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- Village NEWS ARCHIVE -

THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA HONORS LIA ROWLEY
On November 14, the City of Santa Rosa honored Lia Rowley for founding an innovative foster care model, The Children's Village of Sonoma County. The Mayoral Proclamation was read by Santa Rosa Mayor, Jane Bender, and stated that Lia Rowley's vision and efforts have educated the community of the plight of many children in foster care. The hope is that this model will spread to other areas of the state and country.

The Village, a unique alternative model, is located in the 1300 block of Kawana Terrace Road in southeast Santa Rosa. It opened with children in two of the four houses and three surrogate grandparents in the three grandparent units. There will be four more houses built, three more grandparent units and a community center. When the project is completed, it will house 48 children.

In honor of Founder, Lia Rowley, the new address is:
Mailing - 1321 Lia Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Location - 1300 block of Kawana Terrace, Santa Rosa, CA 95404


In Memoriam
Pete Settle - 1946-2008

The Children's Village of Sonoma County lost a true friend - board member, treasurer and site project manager. Pete Settle, board member of The Childrenʼs Village died on May 1, 2008 as a result of a lung ailment.   Pete had retired as an engineer/project manager in 2004 and joined the Village at a critical time when his skills were desperately needed to guide our design and construction.  His leadership was pivotal in the successful builds of our first four homes for our sibling groups, grandparent triplex and Village Center . We are grateful for his guidance in our collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County for the second grandparent triplex, which is currently under construction. He served on the finance and site committees and recently was elected as treasurer.

We will miss his dedication, thoroughness, warm heart and good humor.

His memorial service was on May 10, 2008. In lieu of flowers, his family has suggested donations to The Children's Village of Sonoma County.  




 
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OUR CHILDREN ARE HOME

By Lia Rowley

Thanks to you our donors, volunteers and supporters, we now have children running through the Village, riding bikes, spinning hula-hoops playing basketball, and simply “being kids.” Thanks to all of you, our Village is fulfilling the part in society that we always dreamed it would. The squeals and peals of laughter are long awaited music to our ears!

Thanks to your dedication to the dream of a new model of foster care, several sets of brothers and sisters are living in our first two homes. Thanks to everyone involved, plans are under way to hire more staff and prepare the third home for future children.

The Village is buzzing with activities of all kinds while the children, all between the ages of 6 and 12, are getting adjusted to living here. The new Village parents are working hard to provide nurturing family homes. Volunteers are providing educational programs and special activities, and the three Village grandparents deserve medals for their commitment and loving support.

We welcome you to celebrate this moment with us. It is time to thank all of you who have given their skill, time, donations and moral support. The encouragement from our community has been overwhelming. Now we look forward to a future full of success: keeping children together with their siblings, and creating families for children who are in need. We know that you will be there for us, helping to create this success by continuing the support, and generosity you’ve always shown to the Village.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

 


 

707-566-7044
1321 Lia Lane
Santa Rosa, California 95404
The Children's Village of Sonoma County is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. EIN 68-0412763