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Greetings!
Youth Homes was proud to celebrate another year of success during the annual Celebration of Hope on Friday, June 14th. This annual event is a time to give thanks to the Youth Homes Auxiliary, the Youth Homes staff and Board of Directors, as well as the community for their dedication and hard work. It is a time to allow our kids the opportunity to shine by participating in the talent show as well as acknowledging their academic achievements throughout the year. Helping foster kids begin thinking about attaining gainful employment, even at the early stages of care, has become an integral part of Youth Homes treatment planning. This year, the Auxiliary generously awarded eight scholarships. Five recipients/clients currently attend Diablo Valley College, one attends Heald College, and the other two attend San Francisco City College and California State University East Bay. Additional acknowledgements included; nine high school graduates, two vocational achievements, six youth hired to work through the Youth Homes Summer Job Program and several within our TAY Labor Program - one of which was selected to participate in our Business Partnership Program. In addition to this, every Youth Homes' staff member was acknowledged for their dedication and hard work.
Pictured above L/R are Youth Homes Board Members; June Krug, Sandra Abram and Valerie Ridgers. If you look closely you will notice June and Sandra sporting lovely new bracelets. All of the auxiliary members received bracelets carefully made by Youth Homes' residents as a token of appreciation.
Special thanks to Auxiliary officers for their service in 2012-2013; Sandra Abram, President, Sandy Taylor-Furst, Vice President, Shirley Fulcher, Recording Secretary, June Krug, Corresponding Secretary and Diana Fessenden, Treasurer.
Thank you to all the Auxiliary volunteers and donors who give of their time and resources and all those who made the celebration of hope such a success - we appreciate you!
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Youth Homes would like to thank everyone that shopped at Whole Foods in Walnut Creek on June 5th. 5% of the proceeds from that day  s sales were donated to Youth Homes equalling over six thousand dollars! You can imagine how delighted we were to be chosen as recipients.
A huge thank you to Whole Foods for your generosity to your community!
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Employee Spotlight
Audrey Dollarhide always knew she could make a difference in the lives of children. After all, she was already doing it after gaining kinship of her twin five year old nieces, Monet and Willam, as well as being a foster parent herself. When a co-worker told Audrey about a graveyard position at Youth Homes working with at-risk foster youth, she knew she was up for the task. The journey to becoming a foster parent all started when a friend of the family saw Audrey's natural ability and love for children and asked her to take two infants that she was unable to care for due to drug and alcohol abuse. Although the babies showed signs of being drug exposed, that did not stop Audrey from bonding with them right away. Audrey encouraged the young woman to get her life together, but as time passed, two additional children were removed from the young mother's care.
Audrey saw the importance of keeping siblin  gs together so she agreed to provide all four children with a stable loving home along with her two nieces and biological son Major Austin...are you still keeping count?
We asked Audrey about the work she currently does for Youth Homes' East Bay Shelter and she expressed that one of the ways she helps the kids is to just be there for them and listen. Often during her overnight shifts the kids have trouble sleeping or will wake up feeling fearful and needing to talk. When asked what Audrey would want others to know about the work she does with kids she replied,"you must have love in your heart for them - this is what propels me...that and prayer. If you don't care about them, you won't last very long in this type of work." Now, with a total of seven happy kids and ten years with Youth Homes under her belt - it is clear to us, Audrey cares about kids. Are you interested in learning more about becoming a foster parent yourself? Click here to find out more.
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Dear Friends,
Thank you to all those who support the work of Youth Homes. We are striving to improve every facet of our programs. Through our Pro-Act training, we are striving to improve our ability to "de-escalate" our young residents before they have a temper tantrum. Through our training in Nurtured Heart, we are teaching our kids that the meaning of life does not come from negative experiences. Unfortunately, if that is all you have ever known as a child, that is what you create in your life.
Together, your support creates emotional healing, academic success, and prepares the way for our families to build healthy, productive lives.
We could not do this without you!
Sincerely,
Stuart McCullough
Executive Director
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