Old Navy Day
 For the past few years Old Navy has held a sales training day for our kids at their store in Laurel. They learn how to approach customers, make sales and other useful skills needed to work in a retail setting. This was a great opportunity for our kids, and we’re thankful to Old Navy for their willingness to spend time helping the youth in our care.

Helen Smith Barbeque
Kingdom Fellowship, formally Reid Temple, has been a longtime supporter of Hearts & Homes. On Saturday, July 27, parishioners from the church held a barbeque for our girls at the Helen Smith Group Home. The girls were treated to delicious food and fellowship. Sending a big thank you to everyone at the church!

Arts in the Community
thePack Mvmt, a group of visual and musical artists, created an event called theSYNDICATE. At this event held in downtown Annapolis, artists created four live paintings and were accompanied by the music of several local musicians. These artists used their talents to create and raise funds used to purchase art and music supplies for the youth in two of our programs. We thank Daja Burnett and all of the artists involved for donating their time and talents to help the youth in our community.

BUY a Bag for HHY!
We are participating in Giant Food Giving Tag Program, a reusable bag program that facilitates community support . When you purchase the $2.50 reusable Community Bag at any Giant Food store, you have the opportunity to direct a $1 donation to Hearts & Homes by using the attached Giving Tag. Just follow the instructions on the tag. This is a great way to raise awareness, support the environment and fund-raise for our cause! Don’t forget to tell your friends!

Save this Date – September 26, 2019
Hearts & Homes Annual Charity Gala is on September 26, 2019 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville. Please join us for a memorable evening. Dance the night away and find out how you can help brighten a future for a young person. For more info and to register visit: www.heartsandhomes.org/gala2019

Silent Auction Items Needed
We are currently collecting items for our 2019 Annual Charity Gala Silent Auction. This is a great opportunity to promote your business as there will be over 200 professionals attending from the DMV area. If you would like to contribute an item, please email Valerie Snogren – vsnogren@heartsandomes.org. Thank you!

Success!
Jason has been in the care of Hearts and Homes for almost 2 years. His time with us began in October 2017 when he was placed at one of our programs at Hearts and Homes for Youth. He has shown great academic progress at school and has maintained passing grades. Along with excelling academically, he also played football and basketball at his high school. He worked hard to meet all of his treatment goals and kept a positive attitude even when things got tough. After putting in all of the hard work, in August 2019 he was able to reunify with his family. He had a great first weekend at home spending time with family and friends. Jason is currently participating in pre-season workouts so he can compete on his football team again this school year!

Hearts & Homes Charity Golf Outing
Our Annual Charity Golf Event at Norbeck Country Club was a great success! We had a beautiful day for play with the rain coming after the event was over! It was wonderful to see old friends and make new ones. Many thanks to our sponsors – NIKA, Paley Rothman, Insurance Exchange and Care First for their generous support. We appreciate all of the golfers who came out to play for our kids!

A Makeover for our Avis Birely Home!
In spite of the intense heat volunteers from Social & Scientific Systems, recently merging with DHL Holding Corp, came out to our Avis Birely Home in Rockville to spruce up the house and yard. They repainted the house foundation, weeded, trimmed, planted and raked outside. Inside they painted 2 bathrooms, the kitchen, living room and hallway. We are thankful for their support for us for over 18 years!

Success!
Justin was successfully discharged from our program in January 2019 after being in our care for 17 months. He was nervous to transition back into his home town of Baltimore City, where he knew the obstacles and challenges that he would encounter on a daily basis. Since being home, Justin has enrolled himself in school and has gotten a job at Orioles Stadium. He calls the program weekly to check in and talk with his “family.”

Save this Date – September 26, 2019
Hearts & Homes Annual Charity Gala is on September 26, 2019 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville. Please join us for a memorable evening. Dance the night away and find out how you can help brighten a future for a young person. For more info and to register visit: www.heartsandhomes.org/gala2019

HHY Van
Be on the lookout for the HHY van with our new logo on the side and back. Signarama Silver Spring did a great job creating the signage for us. Honk and wave if you see us on the road!

Pack a Backpack Drive
Nicki is at it again! For years Nicki Sanders has donated purses and backpacks filled with personal hygiene products to HHY. This month she dropped off backpacks for our young men. Thank you, Nicki!

High Schoolers to the Rescue

We had 2 generous donations from high schoolers who initiated a hygiene product drive at their school for our kids. We thank the youth from Annapolis Area Christian School and the Francis Scott Key Middle School in Silver Spring for their generosity!

Prom Readiness
JC Penney is making dreams come true! They helped send one of our girls to her prom by donating a dress, shoes, jewelry and hair and makeup. She looked beautiful for her big event! Many thanks to JC Penney for their continued support!

Giant Food Community Bag Program
Come to Giant food in Burtonsville and purchase a reusable grocery bag. Hearts & Homes will receive $1 for each bag purchased during the month of July.

May is National Foster Care Month
We celebrated Hearts & Homes foster parents by hosting an appreciation dinner for them at Eggspectations in Columbia. Awards were handed out, and the families were treated to a yummy dinner and gifts. As a bonus they received a training related to this year’s theme, “Foster Care as a Support to Families, not a Substitute for Parents.” Congratulations to Webster & Thelma Lovings, HHY foster parents for 20 years, for being our Foster Parents of the Year!

Mother’s Day Celebration
Hearts & Homes honored our young mothers with a Mother’s Day dinner at Matthews 1600 Restaurant in Catonsville. Foster parent Regina King, along with 2 successful graduates from our program, spoke to the young women. They also received gift bags filled with goodies.

Mental Health Training (MHFA)
This month we provided 2 MHFA trainings to HHY staff and youth at Gaithersburg High School. MHFA teaches you how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a variety mental health issues, support someone from experiencing emotional distress and connect them to professional help and ultimately prevent suicide. Contact cperez@heartsandhomes.org if you are interested in this training for your company! Learn to potentially save a life!

HHY at Omega Recording Studio
Several youth men from our Avis Birely Home got to take a tour of the Omega Recording Studios in Rockville. They were able to try out being in the recording booth and had fun practicing their rapping skills. We’re hoping they’ll be able to make an actual recording in the near future!

Mary’s Mount gets a Make-over!
We had a great time with volunteers from The Heart of God Community Church and Fidelity National Financial at our Mary’s Mount Girls’ Home. They worked hard trimming overgrown bushes, raking up debris, power washing the stairs and sidewalk, and painting the kitchen and dining room. As a bonus, we got some great gardening tips from Mildred, who volunteers at the Botanical Gardens. A special thank you goes to Jessica Alexander who organized the event. We Love our volunteers!

Hearts & Homes 2019 Charity Gala
Thursday, September 26, 2019 is the day to save for our Annual Charity Gala. We are excited to have the event at the beautiful Woodmont Country Club in Rockville. Please visit heartsandhomes.org/gala2019 for sponsorship and ticket information.

Hearts & Homes Charity Golf Tournament
Hearts & Homes on the Green is a month away on June 17! We’re excited for this fun event at Norbeck Country Club with golfers representing many different corporations in the DMV area. There’ll be fun games on course, lots of yummy food and drinks, and even an exciting helicopter ball drop! Foursomes are sold out, but there are still sponsorship opportunities available which include a foursome.Thank you to Alan Schulman, board member, for his hard work as event chair.
For more info visit: heartsandhomes.org/golf

Success!
Justin has been at Hearts & Homes 10 months and has faced a lot of adversity since being in our care. Justin is not a US resident, causing him a lot of difficulty when looking for employment. However, this did not deter him from searching for work in the community. After 4 months of continuously looking for employment, he finally began his job at McDonalds last week. Justin is working the cash register and is thriving in his new work environment. He currently attends a GED prep course at Montgomery College during the day and then heads to McDonalds afterwards to begin his afternoon shift. We are so proud of all of the growth and progress Justin has demonstrated while being in our program.

Gala Sponsorships 2019

FP Medical Verification

Health_Visit_Form

Behavioral Log

MEDICATION REPORT UPDATE 2019

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Fashion show for Hearts & Homes

On Saturday, April 14th, Picole Kids sponsored a Children’s Global Fashion Show at Tyson’s Corner. Hearts & Homes for Youth was one of the charities receiving proceeds from the event. Picole Kids mission is to celebrate personal confidence, self-acceptance, and positive self-image. Prior to the show, Gisella Howe, founder of Picole Kids, held a fashion design seminar at one of our girls’ group homes. The girls accessorized outfits that were used in the fashion show. We send a big thank you to Gisella for her work creating fashion with a purpose.

Volunteers from Skyline Technology Solutions

We are thankful to Skyline Technology Solutions for helping us beautify our JumpStart home in Hyattsville. They spent the day painting in the house and cleaning up debris in the yard. We had a great time with these hard working folks!

Charity Golf Date Change

Due to the recent deluge of rain, we were forced to postpone our Charity Golf Outing scheduled for May 21st. Please join us on the rescheduled date of June 18th at Argyle Country Club. You may learn more or register online at https://heartsandhomes.org/golf/.

Employee of the month

Ms. Sharnee has been working very hard at our JumpStart Program to ensure the youth are getting their needs met and staying motivated! She shows a lot of care for the young men and has been working to make changes to improve the program. Her dedication shows in the relational bonds that she builds with the youth and their engagement with her. Overall, JumpStart is lucky to have a Program Manager like Ms. Sharnee!

What Success Looks Like

Amber came to our Damamli Independent Living Program as a discouraged young mother who had dropped out of high school and then did not pass her GED. With the support and encouragement of our highly trained staff, she was able to attend the high school program at Brightwood College. Amber worked very hard in school in spite of her mother’s illness, her own personal health problems, and having to take care of a young child. We are excited to announce that Amber will graduate in June with her high school diploma, and is on the path to a brighter future! Congratulations Amber!

Gala date

Please join us on Thursday, October 18, 2018 for our Annual Charity Gala. This year we will be partying at Canopy, the new Hilton Hotel in Bethesda North. Celebrate with us at this exciting new venue! For sponsorship opportunities and other information visit www.heartsandhomes.org/2018gala

Hearts & Homes Annual Charity Golf Tournament is right around the corner! Help us raise money for our programs by purchasing a sponsorship, sponsoring a team, or playing in our tournament. We’re looking forward to a fun filled day of golf, networking, contests, games and prizes for all skill levels. Contact Valerie Snogren – vsnogren@heartsandhomes.org  for more info or visit our website at https://heartsandhomes.org/golf/. See you on the green!

We love our volunteers!

We were privileged to have this group of folks from Transwestern, including HHY Board Member Joe McCormick, come to our Avis Birely Home to paint and work in the yard. It was fun working with them, and we greatly appreciate their hard work!

The Emerging Class of Leadership Montgomery visited our Helen Smith Home to paint. They had a good time making the house look more beautiful and talking with the girls. We’re thankful for their help!

HHY is pleased to partner with Dominique Hinton of Children’s Birthday Miracles. They’re providing monthly birthday parties for our youth. The first party was held at a bowling alley and was a huge success!

Many thanks to volunteer, Nikki Abban! She recently moved here from New York City after working in the documentary film industry there. She’s providing workshops for our girls . We’re excited for them to have this artistic experience, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they create!

In Memory

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of one of our cherished founders, Judge John C. Tracey. If not for him and his passion, we would not have served over 41,000 young people since 1964. He will always be remembered in our hearts and in our homes.

Employee of the Month

Congratulations to Senior Counselor, Vanessa Johnson, for being our Employee of the Month! Vanessa runs a tight ship at our John C. Tracey home. She has tremendous rapport with the girls in the program, and they love her home cooking! The house is always in tip-top shape because Vanessa gets the job done, and makes sure the girls have everything they need.