Illumination Foundation held its Ninth Annual Carnival for Kids on Saturday, July 30 at La Palma Park in Anaheim, welcoming over 1,000 homeless and at-risk children and families.

The event featured carnival rides, children’s activities, games, a petting zoo, pony rides, live music, a stilt walker, folklorico dancers, delicious food, and more. There was a Meet & Greet with Stormtroopers, Ghostbusters, stilt walkers, and Anaheim Ducks’ mascot Wild Wing.

Kids were able to meet Ghostbusters at the carnival. Photo by Sara Kil.

The community came together to provide a carefree summer day of family fun that these children and families would otherwise not experience. This year marked the 9th Annual Carnival, which brought together community sponsors, businesses, donors, and volunteers to make this day special. All funds raised in advance of this day go toward funding the children’s and family programs, including before- and after-school enrichment programs, parent and me classes for the  younger ages, family experiences, and family counseling known as In-Home Stabilization.  Many of these programs are reliant on funds from private donations and grants.

According to the 2022 Point-in-Time Count, 389 families (486 adults and 715 children) live on the streets in Orange County. Homeless families are struggling to satisfy basic needs. Children face high levels of trauma, because of unstable living conditions.

Illumination Foundation brought together volunteers, community partners, and corporations to ensure that parents and children left the carnival with school supplies and connections to vital community resources.

Carnival for Kids sponsors included Farmers & Merchants Bank, Prospera Hotels, Inc, Kaiser Permanente Orange County, Jacqueline DuPont-Carlson & Marc Carlson, West Coast University, Appliance World/Mattress Sales Inc, the Schneider Family, Edwards Lifesciences, CalOptima, Rick & LuAnn Campo, West-Tech Materials, The Rosendin Foundation, The Geo Group Inc, IF Gleam Team, and Geico. Bracken’s Kitchen provided meals to all attendees.

Illumination Foundation provides various types of housing including emergency housing, bridge housing, and micro-communities. They combine housing with comprehensive services such as housing navigation to encourage long-term housing stability and they connect clients to permanent housing.

All proceeds benefit homeless families in Orange County. For more information visit https://ifhomeless.org/.