Contact Excelsior
What's New
Excelsior Helps Girls Create New Holiday Memories
We all look forward to the holidays as a joyous time with family and friends filled with presents, favorite foods and special family traditions. For many girls at Excelsior, this time of year brings sadness because they are not with their families, have unmet hopes from a family that is still struggling with addictions, or must face the painful reminder that they don’t have a family at all. To help our girls have the best possible holiday experience, Excelsior staff teach healthy coping skills while providing fun activities that will create new and happy holiday memories.
Therapists help our girls learn to set realistic expectations for the holidays. The girls are encouraged to reach out to staff and peers for support. Cottage Counselors and Recreation Staff prepare holiday meals, surprise girls with presents, plan fun outings, decorate the cottages and teach seasonal arts and crafts workshops. Our Wellness program provides opportunities for appropriate release of energy and frustration, ie: jogging, aerobic equipment, weight machines, yoga, basketball, volleyball, step dancing, hip hop classes and more. Arts and crafts, drama classes, crocheting, choir, painting, and cultural cooking can engage girls and help them refocus their energies and feel empowered by learning new, fun, socially appropriate leisure time activities.
Dedicated volunteers amaze us with the long hours of preparation, the caring and the creativity they put into making the season bright for every girl. We have volunteers who cook a full Thanksgiving dinner for our Aftercare girls and their children. Other volunteers buy stocking stuffers, help decorate cottage trees, bake cookies with the girls, dress up as Santa and pass out gifts. Our Paws4Trust volunteers surprise the girls with a Bernese Mountain dog pulling a decorated wagon full of presents! Volunteers treat our girls to dance performances, caroling and holiday card making workshops. We give a hearty “Thank you” to all our wonderful volunteers for showing our girls how much you care and that they are worthy of your time and caring. This is the best therapy there is.
So often at this time of year, people want to know what our girls need. Here are some ideas for things our girls would love to see under the tree: stuffed animals, small rugs for next to their beds, colorful towels and washcloths, flannel PJ’s and robes, alarm clocks, crayons & coloring books and books for reading (Junie B. Jones, American Girl , Judy Moody, Little House Chapter Books, Goosebumps , Gallagher Girls ). Our Wellness program would love some Wii games, footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, dodge balls, soccer balls, kick balls, tennis balls, balance boards and hula hoops. Our cottages can use DVD’s (G and PG only please), puzzles, kitchen towels and hot pad sets, cookie sheets, electric skillets, blow dryers, bathroom rugs, shower curtains, Tupperware, culturally diverse posters, 4 slot toasters and blenders. The Recreation Department needs arts and craft supplies (paper, colored pencils, markers, glue, cutouts, etc), yarn for crocheting and beads and string for bracelet making. Click here to see our entire Holiday Wish List. Please contact Maris Escobedo at 303.693.1550 ext. 311 if you have a donation or would like to volunteer.
Thank you to our many donors who have been so generous to our girls over the years. We are very appreciative.
Happy Holidays,
Joan Gabrielson
Executive Director
