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Just In Time For The Holidays 2025
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Getting Spooky at J-I-T
A JIT-acular Halloween Door Contest
October 28, 2022
Upcoming events
October 31 : Financial Fitness 102 Workshop (HAPPY HALLOWEEN!)
November 3: College Bound Workshop
November 7: Financial Fitness 102 Workshop
November 9: Rise to Resilience Workshop
Spooktacular talent was, again, on display during Just in Time’s Annual Halloween Door Decorating Contest. Staff members unleashed their inner artists as they set to work recreating monsters, movie characters, and even Just in Time inspired scary themes. We invite all you Ghouls and Gargoyles to see these masterpieces for yourself if you are near the Mission Valley office! Better yet, help us pick a winner by visiting our Instagram story and voting for your favorite scary masterpiece. We’ve had more than 160 votes, and voting will remain open until All Hallows Eve.
Out the gate, the Día De Los Muertos door gained a lot of popularity. Messages on Instagram were getting filled with emojis of claps ???? and flame ???? all rooting for door number five (Día De Los Muertos). “Door 5 is my favorite,” messaged JIT participant Devan Hicks
DOOR CREDITS:
It- by Monica and Irving
Witches – by Scott and Alyssa
The BHAG (Big Hair Audacious Goal) by Kelsey and Nathanial
Monster Mommy – by Brittany and Shannyn
Día de Los Muertos – by Edward, Bryan, and German
Stanger Things – by Esmeralda and Sanam
Charlie Brown’s Lucy van Pelt – by Dr. Jill Ault
Beetlejuice – by Jacob, Samantha, and Omar
HALLOWEEN DOOR CONTEST Gallery
(Click below to view images)
When we asked Edward Reyes, our Outreach Coordinator, what led to the inspiration behind the design for the Día De Los Muertos door he said, “We wanted to create an interactive, inclusive and engaging door while also incorporating our Mexican traditional roots.” Edward, Bryan and German collected around 20 photos of relatives, friends, and even a fish to honor and celebrate their life on their Día de Los Muertos “door” altar.
Kelsey Wadman worked in collaboration with Nathaniel Martinez to design a door that would incorporate the Just in Time goal of reaching 100,000 youth, “I liked the idea of creating a door that was a sort of an “inside joke” for our team. I tried to think up some JIT-specific language that I could riff off of. I came up with Big Hairy Audacious Ghoul. I thought it was cute. It was SO fun collaborating with Nathaniel on this! He brought the concept to life.”
Find out who will get crowned for having the best door and take home the bragging rights. We will announce the winner on Halloween on Instagram and on the JIT Network.
PDOC Casino Night with Just in Time
San Diego Public Defenders hosted their 8th Annual Casino Night in support of Just in Time For Foster Youth at The Abbey on 5th, Saturday, October 22nd. Nearly 200 people attended the event, which included a catered dinner, craps table, blackjack and roulette. Just in Time alumni Caitlin Radigan took the stage to share her story of transitioning from foster care with attendees. You can watch her speech here: https://youtu.be/O_USx_89b3E
PDOC Casino Night Gallery
(Click below to view images)
BONUS CONTENT:
PUMPKIN CHILI RECIPE
Looking for a warm cup of cozy to cuddle up to on Halloween Eve? Put away the candy and fix your appetite with something healthier. This vegetarian chili is vegan and is great eaten in a bowl with tortilla chips, ladled over a heaping stack of French fries or poured over hot dogs (all beef or vegetarian).
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
1 bell pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
2 ½ tablespoons mild chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (14.5 ounces) low salt diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups pureed pumpkin (go easy on yourself and get it canned in the baking session)
2 cups vegetable broth or water
3 cups of cooked beans – any kind or combination (two 15-ounce cans)
1 tablespoon lime juice
Toppings: cilantro, chopped, onion, jalapenos, avocado, tortilla strips
*Recipe from “Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook”
Instructions:
1. Chop the onion, carrot, and bell pepper into pieces no bigger than a bean.
2. In a big soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and bell pepper and sauté until they begin to brown (about 5 min). Add the garlic, jalapeno, soy sauce, and spices and cook together for another 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, pumpkin broth, and beans and stir that up so everything is mixed. Turn down the heat, cover, and let simmer together for 15 minutes more. Stir it around every now and again.
3. When it is done simmering, turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Serve with your favorite toppings.
DON’S LAST WORDS
What is it about Halloween that took it from a dress up day for children stocking up on sugar charged treats as they went house to house, to today’s super charged excuse for adults to go to extraordinary lengths, spending an estimated $10.6 billion, to unleash their hidden “id” this year?
You might say that Halloween, with its emphasis on horror and identity, tells us about who might want to be and allows us to take control of our fears. And, as the foundations of adulthood become ever more uncertain, creating both increased exploration and anxiety, who wouldn’t enjoy a little control for once?
Halloween invites experimentation without consequences, the opportunity to be, at least for a night, whatever you wish to be. Plus, you can do more than be another participant in Halloween. You can get instant affirmation for your hard work and creative thinking with the best costume in your group or on social media!
This Halloween, maybe take a deeper look at the meaning behind the makeup and masks you see, including the one in the mirror.
