Thu, 01/05/2012

The holidays are indeed over: decorations are packed away for next year, school and work regain their normal pace, and the days get longer. But we want to take a moment to reflect on the truly incredible outpouring of community support that made the holidays bright for our young people this past year.

During December 2011,

  • Over 65 groups and individuals hosted clothing and gift drives, in addition to the scores of individuals who gave gifts individually.
  • We collected $23,000 worth of gift cards
  • 375 homeless youth received holiday gifts
  • Over 200 young people attended the holiday party at the James W. Ray Orion Center
  • We had incredible volunteers cooking meals and preparing treats all month long. One volunteer baked a delicious Tres Leches cake for the youth at Casa de los Amigos, another made tamales for Catalyst's Christmas dinner.

Your gifts helped ease the pain of the holidays for our young people. They are also helping YouthCare remain well stocked with warm clothing, new shoes, and gift cards for the icy months ahead. Thank you to all who partnered with us in 2011 to get homeless youth off the streets and preparing for life. 

Anxious to be involved in 2012? Consider volunteering to serve a meal this month!