FBI Honors Promises2Kids with FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award
SAN DIEGO, CA—Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office is pleased to announce Promises2Kids has received the nationally recognized FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for 2022.
Based on the leadership, dedication, and overall community service to the citizens of San Diego, FBI San Diego honors Promises2Kids as the 15th Annual Director’s Community Leadership Award recipient and extends great appreciation for the significant contributions and service provided to the San Diego community.
Director Christopher Wray presented the award to CEO Tonya Torosian during a ceremony held on Friday, May 5th at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“Like the 38,000 employees of the FBI,” Director Wray told the honorees, “you don’t do what you do for fame—and certainly not for fortune. You do it out of kindness, out of compassion for others, out of a hope and a dream for safer communities, to leave your towns and cities better places than when you got there. And that’s how I’ve defined success here within our organization, too. Success to me is if everyone leaves the FBI a better place than they found it.”
Director’s Community Leadership Award
The FBI can only conduct investigations and protect the American people if it has the support and understanding of the American people. That’s why the special agents-in-charge of each of our 56 field offices work so closely with their communities and community organizations.
The FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award was formally created in 1990 to honor individuals and organizations for their extraordinary contributions to the prevention of crime and violence in the community. Every year, FBI field offices around the country select a community partner to receive the award.
2022 FBI San Diego – DCLA Recipient – Promises2Kids
Promises2Kids annually provides over 3,000 current and former foster youth in San Diego County with the tools, opportunities, and guidance they need to address and successfully manage the circumstances that brought them into foster care, overcome the difficulties of their past, and grow into healthy and successful adults.
Promises2Kids provides a variety of tools and programs to profoundly impact and improve the lives of foster children: first and foremost, the A.B and Jessie Polinsky Children’s Center. The Center serves as a San Diego County emergency shelter for children who cannot remain at home because of abuse or neglect. The 6-acre facility, built in 1994 through vigorous fundraising, is now a national model for the protection and care of abused and neglected children. The campus includes six residences, an infant nursery, medical clinic, school, library, cafeteria, gymnasium, two swimming pools, two playgrounds, and an outdoor athletic field. The average length of stay is seven days, and Promises2Kids provides funding to support direct services to youth at the Center, where over 1,000 children are cared for annually.
These services include the Youth2Youth program, a peer-driven training that provides emotional support and life skills to current youth at the Center. They also include the Pet Therapy program, where children who have experienced abuse and neglect are exposed to the unconditional love and tactile benefits of animals in order to break the cycle and prevent the higher risk potential to becoming abusive themselves.
In addition to the Center, Promises2Kids administers two distinct programs to benefit foster youth. The first, the Guardian Scholars program, supports local foster youth who wish to obtain a university, community college, or trade school education. This vital resource provides students with the financial assistance and support to fulfill their dreams of attaining higher education. The second program, Camp Connect, provides siblings placed into separate homes in foster care the opportunity to reconnect through a four-day summer camp, as well as recreational and educational day camp activities throughout the year. The program allows brothers and sisters to maintain critical relationships and gain support from each other despite their separation.
Within the last year, FBI San Diego has partnered directly with Promises2Kids to support their career fairs and recruitment events. Additionally, the FBI San Diego Citizens Academy Alumni Association has provided charitable donations and volunteers for a variety of their events. Finally, FBI Teen Academy Ambassadors have assisted both in crafting items for the direct support and benefit of the foster youth as well as volunteered at Promises2Kids events.
FBI San Diego fervently believes Promises2Kids provides the structure, resources, and support necessary to ensure stability and opportunity for at-risk youth, providing a path to education and success in adulthood. FBI San Diego is honored to present Promises2Kids for this highly deserved recognition.
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