In an article titled “Fostering Her Spirit,” Bethesda Magazine wrote about one of the young people at our Helen Smith Group Home for girls. The article highlights a time she aspired for a dream and the breadth of support she received from the Hearts & Homes for Youth community.
In sharing her story, the article gives the reader a snapshot of the challenges and trauma many of our youth are overcoming, and the difference that your support makes!
Click here to read the article
AOL‘s office in Baltimore hosted an art event last week where employees painted canvasses for Hearts & Homes for Youth’s residential facilities, to complement the homelike environments!
About 30 employees stepped away from work to learn more about Hearts & Homes for Youth and create beautiful art with inspiring messages. The art is being placed at various residential facilities for the youth, to show them the support they have from the community.
In addition to the beautiful art, AOL also donated boxes of school supplies. Youth are referred to Hearts & Homes for Youth on an ongoing basis – the donation of school supplies is incredibly helpful to ensure the youth have needed supplies for academic success!
The event was organized by Amy Rogers from AOL who provided the art supplies and some of the school supplies out of pocket. Her generosity, the support she garnered from her team at AOL, and the incredible donations from the company are greatly appreciated!
H
earts & Homes is dedicated to providing the youth in our care with all of the tools, resources, and opportunities they need, to empower them to build brighter futures. We are proud to share updates about some of the kids in our care!
A 15-year old young man in our foster care program was recently hired by a barbershop to take before and after pictures. We look forward to supporting his blossoming artistic career!
A young mother in our Independent Living Program graduated from high school last month and is in the process of enrolling for community college. After earning her Associate’s, she plans to study social work!
One of our young mothers successfully completed the program and has moved into an apartment in Baltimore with her long time boyfriend and two children.
After two years in our program, a young mother was reunified with a family member. The Aunt has welcomed the young mother, her boyfriend, and their 1-year old son into her home. The couple is expecting their second child this month. This young mother received her Nursing Assistant Certification earlier this year and plans to return to school for the Patient Care Technician Certification after her baby is born.
Another young mother is progressing through our Damamli program! she recently signed her own lease and was excited to furnish her apartment. She is attending Community College and working full time with an AmeriCorps program in Baltimore County.
We are so proud of the youth in our care and for all of their achievements!
Recently the Chairman of our Board of Directors had a very special moment during a working lunch with clients! He said, “Last week I was having lunch in Bethesda and I noticed the biggest smile on the server’s face. It hit me that she came through Hearts & Homes and had received a scholarship at our golf event. She was beaming with joy making all of the customers feel welcome. I told my lunch guests that seeing her succeed in the real world is why I support Hearts & Homes.”
It is amazing to see our youth succeed, and it’s because of dedicated supporters like you that Hearts & Homes for Youth will be here to help the next young person start building a brighter future and transition to become a productive member of the community!
Please consider showing your support and learning more about our work and the young people we serve, at our October Gala! Click here for more information!
We are grateful to our donors and supporters who are helping set our kids up for success in the new school year!
Hearts & Homes for Youth would particularly like to thank Social and Scientific Systems for providing us again this year with new backpacks and school supplies that went to the youth in our group homes and in our therapeutic foster care program! We are also grateful to our friends from A-G Associates for providing us with backpacks and school supplies that went directly to some of the youth in our therapeutic foster care program as well as the children of our teen mothers who are beginning preschool!
We are also grateful to the Visions of the Heart community for providing us with school supplies to outfit youth newly entering our programs, to longtime supporter Kathryn Turner and the Columbia Center for Spiritual Living who both gifted Hearts & Homes monetary donations that went toward beautifying our group homes to create a more homelike environment, to Comfort Cases for a donation of sports attire and equipment for our youth getting ready to begin school sports, and to Reid Temple A.M.E for a generous donation of food and household items for all of our programs.
We are grateful to our friends at A-G Associates for donating brand new backpacks filled with school supplies for various genders and ages! The backpacks went directly to foster youth in our Therapeutic Foster Care program who were grateful for the stylish and colorful new backpacks!
Outfitted with new backpacks and school supplies, the children and teens in our care are set up to have a great start to the school year and given a boost of confidence. These donations help our youth feel encouraged and empowered to succeed.
Hearts & Homes for Youth is excited to be working with WorkSource Montgomery Young Adult Opportunity Program, which is focused on matching 16-24 year old youth with job opportunities in Montgomery County! Some of the youth in our programs have already gone through the orientation and will be matched with jobs soon and others are excited to get started!
Check out our CEO/President Chloe Perez on ABC 7 News – WJLA with Police Officer Oliver Janney and one of the young men in our care talking about the back to school picnic picnic we had today with the Montgomery County Police Department and Rockville City Police Department! The kids in our care had a great time!
Every year, Hearts & Homes for Youth hosts a back to school picnic for the youth in our care with new backpacks and school supplies gifted to the youth by Social and Scientific Systems. This year, Hearts & Homes hosted the picnic with the Montgomery County Police Department and Rockville City Police Department in an effort to build positive relationships between the youth in our care and law enforcement. The event was a hit! The kids in our care had a great time talking, playing basketball, and eating great food with Montgomery County Police Officers, City of Rockville Police Officers, board members, and staff!
Thank you Reid Temple A.M.E. Church for your generous donation of food, household items, cleaning supplies, drinks, and diapers! The donations have gone directly to the programs to immediately make a difference for the kids and teens in our care! Thank you for your support as we teach life skills to these young people!
Hearts & Homes for Youth is grateful to Social & Scientific Systems, Inc. for once again providing us with a massive donation of new backpacks and school supplies for the youth in our programs!
We are grateful for their support every year and can’t wait to pass the beautiful – blue, grey, red, navy, pink, and purple colored – backpacks on to the youth in our care!
Social and Scientific Systems, Inc is building the confidence and esteem of the youth in our care with these new school supplies! #empoweryouth#brighterfutures #community