The Project Birthday Committee hosted its most recent birthday celebration on Friday, May 18 at the White Rock Village Apartments. The committee celebrated the birthdays of three children, two boys and one teen, and surprised them with cake, presents, and party games. The Project Birthday Committee plans to continue hosting birthday parties over the summer, as they begin preparing for the next program year.
The Homeless Outreach Committee recently met with the youth of New Morning Youth & Family Services to have a pizza night and social. The committee was invited to attend the shelter’s regular “Friday Night Pizza Making” after creating and sewing small, cloth toiletries bags for New Morning’s newest program. The bags will be filled with toiletries and other materials to be handed out to teens living in homeless encampments around Placerville. The committee led a group of Blue Shield employees on a Homeless Outreach at Loaves and Fishes, and will plan and execute 2 more outreaches over the summer. The group is looking forward to working with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Dept. on their “HOT” (Homeless Outreach Team) to work with the homeless population.
The Youth Board wrapped up the program year with a final celebration and reflection. All members attended, discussed their successes and challenges overall, announced next year’s executive team, and said goodbye to all who are graduating. The 2018-2019 Youth Board will kick off the next program year at the upcoming Hands4Hope High School Leadership Camp in July.
Team Hope recently completed its second project, a Pajamarama Carnival to fundraise for the Sierra Wildlife Rescue. The club planned and hosted the event at Silva Valley Elementary, where they provided a snack bar, variety of games, and pajama theme. In total, Team Hope raised $700! All of the proceeds from the carnival will go to purchasing a large bird rehabilitation cage.
The Kids’ Oasis Committee hosts the Kids’ Oasis even every second and fourth Saturday of the month at Green Valley Community Church. The committee, lead by Youth Board President, Kaitlin Violette, and Oak Ridge Club Secretary, Chloe Simon, is currently seeking new members for the committee since Kaitlin will be graduating. The committee will also begin discussing fundraising options for the coming program year to continue supporting the event.
The Fall Festival Committee just completed its Leadership Kickoff Meeting, outlining the overall project and the roles and responsibilities of the youth leaders and adult mentors. Youth leaders are teamed up with adult mentors to run the project subcommittees or departments. These subcommittees will soon begin work on developing a project plan and timeline, developing a marketing plan, securing sponsorships, identifying games and activities, and recruiting volunteers for one of Hands4Hope’s biggest youth-led fundraisers of the year!
The Kids Zone Committee hosted its first meeting to discuss logistics and planning phases for the Kids Zone Freedom & Fireworks event on July 3. Led by youth intern, Allison Simko, the committee is composed of 5 youth and Youth Development Coordinator, Nicole Craine, and will begin their planning process by securing sponsorships and determining what they will offer in the Kids Zone.
The School Supply Drive Committee began planning for this year's annual outreach. The committee, led by youth participant, Taylor Smith, broke into subcommittees to address the different aspects of this event: grants, tabling, and partnerships. Their first steps? To secure grants for school supplies, create a plan for the day-of event, and reach out to other organizations that are also hosting supply drives.
It’s not too late to join! Did any of these committees stand out to you? Want to learn more about these diverse opportunities? Check out hands4hopeyouth.org!