SPRITES Winter 2025 Newsletter

Winter 2025 Newsletter

Spiritual, Philanthropic, Recreational, Inspirational, Training-Centered, Educational, Social

We continue to support our philanthropies and community through numerous volunteering opportunities.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our Annual Gala on Saturday March 22, 2025! This will be a wonderful time to reconnect with past SPRITES members and Sustaining SPRITES members. We hope you all can join us!

President’s Message

Our year is off to an inspiring start as we continue supporting local charities and preparing for our annual gala on March 22. This year’s theme, SPRITES in the Spotlight: An Iconic Night, was chosen by our senior class to celebrate the achievements of remarkable women throughout history.

Each mother-daughter pair has reflected on the women who inspire us—pioneers like Clara Barton and Rosa Parks, compassionate leaders like Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, trailblazers like Billie Jean King and Simone Biles, artists like Frida Kahlo and Taylor Swift, and visionaries like Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey. We’ve also taken time to honor the strength and resilience of our own mothers, grandmothers, and mentors, whose stories shape and motivate us.

The “I” in SPRITES stands for Inspirational, a value we see in the women who lift us up. At our January meeting, Dr. Lindsey Burnett from UCSD shared how essential female connections are—not just for our emotional well-being but for our physical health, too. As a mother-daughter organization, we are grateful for the opportunity to inspire, support, and celebrate one another.

~Jennifer Dowd Furlong, SPRITES President

SPRITES 2025 GALA

Click here to BUY GALA TICKETS

Class Updates

Class of 2025 took a break in December from all things gala to have a holiday gathering and gift exchange. Then in January they hit the ground running, no, dancing, in preparation for upcoming rehearsals. Our choreographer Alexa Cohen not only taught us some new moves, she also collected clothing donations from our grade for those affected by the LA fires. That’s making things happen!!

Class of 2026 has been busy volunteering at a variety of philanthropies. They also collected hygiene products at the All SPRITES meeting to support Sharia's Closet. Sharia’s Closet provides emergency clothing to those experiencing financial hardship or crisis. A few of their girls talked about Sharia Closet and who the collected donations will help.

Class of 2027 was busy this fall/winter season donating their time to families in need. The Class of 2027 adopted three families for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The girls delivered beautiful boxes filled with delicious Thanksgiving meals and goodies. In addition, they volunteered at Sonshine Haven assisting in handing out Thanksgiving meals, groceries, Lions, Tigers, and Bears Holiday events, and Pebble Ranch.

In December, their grade level supported the Salvations Army Christmas Toy Workshop at the Elks Lodge. The girls help hand out gifts along with vegetables/fruit donated by Feeding San Diego. They ended the Christmas season by coming together to support the three adopted families. The girls wrapped gifts and delivered Holiday Cheer. Truly a wonderful holiday filled with love and laughter. We are looking forward to the beginning of 2025!!

Class of 2028 celebrated the holidays by giving back to families in their community! Through AKA Headstart and Alpha Project, moms and daughters created Thanksgiving Dinner baskets and thoughtfully shopped for numerous families to ensure everyone had a holiday season filled with joy. They enjoyed surprising their Big Sis’ (Class of 2025) with a “burr” gift. Class of 2028 have also been volunteering at Sonshine Haven, Wheels on Meals, and Father Joe’s Villages. Everyone is looking forward to a great New Year ahead filled with much volunteering and giving back to their community. They are so excited for the upcoming Annual Gala!

Class of 2029 The class of 2029 is ready to take on the new year! We wrapped up 2024 by adopting two families from the “Head Start” program for the holidays and celebrated with our big sisters. We have been busy volunteering at Pebble Ranch, Sonshine Haven, La Mesa Parks, Meals on Wheels and Head Start. We are looking forward to this year’s gala and getting ready to learn our dances. We have some fun activities planned and are excited for lots of volunteering in the spring.

Class of 2030 has been spending the past few months volunteering for many East County philanthropies. A few memorable events are leaving a great impact on the girls, such as adopting two families over Christmas with the help from the Alpha Project, feeding our piggy pals at Pebble Ranch Rescue, and community beautification efforts for La Mesa Parks.
On Martin Luther King Day, they enjoyed working in the sunshine and helped to spruce up the La Mesa Community Garden. The MLK Day of Service honors Dr. King's legacy by fostering unity and contributing to the well-being of the community. The La Mesa Community Garden revitalizes a shared space, promotes environmental stewardship, and provides fresh produce to promote nutritional wellbeing, along with the social and health benefits of gardening in a community environment. Class of 2030 enjoyed getting their hands dirty and experiencing this wonderful space!

A SPRITES’ Story

Avalon Hogan and Sophia Sanders (Class of 2029) and Gabby Sanders (Class of 2030) decided they wanted to collect numerous Christmas Tags off Christmas trees that listed community member’s holiday wish lists. They wanted to make so many people’s wishes come true, but then they realized they needed a lot of money to make this happen. In the spirit of SPRITES, they stood on a neighborhood corner educating the community about SPRITES and why they as SPRITES members needed to collect this money for this very important cause. They were able to raise over $300 and fulfill the holiday wishes of so many! Way to go Avalon, Sophia, and Gabby!

Alumni Spotlight:

Donna Hendrix

Donna Hendrix has been involved in SPRITES since the 1980s. Her daughter, Karri Hendrix Lange graduated from Valhalla in 1984.

Donna was the business owner of Hillside Design for 30 years, an interior design firm that started in 1982. However, her philanthropic work still continues with 30 years of service to the YMCA where she serves on the Board of East County Family YMCA. She and her husband, Bill, were the Capital Chairmen for the McGrath Family YMCA and continue to support on going programs at the Hendrix Teen Center.

In 2017, she stated the Hillside Ranch Vineyard as an event venue and vitner. She is currently building a winery facility to be open to the public in summer of 2025, located on her beautiful 40 acre ranch in Jamul, CA. She recently hosted two SPRITES events (Class of 2028 moms and SPRITES Sustainers) at her charming vineyard house featuring her wines and amazing charcuterie boards.

In reflecting on SPRITES, Donna shared that “the highlight of being a SPRITES member was spending time with other moms as we helped our daughters prepare for a world beyond the cocoon of high school…helping them learn how to be both independent and philanthropic.”

Philanthropy Spotlight

Pebble Ranch Rescue

Pebble Ranch Rescue, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit sanctuary and rescue organization for pot-bellied pigs . They named Pebble Ranch after their first pot-bellied pig Pebbles who started it all. He desperately needed a home so they took him in. It was an unplanned adoption and one of the best things that ever happened to them. He was such a sweet boy and they became to love him. After they moved to their new location (Pebble Ranch), they decided that this was the perfect place to provide a safe home for abused, neglected, abandoned, or unwanted animals, especially pot-bellied pigs and named the property after Pebbles.

Pebble Ranch Rescue’s mission it to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home unwanted, neglected, and abused pot-bellied pigs. Their animals are treated with respect as individuals. They receive the care they need and the kindness they deserve. The animals at Pebble Ranch Rescue are ambassadors and help to educate people about the impact of animal agriculture on our environment. In addition to animal rescue, their mission is to help to transition to a vegan lifestyle to reduce suffering for all. They welcome visitors to come and meet their animals, learn their stories, and understand what amazing creatures they are. SPRITES members truly enjoy volunteering at their ranch where they are given the opportunity to get to socialize with the pigs and care for them.

Benevolence and Training & Development Updates

Benevolence Update

Our new volunteer platform, “Causer - Get Connected”, is up and running and there are a lot of opportunities! If you are a current SPRITES member and are not registered, please sign up now. New volunteer opportunities are continuously being added. Sustainers are invited to participate, too! If you are a sustainer and would like to register for Causer - Get Connected, please email us at sprites.sustainer@gmail.com

Training and Development Update

Last month, there were great opportunities to participate, including Fit Yoga, San Diego Fix It Clinic and Teen Painting!

Check out Balboa Park Yoga and Hikes (ongoing event) every Saturday at 10:00 am January 18th through February 22nd. Location is 7th Ave and Upas in Balboa Park. Event is free of charge.

Website and Social Media Links

SPRITES WEBSITE