Youth Recognition Event Celebrates nearly 15,000 hours served

The 14th Annual Hands4Hope Youth Recognition Event, held June 25, 2025, was a time to honor and recognize the achievements of all of our Hands4Hope youth participants. Youth also presented their demonstration projects, providing an opportunity for all to learn about their service-learning experiences.

Through the Hands4Hope Education and Community Engagement Programs, Hands4Hope Youth participants logged a total of 14,841 hours served during the 2024-25 program year. These hours result in positive change for a record 12,700 people and animals in need.

“As someone who started in this organization as a shy middle schooler, Hands4Hope has given me countless opportunities to grow, and it has really changed my life," said Lily Hinkle, incoming senior at Ponderosa and the Hands4Hope Youth Board President. “Each new experience and opportunity I have had has given me new skills I will take with me throughout my life, like how to be a better communicator and manage time effectively. Everyone I have met through Hands4Hope pushes me to be the best version of myself and I can happily say I have formed friendships and relationships that will last me for years to come.”

Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference operates as a certified organization to qualify youth to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), a national program led by AmeriCorps to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. Hands4Hope youth participants qualify for the award by achieving the required number of hours of service over a 12-month time period. Although this program was put on pause by AmeriCorps as of May 27, 2025, Hands4Hope still celebrated the 50 youth who qualified for this prestigious award.

For the first time since Hands4Hope was founded in 2008, every on-campus High School Hands4Hope Club leadership team qualified for a group-level President’s Volunteer Service Award. These are awarded to groups who attain a certain number of hours together. The leadership teams and the awards recognized were: Union Mine Hands4Hope Club - Bronze Award (340 hours), Ponderosa Hands4Hope Club - Silver Award (528 hours), El Dorado Hands4Hope Club - Silver Award (572 hours), Folsom High Hands4Hope Club - Silver Award (589 hours), Vista Del Lago Hands4Hope Club - Silver Award (658 hours), Oak Ridge Hands4Hope Empower Club - Silver Award (736 hours), and the Oak Ridge Hands4Hope Inspire Club - Gold Award (1,036 hours). The Hands4Hope Youth Board Executive Committee also qualified for a Gold Award with 1,499 hours served.

“One of the best parts about Hands4Hope is building relationships with people of all ages and backgrounds in our community”, says Jillian Mao, 2025-26 Hands4Hope Youth Board Vice President, and an incoming senior at Oak Ridge High School, in her address to the audience at the recognition event. “I truly feel that these experiences have allowed me to grow as a person and helped me find my place in the world.”

The recognition event was hosted by the Placerville Gathering Place, with balloon and centerpiece decorations generously donated by Foothill Events.