You can now find Arizona's Children Association and family of agencies online in the following social media spaces.  Please join us:

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Most health fair dates for the 2010 year have been organized. Click here to view the 2010 Health Fair Calendar.

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Firestar Partners keep kids safe

Volunteers from Golden Gate Community Center, the Valley of the Sun United Way, United Firefighters of Phoenix and Ironman Pool Fence recently saturated the neighborhood surrounding Golden Gate Community Center looking for families eligible for a free pool fence. At the end of the day, 26 families were set up to receive a free pool fence.  Of the 26 families who qualified, the average home had four children under the age of eight. Fence installations should be completed by the end of April.  The Adopt-a-Pool Fence walks and program are made possible by the FireStar partnership, which includes Golden Gate Community Center, the Valley of the Sun United Way, the United Phoenix Fire Fighters Association, the Stardust Foundation, the city of Phoenix Fire Department, the City of Phoenix Mayor's Office and the Office of the City Council.

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Peggy, a student at ASU, shared her story with us of her day at the Golden Gate Community Center...Click here to read her story

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Grandparents and other relative caregivers raising children at the Golden Gate KARE Center in Phoenix have an ambitious summer plan.  They’re raising funds for 24 families, which includes 131 children and adults, to go to Disneyland.  For most of the children, this will be their first time at Disneyland.  The group has been working to raise funds over the past six months, selling fry bread, holding a dance event and seeking donations.  “This is a great example of a caring group of people with common interests coming together to make a dream come true for their grandchildren and relatives,“said Phyllis Habib, director of Golden Gate Community Center. .  To contribute to the KARE Center trip to Disneyland, contact Phyllis Habib at 602-233-0017 or e-mail phabib@arizonaschildren.org.    

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UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company, is providing a $150,000 grant to Arizona’s Children Association and Golden Gate for its preventive Health and Fitness program. 

The goal of the program is to increase awareness and access to resources and services to improve health and overall well-being of the community through education, increase access and direct health service delivery.  Funds from United Health Care will support health fairs, nutrition and physical health activities and neighborhood health hubs that identify community health needs in the low income, Central Phoenix area served by Golden Gate. 

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Phyllis Habib, director of Golden Gate and West Valley Services, received the Child Welfare League of America’s Western Region “Child Welfare Worker” award at their annual conference in September in Portland, Oregon.  Phyllis has been with Arizona’s Children Association for more than five years and she’s been a child welfare professional for more than 20 years.  She commented that the accomplishments and growth of the Golden Gate Community Center came as a result of the work of her ‘team’ – and not just her.   We nominated Phyllis because it takes a leader with vision, enthusiasm, a ‘never say never’ attitude and deep compassion for the work to do what Phyllis has done at Golden Gate in a short time.  Congratulations to Phyllis on a job well done and an award she greatly deserves. 

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The Golden Gate Promotoras de Bienestar (Promoters of Well-Being) project is a unique neighborhood revitalization project designed to build on the strength and commitment of the Golden Gate neighborhood.

The Promotoras project is a unique neighborhood revitalization project that says that the people who live in the neighborhood are the ones who can name the solutions to the neighborhood’s problems. The goal of the Promotoras project is to improve the holistic ‘health’ and well being of the residents who live in the Mitchell School catchment area, including the physical, mental and social well-being of the community, and to strengthen the community by integrating community residents and organizations into the planning and execution of Promotoras programs. The Promotoras program is funded by a five-year grant from St. Luke’s Health Initiatives.

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Esperença, a worldwide organization working to improve the well-being of children and their families through public health programming, has teamed up with Golden Gate. 

For the past 35 years the non-profit health organization Esperança has been operating out of Phoenix, fulfilling its worldwide mission of working to improve the well-being of children and their families through public health programming and volunteer surgical missions. The agency has provided services in 14 countries, on four continents.  Current Esperança projects are located in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Mozambique and at Golden Gate Community Center.“We sought out an opportunity to work with low income people in the community, and Golden Gate seemed like a natural fit,” said Kelli Donley, program director for Esperança. “The goals for our partnership are to decrease incidence of Type 2 diabetes for area residents, improve oral health for children and improve the linkage between families and local health resources.”  For Golden Gate, the partnership with Esperança means expanding current health initiatives and making the delivery of health services more efficient. Current Golden Gate health initiatives include monthly health fairs with expanded health activities three times a year, health education and health related information and referral services for local residents.