Jennifer Cole
1. What is your school and grade? How long have you been involved with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference?
I go to Vista Del Lago High School, and I am currently a sophomore. I have been occasionally volunteering with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference since elementary school, but only started volunteering regularly in my freshman year of high school.
2. Why did you join Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference & how did you hear about it?
My brothers volunteered with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference, so I would often join them in elementary and middle school. I loved my experience volunteering, which led me to apply for the Ryan Christopher Hersh Scholarship Committee in high school.
3. How has Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life?
Through Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference, I have been able to strengthen skills, make friends, and gain knowledge about the community I live in. Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference has helped me work on skills such as collaboration, public speaking, and leadership. School and other volunteer organizations often don’t give youth the ability to be a leader, which is why it is so special that Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference has this opportunity. I have also been able to meet incredible people through Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference that I have been able to learn from and become friends with, and who inspire me to work hard and do my best in Hands4Hope and in life.
4. What has your experience been like since joining?
I have had an amazing experience with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference, and I am so glad that I joined. One of my favorite parts of Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference is the supportive environment, and how passionate everyone is towards helping the community. This environment makes volunteering very enjoyable, and also means that everyone feels included and heard. The passion present in all of the youth is also very inspiring, and leads to innovative projects and impressive results.
5. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experiences with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference?
One of my favorite projects has been being part of the Hands4Hope Emergency Food Pantry Committee, where I was able to help build a food pantry. This project seemed daunting at first, but I loved working with the rest of the committee to slowly plan everything out and eventually see everything come together. We sometimes had problems that we hadn’t even thought of, such as how we were going to find out about recalled food, but by working together and with other organizations, we were able to overcome every challenge and create a working food pantry.
Jayce KalFUNski
1. What is your school and grade? How long have you been involved with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference?
I am a current sophomore at El Dorado High School and have been a part of Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference since June 2020!
2. Why did you join Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference & how did you hear about it?
I heard about Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference from my friend Lori Whittle, and joined because I found out through Key Club I love helping my community, and figured the more the merrier!
3. How has Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life?
Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference has helped me develop leadership skills by being the co chair for the Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference Emergency Food Pantry Committee, and has taught me secretarial duties by being the EDHS Hands4Hope Club’s secretary!
4. What has your experience been like since joining?
I have loved every second of being in Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference! I love being able to help my community while also collaborating with other students and the adult mentors!
5. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experiences with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference?
I would like to thank everyone within this amazing organization for giving me such an amazing opportunity, to everyone on the Emergency Food Pantry Committee for being such an amazing group of people to work with, and my great club members at EDHS! Thank you!!