Fostering Relationships

Fostering Relationships

Eulonda Lea never thought she’d play tag again at the age of 56, but here she is—and she’s loving it.

Lea volunteers as a court-appointed special advocate—or CASA—for the Sacramento County branch of the National CASA Association, which provides consistency and support for children in the foster care system through volunteer advocates. These advocates are community members—no law background required—trained by CASA and then appointed by a judge to advocate for a foster youth on a one-to-one basis.

Fresh Start

Fresh Start

Rich Desmond is ready to join the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors as the representative from District 3, which stretches from Sacramento State University to beyond Hazel Avenue.

Desmond is excited but knows the challenges. He says his father would have offered this advice: “Always remember who you are and what you represent.”

For the newly elected supervisor, those words mean doing the right thing and helping the less fortunate.

Dancing Through Life

Dancing Through Life

On Sept. 19, 2020, Barbara Crockett celebrated her 100th birthday—a tremendous milestone by any calculation. She also celebrated nearly a century in the dance world as a performer, teacher and founder of arts organizations that continue to offer top-level dance education and performance—in Sacramento and beyond.

“My mother has been one of the important strongholds of classical ballet in the country for over 70 years,” says Allyson Deane, Crockett’s daughter. Crockett, along with her husband Deane Crockett, Allyson Deane and Deane’s husband Don Schwennesen, co-founded the Sacramento Civic Ballet Company and Deane Dance Center—one of Sacramento’s premiere dance schools.

Wheels Of Fortune

Wheels Of Fortune

Trucking and charity might seem like an unlikely pair. But for Desiree Caldwell Amaral—founder, owner and director of operations for Elite HR Logistics—helping people find lifelong careers and giving back to her community have always been inextricably linked.

For the past 20 years, Sacramento-based Elite HR Logistics has worked with numerous nonprofits, especially those focused on helping children, while simultaneously growing into one of California’s premiere employment agencies for all kinds of industries across seven states.

In 1998, after years in ad sales, Caldwell Amaral decided to switch careers and discovered an affinity for recruitment—particularly for jobs in the trucking industry.

Helping Themselves

Helping Themselves

Sacramento is home to many people eager to help their community by joining nonprofit groups. But there are holes in this safety net.

Our region has about 15,000 nonprofit groups. These include fraternal organizations, charities, service clubs, foundations and chambers of commerce. The economic impact of local nonprofits is a monster number.

A Magic Collection

A Magic Collection

When the coronavirus pandemic forced the world to quarantine back in March, Joe Wilson followed the common theme of many Americans—use his extra time to organize and declutter his house. He intended to throw out old items, but ended up adding many new ones.

“Just like everyone else, I wanted to do something I hadn’t had the time to do before the pandemic,” Wilson says.

As he went through boxes of holiday decorations, he discovered a Christopher Radko ornament with a hand-written number on it. The Carmichael resident became intrigued and researched the history and purpose of the handcrafted glass ornament, and soon found out about the “Magic 25.”