With the generous support of donors and nearly 800 volunteers annually, the Sacramento Children’s Home is able to successfully work to reduce child abuse and neglect in our region.
We had a great year last year but the work never stops, so now we’re looking ahead, hoping to continue having a positive impact on the community’s most vulnerable and at-risk children.
Our mission is to open doors to the future by maximizing the potential of children and families, something we’ve been working hard at since we opened our doors in 1867.
If you share our goals and mission, then join us. Let’s work together to empower children and families, to strengthen them, and to end the generational cycle of abuse and neglect.
Let’s work together to make the world a better place, starting with our home—the Sacramento region.
Here are 25 ways you can lead the charge.
Make a Donation
1. One-Time Gifts
Whether you donate $200 on the Big Day of Giving or $10 on a random Tuesday in March, your financial support can provide formula for babies in our Crisis Nursery Program or clothing for our Residential Program, among many other things. This can be done through our secure donate page on our website or our Facebook page.
2. Memorial or Honor Donations
Honor the memory of a loved one with a memorial gift, or provide a gift on behalf of a loved one in honor of a holiday, birthday, or anniversary. These gifts can be made once or annually.
3. Recurring Gifts
If you want to have an even bigger impact, spread your donation out and become an SCH Partner for a Better Tomorrow by choosing the amount you’d like to contribute and the frequency. Your donation will be automatically deducted from your credit card, debit card, or checking account as a recurring gift.
If you’d like your recurring gift to specifically go to the Crisis Nursery, join our Crisis Nursery Sustainers Circle by clicking here.
4. Join the Children’s Circle
Your annual membership gift of $1,000 or more brings you into the Children’s Circle, whose members help carry on the important work of supporting our community’s most vulnerable children and families.
5. Leave a Legacy
Legacy giving involves providing for a future gift through your financial and estate plans. There are numerous ways to arrange this, and many of them protect your assets and/or entitle you to tax deductions. Consult an estate attorney or financial advisor if you’re considering this gift type. Click here for more information.
6. Workplace Giving
If your company or employer offers an employee giving program, then supporting the Sacramento Children’s Home can be as simple as having small donations directly deducted from your paycheck! Email Todd.Koolakian@kidshome.org to learn more.
7. Sponsor an Event
Imagine it: “This community-strengthening event for at-risk families in need is brought to you completely free by the generosity of (insert your name or your company’s name)!” Now that’s an awesome way to give back. Email Todd.Koolakian@kidshome.org to learn more.
Bonus: Host an Event
Annually, the Sacramento Children’s Home benefits from the generous support of several individuals and businesses that host third-party events ranging from golf tournaments to softball games and paintball competitions. Note: It’s helpful to let us know prior to advertising your event.
Gift an Item
8. Donate an Immediate Need
Visit the How to Help—In-Kind Support page on our website to see the Immediate Needs List. Our programs are in search of the items on this list and need them as soon as possible. Note: All items must be new.
9. Donate Ongoing Necessities
Children in our programs are always in need of the basic necessities we so often take for granted. Visit the In-Kind Support page to jump to the SCH Wish List for items that will help children in need throughout the year. Note: All items must be new.
10. Host an Item Drive
In 2017, we saw multiple children use their birthday to benefit the children of the Sacramento Children’s Home by asking for items from the Immediate Needs List instead of birthday presents. Similarly, we have had offices, community groups, and individuals organize donation drives to collect SCH Wish list items.
11. Donate a Car
Save yourself the time and hassle of trying to sell it. We work with a reputable car donation processor who will make all the arrangements, tow from wherever it is at no charge, handle the title transfer and provide you with a donation receipt when they arrive.
Give Time
12. Volunteer
With so many opportunities, Sacramento Children’s Home volunteers really do make a difference! Volunteers can spend time with the boys in Residential or with the children at the Crisis Nurseries. You can work events, helping set up, bartend, register guests, or staff information booths. More of a behind-the-scenes person? Help with administrative tasks like finance, data entry, and philanthropy.
13. Donate a Service
Perhaps you’re a business owner, and rather than donate funds for a printing project, you’d like your company to complete the project. From auto repairs to graphic design, your support allows us to utilize more funds for programs and services. Email Wendy.Beseda@kidshome.org to learn more.
14. Donate a Project
With a maintenance team of three and six locations, we look to our community to donate labor for specific projects at any of our various locations. This could include helping with the remodel of a residential cottage, planting trees around our main campus, or re-staining a deck at a crisis nursery. Email Wendy.Beseda@kidshome.org to learn more.
Like Us
15. Follow us on Social Media
We’re currently on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn! If you use social media regularly, give us a follow to see all the great things the Sacramento community does for children in need.
Bonus: Be a Social Media Ambassador
If you’re extremely active on social media and want to spread the word about our mission because it’s aligned with your similar values, help spread the word. Social media ambassadors go beyond liking our pages; they frequently share our posts, tag us, use our hashtag, and more to increase the visibility of our efforts. Email Nick.Houser@kidshome.org to learn more.
16. Host a Your Own Facebook Fundraiser
Facebook allows users to raise money for the cause they care about. Users simply click Create Fundraiser on the bottom left, then follow the guide to get started. If you love our cause, spread the word to friends and challenge them to get involved too. Email Nick.Houser@kidshome.org to learn more.
17. Subscribe to our Newsletter
Not into social media? Join our email list. Newsletter subscribers receive our monthly e-newsletter, SCH Insider, as well as periodic updates on needs, fundraising efforts, and upcoming special events. This is one of the best ways to ensure you never miss an opportunity to give back.
Make Holiday Wishes Come True
18. Join the Holiday Giving Program
In November, the Sacramento Children’s Home launches its Holiday Giving Program, which provides a multitude of opportunities to give back to the community. You can join by:
Picking Up a Wish Star: Grant a child in need’s wishes by purchasing new, unwrapped items from his/her wish list.
Picking Up a Gift Card Star: Some of the children we serve prefer gift cards to buy their own clothes, toys, shoes, games, and food.
Picking up a Snow Trip Star: We send the children in our Residential Program who do not have a family to spend the holidays with to Mt. Shasta to have fun in the snow.
Adopting a Family: Individuals, groups, families, and/or businesses can band together to adopt an entire family in need who, without the community’s support, wouldn’t be able to celebrate the holidays with their children.
Volunteering: We rely on volunteers to greet donors, as well as accept, load/unload, track, sort, and wrap gifts.
Hosting a Giving Tree Site: Help us make wish stars available by hosting a giving tree at your location.
Sponsoring a Holiday Party: Our three Family Resource Centers host community events for free to families who otherwise might not be able to celebrate the holidays.
Join Us
19. Take a Tour
Whether you’re a newcomer to the Sacramento Children’s Home or a current supporter, you’ll come away with an in-depth look at what we do to support Sacramento’s most vulnerable children and families, and what you can do to help.
20. Eat Lunch at Casa Garden Restaurant
Did you know? Eating lunch at Casa Garden Restaurant, located next door to us at 2760 Sutterville Road, directly benefits the Sacramento Children’s Home. That’s right, you can help a child in need by eating lunch. One hundred percent of the proceeds from Casa Garden are contributed directly to SCH.
21. Rent Casa Garden’s Space for an Event/Meeting
Not only can you eat lunch at Casa Garden, but you can also book the restaurant for private events like company mixers, birthdays, retirements, or other celebrations. Also on the premises, Casa’s meeting center can be used for meetings, trainings, planning sessions, awards presentations, you name it.
Bonus: Get Married at Casa Garden
The garden terrace has been the site of weddings for many generations of local families. The garden setting and wedding arch create a beautiful and lush background for your special event.
22. Attend an Event
Throughout the year, we host events aimed not only at raising funds for our programs, but also educating the public on our efforts and thanking our supporters. Each year, we hold events such as the Business Luncheon and Luxe for Life.
23. Join an Auxiliary
The Sacramento Children’s Home benefits greatly from the support of auxiliary groups, which contributes to our success in their own unique ways. The Friends of the Crisis Nurseries supports the Crisis Nursery Program; Los Niños Service League operates the Casa Garden Restaurant and gives 100 percent of its gratuities to SCH; the SCH Guild hosts its annual Crab Feed to raise funds for the Children’s Home.
24. Attend an Auxiliary Event
If you like the idea of attending an event to support the Sacramento Children’s Home, our auxiliaries host a multitude of events such as the SCH Guild’s Crab Feed in February, Casa Garden’s Crafters Corners, or the Friends of the Crisis Nurseries’ drop-in shopping events at various locations.
25. Work at SCH
When you work at the Sacramento Children’s Home, you’re not just making a living. You’re playing a key role in maximizing the potential of the children and families we serve. Check out our careers page and apply today!
The Sacramento Children’s Home has worked to open doors for children and families in our community for over 150 years, but it wouldn’t be possible without donors, sponsors, volunteers, or auxiliaries. It wouldn’t be possible without partners, without supporters, and without you.
Hopefully, you share our mission of creating a better, stronger Sacramento, one without child abuse and neglect. If you do, we hope to see you soon, whether as a volunteer, an event-goer, a social media follower, a team member, or as a lifelong supporter.