A Big Thank You to Our Volunteers!
We would like to say thank you to all of our youth and adult volunteers! We deeply appreciate all of the support, work, and dedication that our volunteers have given. We would not be able to do what we do without you!
Big Day of Giving 2017
Mark your calendars for the biggest giving event of the year - Big Day of Giving!
On May 4th, Hands4Hope will participate in the 4th Annual BIG Day of Giving, a day dedicated to benefitting our region's nonprofit sector. In order to continue providing these life-changing opportunities for our youth, and impact those in need in a positive way, we need your help! Please join our campaign and help us reach our goals of $10,000 and 200+ donors! Learn more here.
SAVE THE DATE
A Night in the Vineyard - use font from invitation
Hands4Hope’s 8th Annual Benefit Dinner & Auction
Saturday, October 10th
5:30-10:30pm
Tickets will go on sale soon!
Fall Festival
The Youth Board has voted to replace the Hands4Hope Haunted House fundraiser with a Fall Festival fundraiser! This fundraiser will be organized and run similar to the Scare4Hope Haunted House, but without being as labor or time intensive.
The project team will be organized to mimic a functioning event planning/production company with the end product being an entertaining and family-friendly Fall Festival (think Apple Hill in EDH). The management and staff will be youth, and their goal will be to raise funds, build leadership skills, and have fun!
Youth leads will be in charge of each department/team, and each team will be responsible for a different part of the project. Teams will be made up of high school and college students (ages 14-20) from El Dorado and Sacramento Counties, and each team will have at least one adult mentor. Team choices are as follows: Operations, Games & Activities, Finance & Legal, Marketing, and Volunteer Management.
For more information and to fill out the Interest Survey, follow this link: Fall Festival Interest Survey.
School Supply Drive
Looking for a great summer project? Hands4Hope is starting its annual School Supply Drive, and is looking for youth volunteers to help coordinate and collect school supplies for local schools!
Starting this month, the School Supply Drive Committee will work with local businesses and organizations to raise donations for the 2017-2018 school year. This committee is entirely youth led (with the help of adult mentors), and will develop advertising, market for and host the School Supply Drive, and collect and distribute all donated supplies to the Placerville Union School District.
*Participants must be 8th grade or older*
For more information or to participate in this committee, please contact Nicole Craine at nicole@hands4hopeyouth.org.
White Rock Kidszone
Hands4Hope is looking for volunteers to help mentor and oversee the Kidszone program at White Rock Village!
This outreach occurs every Friday from 3:30-5:15 pm in the newly revamped youth room. The children who attend are generally elementary school aged, and participate in numerous activities such as foosball, ping pong, video games, board games, and arts and crafts. There is also an outdoor area where kids can set up soccer, football, nerf war, and anything kids may enjoy while under the sun!
This event is open for youth volunteers who are 8th grade through high school. For more information, or to participate, please contact Yoko Kono at yoko@hands4hopeyouth.org.
Kids’ Oasis
The Kids’ Oasis Committee hosts a bi-monthly children’s program at Green Valley Community Church (GVCC) in Placerville. Every Saturday, GVCC holds a Saturday Cafe for individuals living in low-income or homeless situations, and provides a hot breakfast, clothing, groceries, and other resources. This process can often take several hours though, and can be especially long for the children waiting with their families. To lessen the amount of time that these children have to wait, and make the experience a little more engaging for them, Hands4Hope created Kids’ Oasis, a program that provides games and crafts, encourages building positive relationships with other attendees, and offers mentorship opportunities between the children and youth volunteers.
The Kids’ Oasis Committee is instrumental in this process, designing crafts, coordinating games, regularly attending and running the program, recruiting volunteers, working with the GVCC staff, hosting fundraisers, and mentoring the children who regularly attend Kids’ Oasis. If you are in 8th grade or up, and are interested in working with children, planning projects and fundraisers, or collaborating with other youth volunteers to create a unique and fun experience for Kids’ Oasis participants, this is the committee for you!
For more information or to participate in the committee, please contact Maddy Gorrell at maddy@hands4hopeyouth.org.
Project Birthday
The Project Birthday Committee hosts monthly parties at the White Rock Village Apartments for any children having birthdays, complete with decorations, games, and cake. This committee creates, plans, and carries out themed birthday parties; designs and leads games and activities during the event; hosts fundraisers for party supplies and birthday presents; collaborates with the apartment coordinators to learn more about the kids that they will be interacting with; and works to mentor and build relationships with the children who regularly attend parties. Project Birthday provides many opportunities to develop skills in mentoring and leadership, as well as communication and project planning.
If you are in 8th grade or up and love working with kids, eating birthday cake and playing games, or just getting to know other great youth volunteers, this is the committee for you!
For more information or to participate in the committee, please contact Maddy Gorrell at maddy@hands4hopeyouth.org.
Elementary and Middle School Club Updates
Team Hope just completed a family movie night at Silva Valley Elementary where they showed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Participants donated a new pair of pajamas for entry and new and gently used books for concession tickets. The club sold popcorn, juice, and baked goods for concession tickets as well. In total, the club collected 27 pairs of new PJs and over 75 new and used books for Sierra Child & Family Services!
The Camerado Hands4Hope Club is working on wrapping up its activities for the year, and electing a new leadership team for the 2017/2018 school year. In March, the club completed a very successful supply drive carnival in which they collected 780 items of clothing and 869 toiletries. They are now working to distribute these items to New Morning Youth & Family Services and other local organizations.
The Herbert Green 5/6 Club is in the process of planning a bake sale to sell baked goods and dog treats to benefit Foothill Dog Rescue. The bake sale is set for mid-May, so the club is currently working to plan the event and create advertisements!
The Herbert Green 7/8 Club is wrapping up its classroom supply drive for Foothill Dog Rescue! As a prize for participating in the supply drive, the club offered donut parties to the classrooms that donated the most items.The group recently collected 77 items of food, toys, beds, and puppy pads and $30 in donations that they hope to deliver to the organization on one of their adoption days.
The Marina Village Club is currently developing plans for a pet fashion show for the upcoming Fall Festival! After originally planning to host an end-of-the-year doggie fashion show and carnival, the club has now decided to expand their plans so that the show can take place at Town Centre with a wider audience. The group has also decided to host a smaller fundraiser before the end of the school year to benefit the El Dorado County Canine Association. After brainstorming some fundraising ideas, the club settled on the idea of selling Fidget Spinners and Cubes as a “Fidget Fundraiser” to help support retired law enforcement dogs.
The Rolling Hills Club just completed their second project: a school carnival to raise funds for the El Dorado County Animal Shelter. The event was very successful with a wide array of carnival games, treats, and activities for attending participants. In total, the club raised $804.50, and are now coordinating with the animal shelter for a service day to help the organization build new shelving or complete another project!
The Sutter Club will be hosting a fundraiser booth at the upcoming “Serenade Under the Stars” band concert at Sutter Middle School. After hearing from Karen Gray of Shelter Hope, the club decided that it would like to raise money to support Shelter Hope, while also educating their peers on spaying or neutering pets, the realities of government animal shelters, and puppy mills. Their booth is planned to host carnival games, raffle baskets, and information that describes Shelter Hope and how to support local no-kill shelters.
Youth Spotlight - Joseph Goulart
Hands4Hope selected Joseph Goulart for this month’s Youth Spotlight because he is passionate, dedicated, and we are so impressed with the projects and ideas that he has developed as a Hands4Hope participant. Read on for a deeper look into Joe’s experiences with Hands4Hope.
Hi, my name is Joseph Goulart (17), and I am a senior at Union Mine High School. I have been involved with Hands4Hope for four years now. I am the secretary for the Union Mine club, chairman and founder of the Homeless Committee, and the Youth Board Vice President, but have also served as treasurer for my school’s club in the past.
I joined H4H because I wanted to positively impact my community, and I knew that H4H had many experiences to learn how to be a leader and how to push yourself to achieve personal growth. Through H4H I have grown immensely. The staff and my peer volunteers have pushed me outside of my comfort zone to help me achieve personal growth both as a volunteer and as a leader in my community. I have learned communication skills, organizational skills, as well as the ability to find needs in my community and how to formulate solutions to such needs.
I am so grateful to have been a part of the H4H family over the past four years. It has always been a positive environment for exchanges of ideas and viewpoints of how to tackle local problems. After I graduate, I plan to attend the University of California San Diego to study International Relations with a focus in Political Science and Environmental Policy. I plan to someday run for public office and use some of the skills I have learned from my time at H4H to impact other communities.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Mercy Creekview Senior Dinner FOOD DONATIONS: Tuesday, May 16th, 11:00am - 3:30 pm
Kidszone at White Rock Village: Every Friday, 3:30 - 5:15pm
EDH Senior Center Crafts & Games: Monday, May 8th, 3 - 4:00pm
Trailside Terrace Homework Club: Every Tuesday, 3 - 4:30pm
GVCC Kids’ Oasis: Saturday, May 13th and 27th, 8:45 - 11:00am
GVCC Saturday Cafe: Saturday, May 13th and 27th, 8:15 - 11:00am
Mercy Creekview Senior Dinner: Wednesday, May 17th, 4 - 6:00pm
Outreach and Service Learning Opportunities
Please note:
Monthly outreaches are opened for participant registration two weeks prior to the event date
To register for an event, you must activate your annual registration, if you haven't already.
Sacramento Children's Museum
Wednesday, May 10th
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
**NEW!** "Beary Special Playdate" May 10th, 5-7pm - the museum is closed to the public and only open to special needs children and their friends and family. This event occurs on the 2nd Wednesdays of every month from 5-7pm. Looking for 4 high school volunteers to reset exhibits, assist at different stations/exhibits and interact with children and their family.
**High School Students Welcome**
Explorability at Sacramento Children's Museum
Sunday, May 7th & May 21st
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
**NEW!** This is a special program only for children ages 2-8 years old with Autism and their caretakers. This event occurs on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month from 10-12pm. Volunteers will help lead various stations, help set and reset exhibits, and interact with the children and their caretakers.
**High School Students Welcome**
Trailside Terrace Homework Club
Every Tuesday
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
If you are 8th grade or high-school-aged volunteers, come help elementary students with homework at Trailside Terrace. The event runs from 3:00-4:30pm.
**8th Grade and Older Welcome**
Kids Zone at White Rock Village
Every Friday
3:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Come join the young residents of White Rock Village play ping pong, video games, board games, foosball, as well as various outdoor play. Volunteers will assist with supervision, encourage teamwork and cooperation, gain leadership and communication skills, and have fun!
**8th Grade and Older Welcome**
EDH Senior Center Crafts & Games
Monday, May 8
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Volunteers will spend time with seniors with various levels of dementia, at Ramona "Moni" Gilmore Senior Center in El Dorado Hills socializing, helping with arts and craft activities, and playing games.
**All Ages Welcome**
GVCC Saturday Cafe
Saturday, May 13 & 27
8:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Hands4Hope volunteers work the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month helping distribute food and run carts.
**All Ages Welcome**
GVCC Kids Oasis
Saturday, May 13 & 27
8:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Hands4Hope volunteers work the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month, reading books, playing games and doing craft projects with the young children in the Kids’ Oasis. The Kids' Oasis provides a safe and fun place for the children to wait while their families shop for free groceries and clothing at the Saturday Cafe.
**Middle School and Up Welcome**
Buddy Night at Sacramento Metro Church of Christ
Friday, May 26th
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
**NEW!** Come and be a buddy to children with special needs and their siblings for a few hours while their parents get some much needed time off. This event occurs on the last Friday of the month from 6:30-9pm. There is an option to arrive earlier between 5:30-6:30 if you would like to enjoy free dinner with some of the children! Volunteers will stick with one or more children throughout the night to assist with various activities.
**High School Students Welcome**
Hope House
Wednesday, May 10th
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Hope House is a transitional home for women dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness through empowerment, encouragement, and love. Hands4Hope volunteers mentor the children at Hope House while their moms are in meetings and education sessions. In addition to Mondays, Hope House would like volunteers to help on Wednesdays from 5-6pm starting May 10th until June 14th. Currently, there are two children who love Hands4Hope volunteers and are always excited to play with them.
**High School Students Welcome**
Click here to find out more information or to register for any of these events.
*Please note: Elementary aged participants must be accompanied by a registered parent or adult advisor at all Hands4Hope outreach events.