SPRITES Fall 2024 Newsletter

Fall 2024 Newsletter

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

We continue to support our philanthropies and community through numerous volunteering opportunities and are excited to share our Annual Gala will be on Saturday March 22, 2025! Save the date!

We continue to reach out to past SPRITES members and Sustaining SPRITES members in order to reconnect. We look forward to catching up with our SPRITES sisters!

President’s Message

I hope you’ve all enjoyed a refreshing summer and a productive start to the school year. I’ve spent some time in my garden lately, reflecting on how it mirrors our lives—some areas thrive while others need more attention. This year, I hope SPRITES becomes a source of joy for you, just as meaningful work brings fulfillment.

Our Board of Directors Retreat in August was themed: "Planting a Seed," inspired by our founder, Betty Brayshay. She said many times “...I was only planting a seed,” when talking about how she and some friends founded SPRITES over 50 years ago. Betty’s vision, her humility and dedication remind us that we can all make a difference. We all have Betty inside of us. Her seed has grown into a flourishing community, thanks to the dreams and efforts of each of us. We are the stewards of this garden and our goal for the coming year is to bond together and make this a life giving and fruitful year.

~Jennifer Dowd Furlong, SPRITES President

Welcome 2024-2025 Board of Directors

Click HERE for Board Directory

Class Updates

Class of 2025 has been busy Gala planning and fundraising. Thanks to the help of all SPRITES the Rummage Sale was a success! In addition to helping at St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center and the Helix Park Foundation the girls are currently planning for the October All SPRITES meeting’s Gala Reveal. Stay tuned….

Class of 2026 girls are getting back together! Some participated in the Mt. Helix Food and Wine Festival while others helped at the SPRITES Rummage Sale. They met for a grade level meeting and made beginning-of-the-year goodie gift jars for their Class of 2028 little sisters. The gifts included candies, a candle, and a well-wish note for the upcoming school year.

Class of 2027 The Class of 2027 kicked off the summer with the Big Sis-Lil Sis Kidnap Breakfast welcoming the incoming class of 2030. The girls kidnapped the 7th graders from their homes, did a hike down to breakfast with fun bonding games. They hope to build a great relationship with our little sisters. They have fun activities planned for the upcoming fall season.

The Class of 2027 spent the summer supporting SonShine Haven and St. Madeleine Sophie Center. The girls enjoyed volunteering at the end of summer swim meet with St. Madeleine Sophie Center. They also welcomed 3 new mother/daughter members to our class group. Looking forward to the new year with lots of fun new activities planned supporting or philanthropic organizations.

Class of 2028 kicked off the fall welcoming new class members with a fun-filled Kidnapped Breakfast event, enjoying pool time and crepes! They welcomed five new mother/daughter pairs! Moms and daughters have been volunteering at Sonshine Haven and Wheels on Meals. Everyone is looking forward to a great year ahead volunteering and giving back to their community. They are excited about providing food baskets and gifts to families during the holiday season.

Class of 2029 is excited to be getting back to work. They are looking forward to helping and learning more about The Salvation Army, Good Samaritan, La Mesa Park & Recreation Foundation and AKA Head Start. At their August meeting, they met with a Head Start representative who taught them about their program and they made play dough for the children. They can’t wait to get to know their big sisters better this year with some bonding events and they have some fun activities planned for their meetings. They are also happy to be making Thanksgiving baskets again, as well as, collecting gifts during the holidays.

Class of 2030 is full of excitement for the beginning of our journey with SPRITES. In August, they kicked off the beginning of the school year with a swim party. What better way to get to know each other, than splashing and pushing each other into the pool! While the girls were swimming and making bookmarks for East County Libraries, the moms were briefed on the latest news about our wonderful philanthropies and volunteering details. This summer, some of their girls decided to jump right in to volunteering. They have helped at Sonshine Haven, the Mt. Helix Foundation and the latest rummage sale. They are inspired by all of their SPRITES sisters and looking forward to a memorable first year with you everyone!

SPRITES Rummage Sale

The sale was a huge success thanks you to all who donated and volunteered their time. We made over $1300. Extra clothing donations went to the Common Threads, a program with the Jamul Community Church and extra furniture and house goods went to the Veterans Thrift Store.

Padres Tony Gwynn Community All-Start $5000 Grant Recipient

On August 12th, Estella Kleiner from Class of 2025 was awarded a Padres Tony Gwynn Community All-Star $5000 grant towards a philanthropy of her choice, SPRITES! Estella wrote about her experience as a SPRITES member and the philanthropies for which she volunteers including, as shown in this picture, Sonshine Haven. Congratulations!

Alumni Spotlight:

A Family of SPRITES

Kristi, Katie, Karen, and Kara (Left to Right)

April, Gail, and Andrea (Left to Right)

Sisters, Karen Ellison and Gail Linzey, raised their families in East County and learned of SPRITES through mutual friends. Between the two of them, they have five incredible daughters who dedicated their youth to SPRITES. Karen was an active SPRITES mom with her daughters Kristi (Ellison) Kapferer- Class of 2000, Kara (Ellison) Cortez- Class of 2005, and Katie Ellison - Class of 2007. Karen also served as SPRITES President for 2004-2005. Gail was an active SPRITES mom with her daughters April (Linzey) Brown - Class 2002 and Andrea (Linzey) Norton - Class of 2007.

As a result of their SPRITES involvement, they each carry with them the importance of volunteering in their communities and helping others. Kristi is an attorney, April is a Lieutenant Colonel pilot in the Air Force, Kara is a police sergeant, Andrea was a special education teacher and now educates teachers for the San Diego Office of Education and is an independent facilitator to support people with disabilities with self determination and Katie continues to give back to her community as a volunteer.

All of them have maintained life-long friendships that they created during their years in SPRITES. In terms of the next generation, many of them are planning and looking forward to joining SPRITES with their own young daughters when they are old enough. Due to their personal and philanthropic connections to supporting people with disabilities, Karen and her niece, Andrea, had a dream of opening a program for adults with intellectual disabilities. After several years, they opened the doors to Casa di Amici, which provides a variety of services in a positive and engaging environment that enable, empower, and enlighten individuals with intellectual disabilities who are self-determined. SPRITES is excited to support Casa Di Amici through future volunteer opportunities.

Casa di Amici Website

Philanthropy Spotlight

Ruth turns 105 years old on September 30, 2024!

The Good Samaritan Retirement Center

More than a place to call home, the Good Samaritan Retirement Center is a lively, spirited community known for their beautiful grounds, rich cultural life and exciting comprehensive programs covering all aspects of physical, social, spiritual and emotional well-being. The not-for-profit senior residential independent/ assisted living community is nestled in the hills of Rancho San Diego and open to seniors 65+ of any denomination or background. Their diverse community of residents lead active physical and intellectual lives and are supported by an extraordinary staff.

Ruth, the resident photographed above, welcomed the assistance of our SPRITES volunteers (Class of 2028 Audrey Reece and Tara Brooks) to paint a bird house with her. She also shared amazing stories of living for 105 years and the journey of her 60-year old pink sweater that she is wearing! She said when she was young, she would set aside money each month from her paycheck to buy a new color sweater. She shared she loves her sweaters and has one in every color!

Benevolence and Training & Development Updates

Benevolence Update

Our new volunteer platform, Causer, is up and running and there are a lot of opportunities! If you are a current SPRITES member and not registered, please sign up now. We are visiting a few new charities to see if they are a good fit for SPRITES!

Training and Development Update