The weather was perfect for volunteers and festival goers this past weekend for the second annual Hands4Hope Fall Festival at El Dorado Hills Town Center. This youth led event, hosted on September 29 and 30, boasted a wide array of activities geared towards preschool thru middle-school-aged children that included: hay rides, a hay maze, carnival games, pumpkin decorating, cake walks, a petting zoo, and photo opportunities with the one and only Buckley the highland cow. Areas families showed up in droves to join in the fun. With more than 1,500 in attendance, this event was a huge success, raising more than $12,000 to support Hands4Hope’s Education and Community Engagement Programs.
This event was not a simple undertaking, and required months of planning in advance. The Fall Festival Committee hosted its first meeting in May, and, since then, was led by seven dedicated youth who oversaw youth teams in operations & finance, marketing & fundraising, games & activities, and volunteer coordination. The teams were matched with adult mentors, who offered guidance and support.
“Being a part of the leadership team has made me fully realize how much work is really put into organizing the Fall Festival, and I’m really happy to see that our hard work paid off,” noted Ops & Finance youth lead Chloe Simon. “I was at the food booth during the majority of the event, but even from there I could see how much more popular the event was this year compared to last year. I would consider this year’s Fall Festival a success, as we were very close to reaching our target fundraising goal,” continued Simon.