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.