Child Crisis Arizona Hosts Breakfast with Santa, Holiday Gift Pickup Party for 600-Plus Youth in Foster Care, Shelters, Programs Statewide
(MESA, Ariz. – Dec. 18, 2025) – In the days leading up to Christmas, Child Crisis Arizona worked to ensure the season was merry and bright for more than 600 youth across its Early Education, Healthy Families, foster care, and adoption programs statewide as well as the youth living in their shelters with a morning full of laughter, cheer, and holiday wonder at the organization’s first-ever Breakfast with Santa event. Hosted at the nonprofit’s expansive Mesa campus, the event featured activities and crafts, a live performance by Ballet Folklorico, and ample breakfast thanks to Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill and Wildflower Restaurant & Bakery. Of course, each child also had the chance to meet Santa, after which they could choose a special gift to take home.
“This event is the evolution of several other programs we have had in place for years, notably our holiday shopping event for teens in foster care and our holiday celebration for families in our foster care program,” said Justin Duran, senior vice president of development & communications at Child Crisis Arizona. “By joining forces, we had the ability to support and delight twice as many youths as in year’s prior.”
According to Duran, Child Crisis Arizona currently supports 15,246 individuals across Arizona through its programs and shelters.
“Child Crisis Arizona has been serving the most vulnerable children and families since 1977, with a mission to prevent abuse and neglect through comprehensive prevention, intervention, and education services,” said Torrie Taj, Child Crisis Arizona CEO. “Over the past decade, Child Crisis Arizona has expanded dramatically in scope and impact, touching over 182,000 lives to date.”
In 2024, Child Crisis Arizona opened the Center for Child & Family Wellness, a 38,000-square-foot sustainably built net-zero energy campus offering wraparound services including counseling, early education, parenting classes, foster care and adoption services, and basic needs support. Also in 2024, the organization acquired Whispering Hope Ranch, enhancing the agency’s commitment to healing through nature-based therapeutic programming and offering service to children of all abilities and backgrounds. With 19 programs and multiple locations across the state, Child Crisis Arizona is a recognized leader in child welfare.
For more information, visit www.childcrisisaz.org.
