

Caroline de Vega
California
Caroline de Vega is a devoted single mother to her now 17-year-old daughter, Polly, who happens to have Autism and is Non-Verbal; also recently diagnosed with Epilepsy. She became a disciple in 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
In 2003, she graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor's Degree in Family Life and Child Development. She became the owner & director of Kids’ Circle Learning Center from 2005-2010. Her passion for teaching in Early Childhood Education together with the triumphs and challenges she faced in raising a special needs child became her motivation to work towards advocating for inclusion in the community setting. As a former team captain of the University of the Philippines Women’s Soccer Team, she became actively involved in E-Soccer (Exceptional Children Soccer) in 2013 soon after she moved to the Bay Area in California. E-Soccer offers a free inclusive soccer program to both typical and special needs children. Since 2014 up to the present, she is the Parent Coordinator for the Hayward, CA location which serves about 60-80 families every season.
In 2017, she started facilitating Moms Helping Moms (Autism Support Group) that meets every month for Family Fun Picnics, Coffee Talks, Movie Night Outs, Resource Fairs, Seminars both in-person or virtual which are just among the many ways that she believes empower families to know that they are not alone in the journey. Currently, its social media group reaches about 800 members.
Filled with unrelenting hope, she’s radically involved in promoting not just autism awareness but more importantly, autism acceptance as she just recently in the Summer of 2022, launched Polly’s Cafe by doing pop-up booths at local community events. As a non-profit, Polly’s Cafe’s long-term commitment is to provide opportunities for people with and without special needs to work alongside each other in an inclusive working environment where differences are celebrated and no one is left behind.
Caroline believes that becoming a Grief Recovery and Trauma-Informed Specialist is God's amazing way of allowing her to continue to grow and mature with her walk with God and how she can authentically walk anyone who is in deep pain towards emotional healing.
On her not so busy days, you will find Caroline with a cup of coffee watching the sunrise and reflecting about her adventures with her daughter. She can be reached at caroldevega@gmail.com.
A Look Into Our Window
Eugenia will share her experience of being a young wife and mother of 4 children, when her youngest (who is now 23 years old) was diagnosed with Autism when he was 2 years old. She will share different challenging experiences of raising him through their uphill journey. She will share how she found hope in God through this difficult life situation. "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" Psalm 34:17-18.