Casa Pacifica Honors Longtime Volunteers During National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Camarillo, Calif., April 24, 2023 – Casa Pacifica marked National Volunteer Appreciation Week with a special town hall luncheon celebrating their guests of honor – the agency’s 2022 volunteer award winners.

“Volunteers are the heart of Casa Pacifica. It is a privilege to honor these incredible individuals who demonstrate such a passionate commitment to supporting at-risk children and young adults. The dedication they bring to Casa Pacifica is priceless and has a far-reaching impact on our youth and communities,” said Carrie L. Hughes, Chief Development Officer, Casa Pacifica.

In 2022, volunteers donated more than 3,000 of hours of service to the agency, encompassing on-campus children’s events, holiday donation drives and campus beautification projects, among others.

The 2022 volunteers honored for their exceptional service include:

Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters – Local 805, Community Volunteer of the Year – The Carpenters, as they are affectionately known, are steadfast supporters of Casa Pacifica, donating their time and talents to campus improvement projects in addition to brightening the holidays for the agency’s children and youth. Since 2017, the group has supplied turkeys for Casa Pacifica’s annual Thanksgiving dinner and brought smiles to the kids’ faces while serving up a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The Carpenters are always available to roll up their sleeves, pick up a hammer or paintbrush and participate in Casa Pacifica’s mission. Their continued efforts over the years demonstrate their care and commitment to the most vulnerable in our community.

Terri Parks, Volunteer of the Year – Terri Parks serves on both the Board of Directors for Casa Pacifica and the volunteer Angels Auxiliary Board. For the past 15 years she has dedicated her time to helping build positive futures for Casa Pacifica’s children and youth, volunteering at every single campus and fundraising event. Among her numerous contributions to the agency are serving as a co-chair for Casa Pacifica’s Children’s Events committee, as silent auction committee co-chair for the annual Angels Wine, Food & Brew benefit festival as well as chair of various Board committees. A former Director of Information Systems at Amgen, Parks is currently a member of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo advisory board for the Women’s Engineering Program, and serves on the Board of the Discovery Center for Science and Technology.

Susan Burgos, Lifetime Angel Award –Philanthropist Susan Burgos is a longtime member of the Casa Pacifica Angels volunteer group and has been involved with the organization for more than 30 years. Burgos has a huge heart for children, having grown up in a foster home in her native Canada. She’s brought untold joy to hundreds of Casa Pacifica youth through her many years of volunteer service. As co-chair of Casa Pacifica’s Children’s Events Committee, a position she has held for more than a decade, Burgos is actively involved in planning and hosting a series of annual holiday parties, creating happy and lasting memories for children struggling with mental and behavioral health challenges. She is also a longtime member of the Angels Board. In addition to her work with Casa Pacifica, Burgos is a dedicated and well-regarded volunteer for numerous nonprofit organizations throughout Ventura County.

Casa Pacifica’s multipurpose Dr. William & Susan Burgos Building, named in honor of Burgos and her late physician and philanthropist husband, was dedicated in 2019 and houses a health clinic, family therapy meeting space, intake, clinical offices and family visiting rooms.

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Casa Pacifica Mission: A life worth living – Casa Pacifica inspires hope and nurtures mental health and well-being of children, young adults, and families to realize their full potential.

Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families provides assessment, clinical, medical, residential, and educational services to foster and at-risk children/youth struggling with complex mental health disorders due to past trauma and/or mental illness. The agency is the largest non-profit provider of children’s and adolescent mental health services in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties and administers 15 campus- and community-based programs and services designed to give youth, and their families, the tools they need to heal, rebuild and strengthen relationships, reengage with their educations, and overcome their negative emotional and behavioral challenges. The agency’s Camino a Casa program, available to clients with private insurance, provides behavioral health care to support youth ages 9 to 17 with emotional and behavioral issues, along with their families.

For more information about Casa Pacifica visit its website www.casapacifica.org or call the Development Department at (805) 445-7800.