Tag Archives: volunteering

Ways to get involved and support Hearts & Homes

Volunteering, ,

Are you interested in getting involved and giving back? Below we have listed a number of ways you can get involved and support the young people at Hearts & Homes for Youth. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, contact Caitlin Ward, cward@heartsandhomes.org.

Sharing Your Expertise:

We are constantly working to prepare our young people to be well rounded, self-sufficient adults. There are opportunities’ to facilitate small life skills groups or provide one-on-one guidance to a young person that’s area of interest may align with your skill set. Life skills groups are hosted in Baltimore and Columbia, Md., some topic areas are:

  • Health Q&A
  • Study Skills
  • Goal Setting
  • Positive Self Identity/Self -Awareness
  • Social and Emotional Balance
  • Building a Strengths-Based Character
  • Social Skills
  • Drug Awareness
  • Budgeting and Money Management
  • Understanding Housing Costs and Paying Bills
  • Building Credit
  • Resume Writing
  • Job Skills for Maintaining Employment
  • Career Planning and Exposure
  • Healthy Relationships/SEX/Dating
  • Coping Skills/Understanding Emotions
  • Healthy Conflict Resolutions
  • Picture Framing
  • Re-upholstery
  • Electrical
  • Basic Auto Skills
  • Art
  • Cooking classes
  • Beauty and grooming (face and skin) group,
  • Personal branding
  • Parenting topics

Sponsor an Event: We aim to provide opportunities for our young people to create new positive memories while they are with us with the hope that the good will begin to offset the bad experiences in their life journey.  Some event ideas include:

  • Sponsor our Mother’s Day event
  • Sponsor an Amusement Park Trip
  • Sponsor and plan a Volunteer Day for our youth
  • Sponsor a Sporting Event Trip
  • Host a Barbeque
  • Sponsor a Graduation Party
  • Donate gift cards to restaurants, Dave and Busters, Movies, etc.

Employment Opportunities:  Our young people are seeking opportunities to build their professional skills and earn money in order to age out of foster care successfully. Our youth WILL benefit greatly while in our program as well as after they have transitioned. Some ways you can help:

  • Provide internship opportunities for our youth
  • Assist with linking qualified youth to employment opportunities

Mentoring or Tutoring: Youth in foster care often miss many needed educational opportunities and fall behind academically due to frequent moves. Providing our youth with one-on-one educational support can make a significant difference in a young person’s life.  A background check is required to provide tutoring or mentoring for our youth.

Helping Us Get The Word Out: Come to our agency for an orientation session and learn about the youth we serve and the programs we offer! Then take our flyers to your job, church, social groups, etc.! We are looking to recruit families interested in becoming foster parents!

Donations:

  • Car seats
  • Strollers
  • Pack and Plays
  • Coats
  • GED Study Materials
  • Gift Cards to Target, Walmart, Babies R Us etc. to assist us in purchasing emergency supplies for incoming youth
  • Gift cards to restaurants, Dave and Busters, Movies, etc.
  • Diapers and Wipes
  • Hair accesories

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering, , , ,

Are you looking for opportunities to volunteer and get involved in the community this summer? Is your church, group or organization looking to plan something for the coming months or the next school year? If you said yes to either question, we want to hear from you!

There are a number of ways you can volunteer with Hearts & Homes and we’d love to help you find the opportunity that appeals to you and capitalizes on your strengths! Write to us at hhyinfo@heartsandhomes.org to set up a meeting in person or over the phone and we will discuss how we can collaborate!

We are also building our vocational training program! We encourage the youth in our care to apply for work experiences to develop career readiness skills that will help them build their resumes, learn specific occupational skills, build connections with employers who support their growth, and to learn more about their career interests. Work experiences for young people help them acquire jobs at higher wages after they graduate and are a critical part of the healing process. If your workplace offers job or internship opportunities, or if you would like to provide vocational training such as a resume workshop or mock interviews, please contact us at hhyinfo@heartsandhomes.org!

Opportunities to get engaged with Hearts & Homes!

Volunteering, , , , ,

Are you interested in getting involved with Hearts & Homes for Youth and supporting our services? We have listed below a variety of ways you can engage with us! We look forward to hearing from you!

Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to make a positive difference in your community. Hearts & Homes for Youth is looking for volunteers to help us with landscaping, painting, house renovations, and other needs at our facilities. We are also grateful for individuals who donate their time, skills, and services to the children at activities for our youth such as the Princess Party! We welcome individuals to volunteer as mentors but require a commitment, a background check, and a security clearance.

Sponsor an Event

Hearts & Homes for Youth is looking for sponsors for our annual HONORS gala in October and golf tournament in May. The success of our events is a result of the contributions of our sponsors! At every event, the money we raise goes directly to the programs that serve the children in our care. As a sponsor, your organization will receive exposure from media campaigns and event promotions. You will also have exposure at the event.

Host an Event

Become a volunteer event organizer by hosting a fundraising or awareness raising event to benefit Hearts & Homes for Youth! Events are opportunities to raise awareness of our mission and bring the community together to support the children and teens of Maryland who we serve.

Examples of events include dinners, brunches, parties, foster parent information nights, and so much more!

Fundraise

Support Hearts & Homes for Youth by holding a fundraiser! Fundraisers are fun opportunities to support our mission by fundraising as a company, individual, or group on behalf of Hearts & Homes. As a company, you can donate a percentage of sales, start a workplace giving & matching campaign, or hold creative events to raise money such as office dress down days and softball tournaments! As an individual, group, or school, you can raise money on behalf of Hearts & Homes with a fundraiser or sale, by creating a fundraising page online, or auctioning an item.

Support Our Foster Parent Recruitment

Hearts & Homes for Youth is looking for individuals and families who are willing to offer the gifts of love and sacrifice to youth in need by opening their hearts and homes to a foster child. Foster Parents Receive intensive training, 24 hour support, and the opportunity to provide a teen mom or adolescent youth with love, nurturing, guidance and the chance to heal from past hurts. You can support our campaign by hosting an event, referring friends who are interested in fostering, and helping spread the word about our program.

  • If you are interested in being a foster parent or helping us recruit foster parents, please contact Maureen Rodgers and mrodgers@heartsandhomes.org

Host a Youth for a Day

Invite a young person to your place of work, to shadow you and learn more about your business. Show them how to conduct operations in your place of work and develop their vocational skills.

Donate

Hearts & Homes for Youth is grateful for your support and appreciates your donations! We greatly appreciate in In-kind donations such as office and school supplies, household items, recreational equipment, and clothes (socks, sweatpants, winter coats, underwear, t-shirts, etc.) You can also make a tax-deductible donation to support our programs, by mail or online.

We will be sharing our kids’ Christmas wish lists soon! This is a great way to give back at a very special time!  More details will be coming soon!