Sacramento Empower Hour
CLC is excited to invite you to our first Empower Hour event designed to uplift the critical work CLC does with children and youth in the Sacramento and Placer County foster care systems, celebrate our incredible partners, and raise critical funds to support our clients!
On August 26, 2025, we will gather at Prelude Kitchen and Bar (across the street from the State Capitol) to fill backpacks with all of the essentials our clients need to have an incredible school year. We are so grateful for the support of our amazing sponsors, including Hop Skip Drive, Wilton Rancheria, and many more!
We hope that you will join us for this event for a chance to win some fun raffle prizes, learn more about CLC’s important work, and fill a few backpacks with supplies and lots of TLC!
Learn more about the event and RSVP below.
CLC Celebrates Pride and Juneteenth
Pride Month
In celebration of Pride Month, CLC’s LGBTQ+ Committee created displays at each office featuring posters of LGBTQ+ icons who have shaped the community’s history and nurtured the vibrant culture with which many CLC clients and staff identify. The committee also provided Pride flags, keychains, stickers, and more for staff to decorate their offices, bring home, or share with clients. We are proud to be an organization where the richness of diversity among staff echoes that of the children and youth we serve, and we embrace any opportunity to celebrate that! Now more than ever, we are also proud of our advocacy dedicated to protecting the rights of our LGBTQ+ clients. At present, CLC provides individualized support to clients through comprehensive connections to LGBTQ+ providers and specialists, provision of gender-affirming gear, transportation to appointments and support groups, and assistance with name changes in addition to in-court legal advocacy.
CLC is keenly aware of the importance and value of standing in with the LGBTQ+ community and our clients in particular, many of whom feel isolated and fearful; ensuring they have needed mental health services and access to safe and supportive caregivers is key to their well-being.
Juneteenth Week
This month, CLC commemorated Juneteenth with a full week of festivities. A group of 14 CLC volunteers put together a Juneteenth jeopardy game, a t-shirt decal station, and a guided walkthrough exhibit of the cultural and historical events of Juneteenth.
Also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, Juneteenth commemorates the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, almost two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, to announce that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free. The Juneteenth observance provided a great opportunity for our staff to gather in community, deepen our understanding, reflect, and share joy. These conversations served as a reminder of the ongoing disproportionality in our systems and the continued effects of structural racism on our historically marginalized communities.
Empowerment Event
CLC hosted an empowerment event this month at the beautiful Reign Equine Riding facility. Our clients had an amazing time saddling up and enjoying the beautiful horses, yummy food, and even better company! CLC’s empowerment events are designed to help youth connect with others, build confidence, and most importantly, have fun!
We are so grateful to Happy Days Ranch, Foster Love, and Thrive Causemetics for sponsoring our event and making our clients really feel the love.
Visit our website for more information about our work and how you can support future empowerment events!
Gratitude Corner: CarePortal
Thank You, CarePortal!
CLC is deeply grateful to the CarePortal for their incredible support for our young clients. From beds and clothing to baby supplies and emergency assistance, CarePortal has helped us meet urgent needs quickly and compassionately.
Because of your support and partnership, dozens of vulnerable youth and families have received critical resources at moments when they need them most. Your support goes beyond material goods – it brings stability, dignity, and hope.
Thank you, CarePortal, for being a part of our community and touching the lives of so many children and youth.
Farewell to Phyllis Stricklan: A Legacy pf Justice and Equity
After more than two decades of service, CLC bids a heartfelt farewell to Phyllis Stricklan as she begins her well-deserved retirement. Phyllis has been a powerful force at CLC since 1998 – first as a staff attorney, then a Supervising Attorney, then a Firm Director, and most recently as our first ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Phyllis’s impact on the child welfare sector is immeasurable. A fierce advocate, inspiring mentor, and visionary leader, Phyllis helped champion client-centered representation and embed anti-racist practices into our work. She shaped DEI trainings, co-led national initiatives, and built bridges between legal advocacy and holistic client care – all while mentoring attorneys and impacting the lives of countless children.
We are deeply grateful for her leadership, legacy, and the love she poured into our important work. Thank you, Phyllis. You will always be part of the CLC family!
