twin babies, José and María, were born prematurely at only 27 weeks. In their birth country, the twins received medical treatment that left them blind. Mayra and Pedro wanted so much for their children. But without vision, how could the twins become independent? “I did not have any idea what I was…
The four children had been through an unimaginable trauma. They arrived at Wayfinder’s Cottage late at night, after their stepmother committed a violent crime in the home. The older children were disoriented and fearful. The 1-year- old baby, Anna, cried incessantly. In The Cottage, they found a welcoming, safe haven. The oldest, 14-year-old Tisha, was…
How is Wayfinder doing in the ongoing pandemic? Who would have guessed that we would still be in the throes of the pandemic a year-and-a-half later! The pandemic has caused so much grief and pain in our society and to our clients and staff. It has been a time of loss. Through it all, Wayfinder…
Did you know? Many of the children, youth and families in our programs were hit the hardest by the pandemic? Please consider making a gift today. A Gift from Santa Just two days before Christmas, 5-year-old Sharon was removed from her home due to extreme neglect and placed in The Cottage, our temporary shelter care…
Create a better world for children and families in need… continue a legacy of giving beyond our lifetimes… make a difference in the lives of people we will never know. These thoughts motivated Glenn and Andrea Sonnenberg to include Wayfinder in their estate plans. By making a planned gift, the Sonnenbergs joined the roughly 140…
Two years ago, Camilla volunteered at Wayfinder’s Paralympic Games. “It opened my eyes,” Camilla says. “It’s humbling to see these kids who have vision loss playing sports and smiling.” Camilla says the experience put her day-to-day challenges into perspective. She had initially learned about Wayfinder from Brent Williams, chair of Wayfinder’s Board of Directors and…
“Tianna wanted to be a mother, but a private adoption agency told her that prospects were not good for a single person. Cycles of in vitro fertilization did not work. But when she moved from Illinois to California to become a professor at UC Berkeley, she learned about Wayfinder. “Wayfinder was very accepting,” Tianna recalls….
Jai’el is a wonderful, funny, silly character. He makes me laugh and brings everyone around him joy,” says Margie, a Wayfinder early intervention specialist. Margie has been providing services to the 2-year-old and his mother, LaTosha for about a year. As an infant, Jai’el was diagnosed with a build-up of fluid in the brain, which…
Legacy is the mark we leave on the world. Those who have come before us in Wayfinder’s Legacy Society have truly made a positive impact. Their generosity has endowed our continuing work and enriched the lives of thousands of children and their families. Their legacy is visible in the children who gain independence at Camp Bloomfield,…
