Sky House Yoga is a donation-based yoga studio and wellness collective in Silver Spring. Sky House Yoga offers all of their services at donation-based price ranges, ensuring that no one is ever turned down or priced out. Courtney Boyce is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher who recently volunteered her services to the girls at our Helen Smith Group Home.

Courtney chose to volunteer her services to Hearts & Homes because she wanted to focus on communities where yoga is not readily available or accessible, such as younger and under-served populations. She was inspired when she reflected upon how much she would have benefited from yoga in her teenage years. She said, “The need at that age for what yoga teaches – health, loving yourself, treating yourself well, learning to love your body, and being comfortable and confident in who you are – is essential. That is a skill that we as young women, unfortunately, have to learn.”

From the yoga sessions, Courtney hopes for the girls to realize they need to make time for themselves when dealing with stress, trauma, or anything they feel is out of their control. She hopes they understand that they are perfect as they are, and that with a stronger sense of self, they can more easily deal with anything that comes their way. She hopes they will realize that peace is already inside us, we just need to connect with it.

“Teaching the girls has reinforced that we are all human, we all have things going on, and that we all need love and support. No matter where you come from or what you do, we humans need to be kind and love one another. Having an open-mind and open-heart makes anything possible. We all have many things to be thankful for.”

Courtney says she has been surprised by how open, energetic, and interested in learning the Helen Smith girls have been during the sessions. She has enjoyed getting to know the girls individually, commenting that “they are all so different from one another, yet at the core, they all have the same needs and desires.”

Courtney hopes that in the coming sessions the girls continue to find peace and to accept themselves as they are. “Even if they never go into posture or get into yoga, if they remember that someone once told them stopping for a moment to clear their minds and open their hearts has numerous benefits, I will have succeeded.”

We are glad that you are interested in getting involved in Hearts and Homes! There are many ways you can engage with the organization and Hearts & Homes youth, and make a difference in their lives and futures!

We are always happy to hear from individuals interested in volunteering with or donating to our youth and programs, as well as from individuals interested in attending or sponsoring our fundraising events! Look over the different opportunities and reach out to us! Your support is an investment in the futures of these children!

Click here to see read about the unique opportunities volunteers have provided!

Volunteering with the youth

On a regular basis, Hearts & Homes puts on activities for our youth. Some of the signature activities include the Back to School Picnic, Kings of Style, and the Princess Party! The purpose of the events is to give the youth a day to feel special, get pampered, develop their confidence, and to get things they need to be prepared for school and work!

In addition to these, we host a variety of activities to get our youth engaged with each other and the community, inspire them, teach them something new, foster their development, and provide them with unique experiences! Workshops for our youth are focused on topics such as Body Image and Self Esteem. Occasionally, Hearts & Homes youth are treated to mentoring from special guests such as Derek Anderson, who share their wisdom. From time to time, volunteers come to Hearts & Homes to spend time with our youth on a project! For example, the Junior Women’s Club of Chevy Chase has come to one of our group homes for girls to bake with them and to take them trick-or treating! Other volunteers come to teach the youth about exercise and healthy living, such as John Bonacci who led our boys at Harriet Tubman in a workout, and Yoga instructor Courtney Boyce who provided a number of yoga sessions to our Helen Smith girls.

Hearts & Homes youth also love giving back to the community! On a regular basis, the youth are volunteering at soup kitchens, convalescent homes, community parks, bake sales, and helping neighbors!

Our mission is to treat each child as if they were our own so we are always looking for new opportunities for our youth! If you would like to volunteer for one of our regular activities, get involved by hosting an activity, or know of a volunteer opportunity in Maryland, please contact Vicki Valle at vicki@heartsandhomes.org

Sponsoring or volunteering at events

The Men’s Event is a fundraiser event hosted by our board member Vic Seested at his restaurant Taste Gastro Pub located in Olney. The event includes beer or wine tasting, a 5-course meal, and meeting celebrities such as Clinton Portis, Michael Andrews, and Giancarlo Esposito!

Another event on our calendar is Girls on the Green, a golf event we hold “just fore women” to raise money for the programs that serve the girls and young women in our care. This year, the tournament will be held at Timbers at Troy Golf Course in Elkridge, on Friday, June 19, 2015. Registration will begin at 8 am and golfers will tee off at 9 am. The tournament will be followed by lunch and awards!

Every year, HHY hosts the HONORS Gala Event, where we honor special individuals who have devoted their lives to the futures of children. Past Honorees include: Wayne K. Curry in memoriam, Tammy Darvish, Toby Orenstein, Steve Staton, Jack Fitzgerald, Patrice and Scott Brickman, Leon Harris, Senator Gwendolyn Britt, Doris Buffett, Robbie Callaway, Juli Jordan, Cal Ripken, Sr., Senator Barbara Mikulski, Brig Owens, Mark Shriver, John Walsh, Coach Gary Williams, and Abe Pollin. All proceeds from the event support our continued efforts to provide programs to help abused, neglected, homeless and troubled youth!

For more information about HHY’s signature events, to get involved as a sponsor or participant, contact Caitlin Buckley at cbuckley@heartsandhomes.org

Donating to Hearts & Homes

We rely on the generosity of supporters like you to treat each child as if they were our own! You can make an online donation to Hearts and Homes via credit card here. Or you can send a check to: Hearts and Homes for Youth, 3919 National Drive, Suite 400, Burtonsville, MD 20866

We are also thankful for donations of a variety of in-kind items, which directly benefit our group homes and kids! Please call us at 301-589-8444 if you have any in-kind items to donate to discuss logistics and needs.

Click here to see items on our “Wish-List”

Tax-Deductible Information

All contributions are tax-deductible. You will receive a receipt letter in acknowledgement of the donation to Hearts and Homes for Youth, which is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our tax identifier or EIN is 52-6060576.

The Junior Woman’s Club of Chevy Chase (JWCCC) is a non-profit organization located in Chevy Chase, MD that is dedicated to supporting the community and having fun. The JWCCC is a long-time supporter of Hearts & Homes, brining their generosity and enthusiasm to our programs and the kids in our care.

Over the weekend, the JWCCC came to Helen Smith Group Home for Girls and spent a night baking cookies and brownies, and decorating cupcakes with the youth. The next day, the Helen Smith girls helped sell the baked goods at a bake sale!

The girls enjoyed baking and decorating, and loved being out in the community, selling goods they had baked!

In addition to the great experience, the JWCCC treated the girls with Halloween goody bags they had made for the youth. The JWCCC will be coming again in November to make holiday care packages with our HHY girls! Hearts & Homes is grateful to the JWCCC for giving and sharing the gift of giving with our girls.

On September 19, 2014, former NBA player Derek Anderson spent a few hours via video conference with the boys of Hearts & Homes. The star athlete who made his mark on basketball, shared his story of being abandoned by his parents at a young age. He talked about his life on the streets and his determination to  beat the odds against him.

An exceptional speaker and role model, Derek Anderson also spoke with the boys about leadership, positive thinking, and the importance of having a positive impact. He challenged the boys to think about what they want to do, who they want to be, and how to make it happen. His warmth and brotherly advice will long be remembered.

To learn more about Derek Anderson, check out his book, “Stamina.” (Available by clicking here) and his music video.

Tracey Brown is an accomplished woman. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Blinging Beauty, a beauty expert, freelance writer, editor, journalist, spokesperson at Brown Beauty Consulting, and the architect of Sephora.com.

In addition to her professional endeavors, Tracey Brown is a member of Look Good…Feel Better, volunteers with physicians who treat burn survivors, and mentors teenage girls with self-esteem workshops.

On Monday, Tracey Brown treated the girls of Hearts & Homes to a workshop on Body Image and Self Esteem. One of the activities was for the girls to create a brand for themselves that represents their core values! The girls took time cutting a variety of pictures out of magazines and explained how the images represent them and the expectations they believe are held for them.

Tracey Brown treated all of our girls to gift bags full of cosmetics, t-shirts, and other items that reminded the girls they are special and cared about.

Hearts & Homes is grateful to Tracey Brown for this workshop and to the volunteers that helped out: Robbeyell McCormick, President of the African American Democratic Party of Montgomery County; Evangeline Stewart, Founder of Let Us Volunteer(LUV); Kari Villa, a U.S. Army medic; Fran Allen from Rep. Cummings’ office; Adenia Bradley, Special Projects Coordinator for Southern Management Corp; Juanita Heaggans, Prince George’s DJS supervisor; and Camila! Also a big thank you to Hearts & Homes staff Chief of Staff Valerie  Snogren for the yummy cheesecake cupcakes!