Donate to Youth Homes Today
The Danville Children's Guild is a nonprofit organization of women committed to improving the quality of life for less fortunate children in Contra Costa County. Amidst the very Challenging times of the last year and a half, the Danville Children's Guild, now more than ever, is committed to our cause. Again this year we will be conducting a virtual fundraising Campaign running October 1st through the 30th, with our efforts directed towards raising funds for an incredibly worthy charity, YOUTH HOMES.
Youth Homes mission is simple: help young people heal and empower themselves to lead lives of meaning. Youth Homes focuses on doing the best work possible with every child in their care. The realities of the last year and a half have created more stresses and challenges to families and affected the underserved youth. We as a community must step up, and with that, we turn to you for help. Danville Children's Guild is asking for help with your cash donations - and this is what your tax deductible donation can provide:
$5000: 6 months of groceries for 1 1/2 residential homes
$2500: Weekend camping trip for 20 youths that include fishing, horseback riding and campsite rentals
$1000: Buys a MacBook or two tablets for youth, for schoolwork and connectivity, but also exposure to connect to other avenues for language, STEM, technology, and a wealth of online resources that will supplement their education, which has been often interrupted due to multiple placements in foster care. Youth Homes has a partnership with Junior Achievement of Northern California, which offers free online learning for students to build their skill around entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands on programs. These are topics not often taught in school, and will serve youth long into adulthood. Access to computers and technology aid in the gap that is often experienced by foster youth due to disruption and lack of resources.
$500: Extracurricular class tuition for 1-3 youth. We want to provide continuity for the things our youth love doing, like sports, music, artistic expressions, or other hobbies. Every child has something that makes them feel happy and unencumbered when they do it, and the costs to support their dreams and interests are 100% funded through philanthropy. For example the cost to support a youth's ballet passion included class tuition (6 sessions - $300), appropriate leotard, ballet shoes etc. This young women loves to dance ballet and says when she dances she "feels free and stress free". Until donors came up with funds, she has not been able to dance for nearly a year due to lack of funds.
$250: Bedroom makeovers for the residences. Rooms are well used by previous clients, and having the funds to personalize and update their new rooms help young people feel settled and valued, particularly given the upheaval that most youths have been subject to in the foster care system. Making choices about their space (paint, rugs, bedding, lamps, wall art, night stands etc) helps young people feel more rooted during their time in Youth Homes care and is the difference between feeling at home and just occupying a bed. Many come from economic backgrounds where having their own room and having choice in their surroundings was not feasible.
$100: Personalized birthday celebration: birthday cakes/ice cream, balloons, gift card to a favorite store. Plenty of our youth did not have regular birthday celebrations before entering our program. More than a few never had a birthday cake before! Feeling celebrated (the way that every young person should be on their birthday) increases a sense of normality and builds good memories they can build on.
$50: Yearbook or cap/gown rental for graduating seniors. This is an expense that is prohibitive to many foster youth!
$25: Pure fun! $25 funds one youth on a supervised activity where they can just goof off, enjoy themselves, and gain exposure to new things. Outings include trips to the roller rink, the skate park, a fun interactive museum (like the Museum of 3D Illusions in SF), or a hip hop dance class. $25 might also fund art supplies for a specific creative project or hobby that supports personal interests (acrylic art set, art pads, journaling supplies, jewelry making etc).
