Azusa, Calif.- With the population of foster children in Los Angeles County reaching nearly 19,000, Monrovia resident T. Scott Daniels, Ph.D., dean of theology at Azusa Pacific University and senior pastor at Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene (PazNaz), mobilizes his congregation to help alleviate the foster care crisis in his local community. Through programs such as Blessing of the Backpacks, which provides 350 foster children from the San Gabriel Valley with school supplies each fall, as well as congregants who open their homes to foster children, Daniels said his church is making a difference. Daniels even ran the L.A. Marathon twice in recent years to raise funds for foster children.
Recognized by Child S.H.A.R.E. (Support, Hope, Advocacy, Resources, Encouragement) for his dedication to helping foster children, Daniels received the 2011 Guardian Angel Award on behalf of his congregation and is the guest of honor at the 26th Annual Child S.H.A.R.E. Gala at the California Club in Los Angeles on September 24, 2011.
“This award is as much for the people of my church as it is for me,” Daniels said. “For the last five years, through our partnership with Child S.H.A.R.E., we have answered God’s call to help the foster children of Los Angeles County.”
“Dr. Daniels exemplifies the vision of Child S.H.A.R.E. He works with his church to find loving homes for abused kids amongst his congregants and opens the PazNaz doors to host Christmas parties, backpack drives, monthly Resource Support Groups, and the list goes on- all for Child S.H.A.R.E. foster and adoptive families,” explained Pat Dahlson, president of the board of directors of Child S.H.A.R.E.
Founded in 1985, Child S.H.A.R.E. is a Southern California non-profit agency that is devoted to helping abused and abandoned children find loving homes. It has successfully recruited over 1,600 families, providing stability to over 2,800. Since 2002, one in four of the foster children in Child S.H.A.R.E. have been adopted.
