On the evening of Friday, October 21st, Save the Family held its annual Fall Festival at Escobedo at Verde Vista in Mesa. Nearly 150 moms, dads and children showed up to celebrate the event organized by Save the Family’s Youth Enrichment & Achievement Program (YEA), who took on co-planning duties for this community event, along with Save the Family staff and volunteers.
Thanks to the generosity of our community, families were treated to food and drinks, games, prizes, balloon animals, and a petting zoo. Halloween costumes were generously provided by members of the First United Methodist Church of Mesa. Sonoran dogs and elotes, sponsored by Greenscape AZ LLC, were available free of charge for families. With candy donated by a Redemption Gateway Bible Study Group, children at the event enjoyed all the best of the season. Project Smile AZ brought activity kits and art supplies for children to take home, too. Niagara Cares and United Food Bank provided all of the water and beverages for the event, while Midwest Food Bank provided snacks.
In a new offering this year, Bell Bank parked their Empowerment Bus at the event, where parents were invited to check their credit, learn ways to improve their credit rating and savings, and receive additional information on money management. Bell Bank’s crew was an enormous help to the Save the Family team throughout the night, jumping in to help at various activity stations.
What an incredible showing of community support! We are grateful for the many organizations, churches, businesses and others who came together to ensure its success. To get your church group or business involved at Save the Family, please reach out today! We have a number of holiday programs, including family sponsorships for Christmas, toy drives and special events we’d love to connect you with for the benefit of families in need. Contact us at volunteer@savethefamily.org to learn more.