$10,000 donation to Luggage of Love from the Scott Foundation

I want to thank the Scott family for your generous donation of $10,000 to Luggage of Love. I am beyond words with your generosity, love, and support. So many children will benefit from your donation and it is people like yourselves who truly are making a difference in the lives of our foster youth. Simply put I am speechless.

Make-A-Wish grant of luggage for Tori's trip to Paris

Today I met the most inspirational young lady. Tori Sather is living with brain cancer. At an early age Tori found herself having mood swings and tripping all the time for no reason. Since the age of 5 her brain tumor had went undiagnosed until she was in her teens. Finally they found the culprit of all of Tori's troubles...a tumor the size of a softball. At the age of 15 Tori underwent surgery to remove the tumor. During the surgery, the left side of Tori's body became paralyzed. Since then, she has spent

countless months recovering in the hospital. She never gave up on her fight to gain feeling and mobility on that side of her body. Today she is mobile and continues to fight on. I am so inspired by Tori and all that she has gone through. She is a beautiful and strong person with a heart of gold. I adore you and your outlook on life. I hope you have the most amazing time in Paris and that you and your mother enjoy your luggage.

A pallet of luggage packed with love from Girl Scout Troop #60477

A HUGE thank you goes to Girl Scout Troop #60477 for stopping the Luggage of Love office to help ship out a pallet. You ladies were great worker bees and I had a blast watching you palletize this shipment from start to finish. From decorating the luggage tags, putting them

on the luggage, separating the luggage, stacking it on the pallet, and shrink wrapping it...YOU DID AMAZING! The children at the shelter will love getting luggage wrapped with care from you. I've loved getting to know each and every one of you and please come back to help and visit anytime!

Fellow Casa Pacifica resident and friend of mine, Cristina Miranda, Sr. Youth Advocate, was interviewed by NBC News during her internship at Capitol Hill! Please click on the link below to watch what amazing strides former foster youth around our country are doing today. So proud of all your accomplishments Cristina! Keep up the good work. Click here to watch the video

Meadowlarks Award Luncheon

The Meadowlark Service League ("MSL") is a non-profit organization of women dedicated to raising funds for a variety of local charitable organizations and programs. They have given over $2,500,000 to worthy organizations since their inception in 1971. This year was their 40 year anniversary, and they awarded $233,000 to deserving, non profit organizations and scholarships to local graduating high school seniors and continuing college students. One of the conditions of the grants is that all recipients must be located in Ventura County and the money must be spent in Ventura County. I am honored that the Meadowlarks once again included Luggage of Love as one of their recipients this year. Thank you to all of the ladies who work countless hours to raise these funds, it is greatly appreciated and I am humbled beyond words. Your grant money will help the many children in transition in Ventura County so they do not have to put their personal belongings into trash bags.

Soroptimist International Ruby Award

Soroptimist International of Camarillo is a member of an International organization that improves the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. This morning I was honored as this

years recipient of their Ruby Award for my efforts with Luggage of Love. Honorees of this award are women who have worked in extraordinary ways to benefit women and girls. I am blessed to have been

chosen for such a distinguished award. Thank you to all the ladies in the organization, I enjoyed the lovely breakfast with each and everyone of you and I thank you for your continued support of my organization.

Buena High School Speaking Engagement

Buena High School has a specially designed class for students who were "at-risk", and have now changed turned it around and improved their grades, and more importantly... their lives. This class often has outside speakers come and share their story of overcoming adversity and making the best possible lives for themselves, despite who they were or where they come from. I was asked to share my story of being a former homeless, shelter, and foster youth; the challenges I faced and the struggles I continue to battle. This group of young men and women all had similar stories so we were able to relate to one another on a deeper level. I hope that my story made a difference in their lives. Thank you Buena High School for having me and I am honored that you have asked me to return to speak again.