By Israel Pena

With the holidays upon us, Concept 7 has been selected as the Ontario office’s Employee Charitable Organization. This is the seventh season HMC has participated in the Concept 7 annual Gift-Giving Drive in collaboration with Horizon Hobby. Concept 7 is a foster care agency that rescues children from neglectful and abusive households. With three offices throughout Southern California and a satellite office in Ontario, Concept 7 provides services to 700 children each year.

With the current economic climate, it is more difficult than ever for organizations like Concept 7 to find donors to support their programs during the holidays. Charities have seen an increase in the demand for their services but at the same time have experienced a decrease in charitable contributions. In 2011, the Concept 7 Wish List list grew from 60 children to 80 and between HMC and Horizon Hobby, we somehow managed to sponsor every child on the list. Not surprisingly, this year, there are more children in need. The Concept 7 gift list is at 90 children and growing.

The good news is that you can help. There are a couple of ways in which you can participate. First, you can contact myself (Israel Peña) and request to directly sponsor a child from the Concept 7 Wish List which includes the child’s first name, age, along with gift suggestions. If you do not have the time to shop, monetary contributions can be forwarded to my attention and we will go out and purchase items from the list. We ask that each sponsor purchase one item off the list with a minimum $25 gift donation. If you would like to spend more, that is completely up to you. For those that sign-up, additional details will follow in the next week or so.

If you have any questions or are interested in sponsoring a child, please feel free to contact me via email. On behalf of Concept 7, thank you again and have a wonderful holiday season!