Meet the The Fall Festival Planning Committee!
Patrick Whelan, Operations & Finance Lead
Ian Hunt, Games & Activities Lead
Mishti Shah, Marketing & Fundraising Lead
Navy Morrison, Volunteer Management Lead
Hands4Hope Fall Festival Games & Activities Committee youth participant, Andrew Ni, shares an update about what you can expect at next week's event!
"What's a Fall Festival without the games? The Games & Activities team meets to organize these games, from designing the activities to planning the prizes.
We can't wait to show you what's new! We've added a whole harvest-themed obstacle course, along with some of last year’s favorites, including Going Fishing and Pumpkin Bowling. Now, we are finalizing the games in preparation for the festival on October 8-9. Organizing the layout and community partnerships is no small feat. See you there!”
September Committee Update from Mishti Shah - Marketing & Fundraising Lead
While our Staff & Board wrap our details for the Endless Summer Beach Party Fundraiser in September, the youth-led Fall Festival Committee is preparing for the launch of our Annual Fall Festival event on October 8-9.
Oak Ridge Junior, Mishti Shah, returns for the second year leading the Fall Festival Marketing & Fundraising team. We asked Mishti for a status update regarding sponsorships and some of the challenges they have come up against.
Her previous experience has certainly helped troubleshoot potential issues but Mishti says she’s still learning and putting into practice new strategies to address issues they face along the way.
In addition to her role on the Fall Festival committee, Mishti is also Vice President of Hands4Hope’s Youth Board Executive Committee this year!
Visit our previous blog post to read more about Mishti and the rest of our 2022 Youth Board Executive Committee members!
The Marketing and Fundraising committee has been meeting regularly to cover new sponsorships we have received and go over upcoming deadlines.
Our committee consists of the following youth: me (Mishti), Vansh Angi, and Ashley Newton along with our adult mentors, Hands4Hope Founder and Executive Director, Jennifer Bassett and our Adult Committee Lead, Shirley Maier.
The money we raise will help fund Hands4Hope programs - our after school committees, such as the School Supply Drive Committee that just wrapped up their event last month, and our 13 Hands4Hope School Clubs.
A challenge that we have been facing is getting responses from companies that we have reached out to for potential sponsorships. Regarding marketing for the event, we’ve decided to hopefully widen our reach by putting up advertisements in more elementary schools, like Russell Ranch.
I was chair of the Marketing & Fundraising Committee for the Fall Festival last year as well, so it does help to have prior experience. Something new I’ve learned through this experience is to be more active about calling and emailing people. It’s hard to get in touch with a company or person you don’t personally know, so staying on top of their emails and calls really helps!
August Committee Update from Navy Morrison - Volunteer Management Lead
Since our July update, the Fall Festival Committee has held four meetings to plan for our highly anticipated event in October. Most meetings take place in-person at the EDH Youth Center but for those who are unable to attend live, we have the ability to stream them in live via Zoom.
We asked Navy Morrison, Youth Chair of Volunteer Management, about her experience being a part of the Fall Festival this year:
"Being a part of the Fall Festival Committee has taught me important leadership skills including communication, patience and assertiveness. I have learned how to have a good balance of these skills and contribute to the conversation in a helpful yet polite way."
"I have contributed to such an amazing group and gotten to work on a project I am incredibly passionate about: youth being given the opportunities to lead and serve in their community."
"I am so thankful to be part of this project and I can’t wait to see this project through to the end!"
We're excited to continue sharing updates about our popular Fall Event!
July Committee Update from Patrick Whelan - Operations & Finance Lead
“In this stage of the Fall Festival planning process, we are using the extra time we have this year to discuss smaller details and the things that we could improve on while creating our goals and budgets!” - Patrick Whelan, Operations & Finance Lead
The Fall Festival Planning Committee has been working hard on securing sponsorships and planning activities for this year’s Hands4Hope Fall Festival which will be held on October 8-9 at El Dorado Hills Town Center!
This youth-led committee is organized to mimic a functioning event production company where youth learn leadership, time management, marketing, communication, and event planning skills while being mentored by an adult with current or past career experience in their area of focus.
Last year's event drew over 1200 children of all ages who were able to enjoy fun games, contests, food, and more! Our popular hay rides will be back along with some new event participants including The Barnyard Animal Rescue Nest!
Be on the lookout for some fun changes to this year's event to make it the best one yet!
The funds from this event go to support our ongoing service-learning Education & Community Engagement Programs.
If you are interested in getting involved with the Fall Festival or learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please email: Kathy Gerstle at kgerstle@hands4hopeyouth.org.