Mission/History

Hands4Hope is a youth driven, outreach organization based in El Dorado Hills, designed to create opportunities for youth to identify areas of need in their communities where they can make a difference and have a positive impact.

Who we are
The organization, which is made up of students from Kindergarten through 12^th grade, launched its first event in March 2008 with a community Easter Egg Hunt. Most of the youth involved reside in El Dorado Hills, however, the organization is quickly growing, gaining volunteers from throughout both Sacramento and El Dorado Counties. The organization currently has more than 550 youth members and several public school partners to assist with outreach efforts.

How we work
Hands4Hope is led by our youth leadership team, which is mentored by a Parent Advisory Council. The organization strives to create awareness of others’ circumstances, inspiring compassion and action, offer opportunities for leadership development, and support and/or fill voids in local outreach efforts.

Why we began
My inspiration for Hands4Hope was my desire to have my boys, then 8 and 11, be appreciative of what they have, show compassion for others, and know the wonderful feeling of doing something that makes a positive difference in somebody else’s life.  I started a similar group at the small church in Orangevale, CA and had a wonderful response from the youth there. The teens got a taste of doing some outreach over several months and showed interest in wanting to do more and more. After my sons invited friends from around our neighborhood to join in the outreach activities, their parents noted that a community outreach organization was also needed here in the foothills. This show of interest got me thinking.

As a result, I started talking to friends and business owners in El Dorado Hills about my vision for a non-denominational youth outreach group and received a wonderful response. The support to move forward with this effort has been amazing. The group established a Teen Advisory Council within two weeks and West Coast Martial Arts (where my children take classes) helped kick off the organization by spreading the word about Hands4Hope to all their members.

Where we’re headed
Hands4Hope has taken off like a freight train and has been blessed with support from parents, businesses, charitable organizations, schools, churches, and other youth organizations. It has grown to over 550 members in the last three years, partnering with the Twin Lakes Food Bank in Folsom, Wind Youth Services, Mercy Housing, Powerhouse Ministries, Feeding And Inspiring the Homeless, Green Valley Community Church, Faithful Stewards, and the Vision Coalition of El Dorado Hills to carry out various programs. We work closely with many schools in the area to carry out our drives and promote our activities. These schools include Oak Meadow, William Brooks, Silva Valley, and Lake Forest Elementary, Rolling Hills and Marina Village Middle, and Oak Ridge and St. Francis High School.

Who we serve
The target population Hands4Hope serves is homeless adults and youth, as well as families and individuals considered low-income in urban and rural areas. Hands 4 Hope’s focus regions are El Dorado and Sacramento Counties, with much of our work in Sacramento County being done in Folsom and in the city of Sacramento, and our focus area in El Dorado County being El Dorado Hills to Placerville.

What we’re striving for
As an organization, Hands4Hope aspires to become known as a resource for others to come to for assistance or to drive a project. Hands4Hope’s goal is for its’ annual community programs, such as the Toiletries and Warm & Fuzzy Drives, to become well-known, anticipated, and more successful each year. The organization wants youth to join Hands4Hope because of what it stands for and because members also have fun doing what they do. We want to work hand-in-hand with other organizations to build stronger programs for our communities and create programs that fill the gaps. We want to be in a financial position to be able to create quality programs & events, to recognize and reward youth for their efforts, and to do team building events that build stronger bonds within the group. We would also like to eventually be able to sponsor a child or two for sports programs. The near-term focus will be working with schools, getting more of them involved in programs that create awareness and compassion for others. The primary objective of this agency is to show youth that they can make a difference no matter how old they are.

Jennifer Bassett
Founder & Executive Director

“We have enjoyed meeting the people we are serving, asking their names and hearing their stories.  It has sparked some really great conversations with our boys.  They love it and look forward to serving again.”
-Tracie Hilliker, mother