Former Huckleberry client Marjorie is now advocating for foster youth on Capitol Hill.

Marjorie (pictured left) with Congresswoman Karen Bass

At 13, after lots of friction at home, Marjorie
Delgadillo was placed into the foster care
system. Marjorie became a frequent resident
of Huckleberry’s former Nine Grove Lane
Shelter in Marin, sometimes staying as long
as two months. “I would wake up on Sunday
mornings and make blueberry pancakes with
the staff,” she remembers.
During a visit to Huckleberry Teen Health
Program in San Rafael (HTHP) for medical
care, Marjorie was introduced to her future
foster mother, Claudia Asprer, a Dept. of
Public Health nurse at HTHP. “Claudia
performed my intake and she really wanted to
help me out. She became a mentor to me and
she encouraged me to become involved in the
community,” says Marjorie.
Marjorie began volunteering at HTHP and
was hired as a Peer Health Educator. In 2007,
she became the facilitator of the “Baby Think
It Over” teen pregnancy prevention program.

“Huckleberry taught me the basics of work
and gave me my break. They were really there
for me in all aspects.” After leaving Huckleberry to pursue her education, she kept in close contact with Huckleberry Associate Executive Director Susan Quigley, who wrote her letter of
recommendation for the Foster Youth
Internship Program in Washington, D.C.
Since May 2011, Marjorie has been working
with Representative Karen Bass of the 33rd
District of CA, assisting her with legislation
around child welfare reform, specifically the
“Foster Care Mentoring Act.”

Of her 8 years spent as a Huckleberry
client and staff member she fondly says,
“Huckleberry really empowers youth and
treats them with respect - they find the drive
in each youth. That’s the hallmark of a
great organization.”