Charity to Take Vans of Toys to Shelter
A Ventura County charity will deliver two vans filled with dolls, teddy bears, trolls and other toys to Casa Pacifica in Oxnard today, the result of a recent toy drive.
The Ventura County Medical Society Alliance collected nearly 200 items to donate to the shelter for abused and neglected children during a campaign that ended in May, organizer Bonnie Walters said.
The alliance also will present Casa Pacifica with a check for $300. The money will be used to buy children’s tables and other equipment for the center’s planned play therapy room, said Tanya Gonzales, a Casa Pacifica spokeswoman.
About 180 physicians’ spouses countywide belong to the Ventura County chapter of the alliance, Walters said. The alliance is a national, nonprofit group dedicated to raising money for scholarships in the health field and for other projects.
Casa Pacifica is scheduled to open next spring and will aid hundreds of children throughout Ventura County each year who have been abused in the home, Gonzales said. Children will be given dolls and teddy bears upon entering the organization’s new shelter under construction in Camarillo, she said.
“These are kids who have just been taken from their mothers, their fathers and their homes. These toys will give them something to hang on to,” she said.
Casa Pacifica is also seeking donations of children’s books and clothes for the children who will live there on a temporary basis. The center will offer psychological counseling and other treatment, Gonzales said.
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