Celebrating Family Day
As summer winds down, we wanted to share with you a glimpse into one of the most anticipated and special events at Casa Bernabé: Family Day. Last Friday we gathered as a community and celebrated the gift of family—in all its forms.
At Casa Bernabé, Family Day is a time to celebrate the families of our students from the local community and the CB families of our kids who live in our campus homes. Every student who lives off-campus was invited to bring two special guests—often a parent, grandparent, or sibling—to join in the festivities. Children who live at Casa Bernabé celebrated with their house families, surrounded by the staff and caregivers who walk with them every day.
While there was no set theme this year, many families and homes chose to match each other. From custom T-shirts to color-coordinated outfits, and even matching braids from Casa Hosanna, the spirit of togetherness was on full display.
We kicked off the morning at the school, where families enjoyed craft activities, posed at our "Up" themed photo booth, and dove into a full day of games and fun.
The campus came alive as we held games of fútbol, volleyball, memory games, and a fierce tournament of tug-of-war. Staff members joined in with their houses, and let’s just say the competitive spirit was strong!
As lunchtime rolled around, a row of food trucks offering local favorites, snacks, and sweet treats gave everyone plenty of options to choose from. The kids especially loved the hot dogs, fried chicken sandwiches, Takis, chocolate-covered bananas, and funnel cakes.
For many families, their favorite part of the day was sitting down to eat in the shade and enjoying an afternoon together when they would normally be at school and work.
Days like this remind us why our work matters. Although family can be a difficult topic for the kids at Casa Bernabé because they are all separated from their biological families, we do everything in our power to create a loving, safe alternative in our house families. The motto of Casa Bernabé is, "Haciendo habitar en familia," which comes from Psalm 68:6, "God places the lonely in families."
And this is our mission: that each child who is placed in our care–for a month or ten years–gets to experience the love of a family, and through that family, the love of God.