In early October, we invited our donors, partners, alumni, and staff to come together to celebrate Pivotal’s 35 years of service in our community. Starting with building the Santa Clara County Children’s Shelter, Pivotal has dedicated itself to the support and well-being of young people from foster care in our community. We’d like to acknowledge and thank everyone whose support allowed us to serve thousands of children and young adults, at a critical time when they needed someone in their corner to proactively support their future! 

The event was held at the beautiful Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club and hosted by Lisa & Matt Sonsini, who have been staunch supporters of Pivotal for over two decades. Lisa served on Pivotal’s Board of Directors for 26 years; she helped us become the organization we are today.

Lisa introduced Pivotal to alum Rita, who graduated ten years ago. When Rita was in care, Lisa was her Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and the first person to talk to Rita about college and opportunities she might have in the future. “She saw in me the potential to thrive past my circumstances,’” said Rita, “She wasn’t going to let my past define my future.”

Rita and Lisa 35YA

With Lisa’s encouragement and support from a Pivotal scholarship, Rita went to community college, eventually transferring to San Jose State University where she earned her Bachelor of Justice Studies. Today, Rita works as a Program Manager for the County of Santa Clara.  She leads a team of 12, maintaining the County’s criminal justice database. Her story is a testament to the power of having someone believe in you and help you along your path.

ECHO Award

This year, we presented the Elise Cutini Hope and Opportunity (ECHO) award to Pivotal’s founders, Regis & Dianne McKenna. The ECHO award is given to people in the Pivotal family who have been strong voices supporting our work, and whose impact will reverberate and continue to give hope and opportunity to young people for years to come.

The award was presented by Jezus “Cicero,” a Pivotal alum who talked about how the McKennas worked to help so many young people achieve their dreams. Cicero, now 36-years old, shared a story about how the McKennas helped him when he was a young man first going into foster care.

The McKenna family helped me without even knowing it. On October 20th, 2001, I was watching the Matrix movie really loudly and I heard a knock on the door. I thought the cops had shown up to ruin my one-man party, but instead CPS showed up and did their thing. I had no idea where we were going. I was processed for a few hours and walked through some doors to a giant open area at the Children’s Shelter.
I was scared and defensive, trying not to panic and the first thing I saw was a counselor holding a baby near the McKenna Cottage. That baby was the calmest person in the entire Children’s Shelter at that moment.
I thought to myself: If that baby was calm, why shouldn’t I be? It was the first moment of peace I had that entire day. The McKenna’s brought a little peace into my life at a very difficult time with their generosity and their kind hearts. They gave me assurance that someone cared.
Thank you, Dianne and Regis, you not only helped me but thousands of others like me.

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Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate this milestone in Pivotal’s journey. We hope you enjoy the video and photos from the event!