Contact: Kim Burruss,
818/677-2130
kburruss@exec.csun.edu

CSUN Alumna Hosts Thanksgiving Dinner for Foster Teens

The Foster Teen Thanksgiving Dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Shoshone Room of the university's Satellite Student Union on the corner of Zelzah Avenue and Lassen Street.

Hosted by CSUN alumna and social worker Wendy Perlera and the San Fernando Valley-based Penny Lane Foster Family Agency, the feast prepared by Kenny Rogers Roasters will be provided at a discounted cost of $1.99 per person. Pie and beverage donations are still being sought.

"This event is important because there are teens who don't go home to celebrate the holidays," said Perlera, a former foster teen who created the annual event four years ago.

Perlera added that this year's dinner will bring together foster teens attending CSUN, as well as reunite other foster teens with their families and siblings.

The dinner is an annual event of Penny Lane's Teen Emancipation Program, which is dedicated to the needs of teens in foster care who will not be able to reunite with their families.

Through the program, foster families are provided with intensive training and support to help them address issues that face teens including high school graduation, preparation for college or vocational training, and the emancipation process.

For more information on the Foster Teen Thanksgiving Dinner or the agency's programs and services, please contact Julia Robinson Shimizu at 818/892-3423, ext. 217.