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Folsom High School junior, Maya Moss, juggles a job, soccer practice, tech theater, and leadership roles at school and at Hands4Hope with a positive, can-do attitude! In the five years that she has been involved, she has made many friends and “always leaves with a smile” after participating with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference! Read more about how volunteering with her mom helped prepare Maya for the service learning projects she is now involved with at Hands4Hope and how Hands4Hope helped her become more outgoing, feel comfortable in her own skin, discover her strengths and changed her life for the better! Tell us a little bit about yourself - what grade are you in this year, where you go to school and how long have you been involved with Hands4Hope? I am a junior at Folsom High School and I have been involved with Hands4Hope for about 5 years now. I joined the Sutter Middle School Club in 6th grade. In 7th grade, I was the Vice President and in 8th grade, I was the President. My freshman year was a Covid year so we did not have as many events but I still participated in the online meetings and activities for the Folsom High School Club. In my sophomore year, I was the Distribution Lead for the School Supply Drive Committee and the Decoration Lead for the Winter Boutique. This year, I was the Committee Chair for the School Supply Drive Committee and I am a part of the Fall Festival Games and Activities Committee. How did you hear about Hands4Hope? What motivated you to join? I heard about Hands4Hope through my school during our morning announcements. My mom and I used to volunteer in the community together so it definitely helped motivate me to join but the main thing that motivated me was when they talked about the opportunity to be a youth leader. Reflect on the experiences you have with Hands4Hope that have shaped you into the person you are today compared to when you first joined. Hands4Hope has made me a much more socially aware person. It has helped me in my leadership skills and to be more comfortable with public speaking. Before I joined Hands4Hope I wasn’t as outgoing as I am now and I was uncomfortable with who I was. Hands4Hope has let me find who I am and strengthen all the skills that helped me build my confidence. How has Hands4Hope helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life? It helped me make friends in school, and helped me with my public speaking skills, allowing me to do better with presentations in school. With my family, my mom has become involved as well and it’s been fun to do some projects with her! What value do you think Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference adds to the community? I think the value Hands4Hope - Youth Making a Difference adds to the community is “awareness of community needs.” Many of the youth participating in Hands4Hope now know how we can help the community individually as well as a group. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experiences with Hands4Hope? Hands4Hope has changed my life for the better and the community that surrounds it is amazing. I have made a lot of friends through it and every time I participate I always leave with a smile on my face.

We're proud to introduce another of our incredible youth participants! Meet Patrick! What grade are you in, what school do you go to, and how long have you been involved with Hands4Hope? I am a senior at Oak Ridge High School and I have been involved with Hands4Hope for two years. I will be President of the Oak Ridge Empower Club at school this coming year and was Secretary of the Club last year. I was Co-Chair of the Ryan Christopher Hersh Scholarship Committee in the spring and I am currently Chair of the Operations and Finance Committee for the Fall Festival Planning Committee. How did you hear about Hands4Hope? What motivated you to join? I heard about Hands4Hope through my school. Some of my friends were a part of the club and suggested that I join it as I was looking for a good place to do some community service. I was not involved with the organization much at first but after participating in the Oak Ridge Empower Club this last year, I really enjoyed it and began participating in more committees. How has your experience with Hands4Hope shaped you into the person you are today? Being a leader this past year, I feel that I have learned an incredible amount about how to take charge of a group and work with others. I also gained a lot of confidence in my leadership abilities. At first, our club was not super outgoing and it was hard to get them to participate, but over the year I learned a lot of new ways to encourage participation and work with the club. How has Hands4Hope helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life? I feel that Hands4Hope has made me a much more organized person as I had to manage events for the organization, a skill that has carried on into school as well. Another huge way that Hands4Hope helped me was in communicating with adults and members of the community that I may not know. In this way, it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and I now have no problem reaching out to business owners, mentors, and other adults in the community that I may have been hesitant in contacting before. What value do you think Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference adds to the community? I think that Hands4Hope offers a great outlet for youth around the community to get involved and help those in need by encouraging a strong sense of community and aid to those who need it most. It is both fun for volunteers and beneficial to members of the community that might need some assistance. I feel that it really adds a value of unity to the community as it provides fun, relief, and assistance to many people in the area. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experiences with Hands4Hope? Something I would like to add about Hands4Hope is that it has really introduced me to so many people and I have made so many good friends because of the organization. It allows youth to bond over a good cause, opportunities we need more of in today’s world.

In this Committee, we obtained sponsors to help support our event by contacting them via email and phone

What grade are you in, what school do you attend, and how long have you been involved with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? I am in 7th grade and this is my second year in Hands4Hope. What club, committees and/or community engagement outreaches have you participated in? Please indicate if you’ve held any leadership positions. I am the Vice President at the Sutter Middle Hands4Hope Club. I have only participated in one outreach, however, I am very concentrated on the Club and know that I will participate in many more in the future! We are currently supporting Guide Dogs For The Blind and are in the Action phase of our project. We are hosting candy sales during lunches on our campus. How did you hear about Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? What motivated you to join? I heard about it at school, convinced my friends, and we all decided that it would be fun to join. Think about what you’ve done with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference so far: How have these experiences shaped you into the person you are today compared to when you first joined? I am much more confident and less nervous. I feel very productive with Hands4Hope and I'm so glad that I joined. How has Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life? I've felt more confident speaking in class, I have new friends and new points of view. At home, it helps me stay productive. What has been your favorite memory so far with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? I can't pick a favorite, they are all so great, but I loved the Hands4Hope Leadership Camp and Mid Year Retreat. The team building and planning is what makes the Club so much fun. What would you tell someone who is considering joining Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? How do you see yourself being involved with Hands4Hope in the future? I would completely recommend Hands4Hope to them! I would tell them about all of the fun that it is to be a part of Hands4Hope and the opportunities it can bring them. I can see myself staying with Hands4Hope through high school, and after. What activities do you enjoy outside Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? I love to run and bake.

After Adult Lead Volunteer Lynn Fedoryk retired from teaching and moved to Placerville a few years ago, she was looking for volunteer opportunities to work with students. She saw an ad for Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference adult volunteers in the local Clipper magazine. After learning more, she thought this would be the perfect opportunity to engage with motivated young people who are passionate about helping others. What have you learned about Hands4Hope that you didn't know about before you started volunteering with us? Being new to the area, I had never heard of Hands4Hope before I started volunteering. So I was just happy to find that such an organization existed! I think the thing that stands out to me the most is that the youth are the ones who are in the driver’s seat. They are able to follow their passion for helping others when determining a need in the community that they would like to address, and they are in charge of the planning, implementation and wrap up/review for each event. The result is amazing leadership experiences for the youth while serving the communities that they live in. What has been the most memorable experience so far with Hands4Hope? I think the most memorable experience that I’ve had so far with Hands4Hope is participating in the Empty Bowls Supper as an adult mentor. I was able to see how hard the Youth Leader and all of the Hands4Hope participants worked in conjunction with the Empty Bowls Committee to put on an event to raise money for the food insecure. Months of planning and hard work resulted in a wonderful and successful evening. What would you say to other adults out there in the community who may be looking to get involved with Hands4Hope? I would tell other adults who may want to get involved with Hands4Hope that if they are looking for something that is very rewarding and that will restore their faith in humanity, then they should do it!

As Vikram Dev Singh enters his Senior year at Oak Ridge High School, he is also marking his 6th year participating with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference. He first started participating as a sixth grader at Rolling Hills Middle School, and has been involved steadily ever since! Read on to find out why he spends so much of his time with Hands4Hope, and what he feels he gets out of it. What club, committees, and community engagement outreaches have you participated in? I am currently the President of the Oak Ridge Hands4Hope Empower Club, but I have also participated in several committees. I am the Volunteer Manager of the School Supply Committee, as well as the Marketing Chair of this year's Fall Festival Committee. I am also looking to join other committees such as the Emergency Food Pantry Committee and the Winter Boutique Committee. In the past, I have also held leadership positions, being the Vice President of the Rolling Hills Hands4Hope Club in 7th and 8th grade. I have participated in many community engagement outreaches, but my recent favorites were the School Supply Committee Stuff the Bus event, as well as the 4th of July Freedom and Fireworks Kids Zone event. I have also been a regular volunteer of the White Rock Village Camp Mercy and Kids Zone events this summer. How did you hear about Hands4Hope and what motivated you to join? I first heard about Hands4Hope through school in 6th grade. It seemed like a fun opportunity to help people in need as well as make many new friends. I already had friends in the group, so I felt motivated to join and have fun volunteering with my friends. On top of that, my sister used to participate in Hands4Hope, which also motivated me to join the club and start volunteering. Since then, I have grown to love volunteering with the organization. Think about what you’ve done with Hands4Hope so far: How have these experiences shaped you into the person you are today compared to when you first joined? Through Hands4Hope I have learned to be a more kind, patient, and giving person. As a kid, I was always jumpy, and got frustrated very easily. However, through working with kids and others throughout my time at Hands4Hope, I have learned that being patient is always important in helping as much as you can. Working with children is hard sometimes, and Hands4Hope has taught me to be patient and giving in order to help these children with problems they are currently facing, and problems that they might face later in life. These experiences have helped me to grow and become a better person. How has Hands4Hope helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life? Hands4Hope has helped me develop closer relationships with friends, and has also taught me the importance of time management. Through Hands4Hope, I have spent a lot of extra time with my friends, and this has helped bring me closer to them. The Hands4Hope experience is very good at fostering a safe environment for you to interact and become friends with your fellow volunteers, which I am very grateful for. The countless hours spent volunteering with my friends has really allowed me to understand and appreciate them more. What has been your favorite memory so far with Hands4Hope? Honestly, there are so many to choose from. My favorite memory so far with Hands4Hope came right after the 4th of July Freedom and Fireworks Kids Zone event. Since we were wrapped up with our long shift of volunteering, my friends Edreese and Leo and I got Chipotle. Right after we got our food, we went back to the volunteer area, and we sat and watched the fireworks together while we ate and relaxed after a long day. This memory means a lot to me because I felt really close to my friends. It felt less like volunteering and more like having fun and watching fireworks with some of my favorite people. This is not only one of my favorite Hands4Hope memories, but one of my favorite memories in general. For moments like these, I am forever grateful for Hands4Hope. What would you tell someone who is considering joining Hands4Hope ? How do you see yourself being involved in the future? Hands4Hope is one of the best organizations and groups of people you could ever get involved with. The perfect balance of finding friendship and family as well as being able to volunteer and help people is unmatched. If you’re considering joining Hands4Hope, I would 100% recommend you join. Though I’m graduating after this year, I still see myself volunteering and being involved in activities with Hands4Hope. I might be far away, but whenever I get a chance I will always come back and volunteer. What other activities do you enjoy? Outside of Hands4hope, I enjoy playing soccer and hanging out with my friends. I also enjoy playing video games and playing the clarinet in the Oak Ridge marching band.

Please give a warm welcome to Karen Brown who joins Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference as our new Communications & Fundraising Coordinator! Welcome, Karen! Tell us a little bit about yourself! I grew up in the hills near Silicon Valley, but the Greater Sacramento area has been my home since attending college at UC Davis. My husband and I built our home in El Dorado Hills. We have a son who will be entering his Freshman year of high school in the Fall, and a daughter who will be in 5th grade. We also share our home with a relentlessly joyful shepherd mix dog named Bernoulli (his rescue into foster care involved a flight with a volunteer pilot’s small airplane), two judgmental and entertaining cats, and a cuddly 5-foot-long ball python. What were you involved with before starting with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? For the last ten years, I’ve been very busy volunteering with community organizations like Buckeye Education Foundation, Friends of the El Dorado Hills Library, and Sierra Moms; as well as volunteering for my children's schools and numerous activities. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with kindhearted and hardworking community members of all ages and backgrounds, and believe that the work of volunteers in our community strengthens and improves the lives of us all. Previously, I spent 10 years working for RedRover, a Sacramento-based national nonprofit brings animals from crisis to care. What do you like to do in your free time? At home, you will likely find me listening to podcasts or audiobooks, since my headphones enable me to indulge while doing dishes, cooking, or cleaning to make sure that my household isn’t engulfed in pet hair. But when I truly have time to myself, I love my garden, and doing crafts of any kind, especially card making and scroll sawing. I'm a musical theater fan, and try to catch shows whenever I can. At this point in life I'm more of an audience member or back stage helper than a performer, but I am very proud that I was able to carve out time last year to sing with a mixed barbershop chorus for a season. As a family we enjoy going hiking and doing water activities like boating and paddleboarding. We travel and spend time with family whenever we can, and are dogged DIY-ers with a never-ending list of projects. And of course, I’m still spending a lot of time volunteering for several organizations! What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know or are surprised to learn? I worked as a zookeeper right after college. It was a dream come true to train wild animals in the zoo’s education department and earn their trust, while encouraging conservation of their species and habitat by speaking to many audiences. My favorite animals to work with were the cheetahs, great horned owl, and red fox. What are you most looking forward to in working with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? One thing I’m especially excited about is mentoring and learning from a new Social Media Committee to incorporate more youth perspectives and involvement into the Hands4Hope online messaging. Anything else you would like to add? I look forward to being inspired every day by how hard participating youth work to serve their community while developing leadership skills that will last a lifetime.

Union Mine High School junior, Chloe Deiss, has been a Hands4Hope participant since the 7th grade and is now the President of her Service-Learning School Club and Treasurer of the Youth Board Executive Committee. She attributes her experience at Hands4Hope for helping her become a confident leader and communicator. “If someone was considering joining Hands4Hope I would definitely recommend them to join. You will meet so many great people and build so many relationships. You will have so much fun and have so many new opportunities.” We are always encouraged to hear our youth share about the wonderful relationships they’ve built with their peers and adult mentors while they are involved in opportunities that Hands4Hope offers which develop leadership skills and empower youth to positively impact their community. What grade are you in, what school do you attend, and how long have you been involved with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? What club or committees are you involved in? Please indicate if you’ve held any leadership positions. I am a junior at Union Mine and this will be my fourth year of being in Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference. I am the President of the club at Union Mine and I am the Treasurer of the Youth Board Executive Committee. I recently volunteered during the “A Christmas Experience Concert & Fundraiser” for the Placerville Youth Center Expansion. This was also my first year being a part of the Winter Boutique Committee and I was a part of the Clothing Logistics team. How did you hear about Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? What motivated you to join? I heard about Hands4Hope during an assembly at the end of my 7th-grade year. It sounded very interesting and like nothing I had done before. I joined with a few friends because we wanted to get more involved in our school and community. Think about what you’ve done with Hands4Hope so far: How have these experiences shaped you into the person you are today compared to when you first joined? How has Hands4Hope helped you in school, with your friends and family, and in life? When I first joined Hands4Hope I was shy and only joined because I had friends that were with me. But now I have met so many amazing people and they have made me feel comfortable enough to do things that I used to not want to do. For example, I used to dislike communicating with people, in person and virtually, but now I am completely comfortable communicating and talking with anyone. Learning to communicate well is a key thing in many parts of life. I have actually been complimented recently for my good communication skills. What has been your favorite memory so far with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? My favorite memory with Hands4Hope was earlier this year when JJ’s Hello Foundation came and spoke to the Youth Board. They are such amazing people doing great things. Their story is extremely sad because their son, unfortunately, took his own life at a very young age but they are sharing his story to help other people who are in need. What would you tell someone who is considering joining Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? If someone was considering joining Hands4Hope I would definitely recommend them to join. You will meet so many great people and build so many relationships. You will have so much fun and have so many new opportunities. What activities do you enjoy outside Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? I enjoy cooking and baking for my family and trying new, fun recipes. My family has 13 chickens and I like to spend time with them and give them treats. I spend lots of time with my family, especially my two younger brothers who are 4 and 6. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference? I have learned so many new things and built so many relationships through Hands4Hope.

CLICK HERE TO READ HALEY'S YOUTH SPOTLIGHT FROM 2012!

positive energy that Navy brings to Hands4Hope comes across clearly in her responses in this month’s Youth Spotlight

What is your school and grade? Also, how long have you been involved with H4H? I'm a junior at Oak Ridge High School, and have been involved with Hands4Hope for two years. Why did you join Hands4Hope? I joined Hands4Hope so I could make a positive impact in my community and give back to those in need! How has Hands4Hope helped you in life? Hands4Hope has introduced me to so many new people who share the same interests with me, and has helped me with my leadership skills. What has your experience been like since joining? My experience with Hands4Hope has been great, the environment and the people I am surrounded by in Hands4Hope are amazing. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experiences with Hands4Hope? Hands4Hope has made me appreciate what I am given in life so much more! Participating in the homeless outreach at Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento helped me realize how many people there are in our community that are in need, and it was so eye opening to see how much they appreciated the food! Being the youth intern for the Winter Boutique this year taught me great teamwork and leadership skills, I loved every part of it and all of the people on the committee are great! How has having Hands4Hope at your school made a difference? Having Hands4Hope at my school is great, I love having people with similar interests with me at school. Lunch meetings are made so fun! We are currently working on a project to help children in need in our community.

How long have you been involved with Hands4Hope? I have been involved with Hands4Hope for at least 5 years. I don’t remember when my first outreach with Hands4Hope was, but I do know that I began participating in Hands4Hope at the end of my 6th grade year. Why did you join H4H? I initially joined Hands4Hope as a way to gain community service hours. However, as I began to get more and more involved, I grew to love the organization very quickly and now participate whenever I can. What have you liked most about H4H? What I like most about Hands4Hope is its ability to allow youth to become more directly involved within their communities. If it weren’t for Hands4Hope, I probably wouldn’t be able to say that I have had face-to-face interactions with the homeless in Sacramento, or that I’ve helped out low-income families while they were getting necessities like food and clothing. Is there anything that you’ve learned about yourself while acting as a club leader or outreach volunteer? I’ve learned various things about myself through being a club leader and an outreach volunteer. By taking part in the numerous outreaches that Hands4Hope holds, I have discovered my passion towards helping others in need and I hope to continue this passion later in life even when I am an adult. I’ve also been able to develop my leadership skills through being one of the secretaries of the Oak Ridge Hands4Hope Clubs. For example, I was painfully shy and quiet throughout all of elementary school and the majority of middle school. It was so bad that I was even diagnosed with borderline autism when I was very young. This all started to change in middle school, which was when I first took part in Hands4Hope events. Through participating with Hands4Hope, I met many people that encouraged me to become more vocal and to take a larger role within Hands4Hope. While I still may have some of my old social tendencies from when I was younger, I can comfortably say that I have grown so much from being a part of Hands4Hope. Is there anything else that you would like to add? I just want to express my sincere appreciation for Hands4Hope. Because of Hands4Hope, I am more appreciative of every aspect of my life. I have also had some amazing experiences with numerous people within our community because of this organization, and I don’t know if I would have these connections without Hands4Hope. I love this organization so much and appreciate how it teaches youth to develop a love towards playing a larger role within their own communities. Many may view the contributions that these youth make as trivial and insignificant, but, to be completely honest, any little action could change a person’s life. The youth who volunteer with Hands4Hope make a difference in the lives of those in need, and sometimes these experiences can change the youth who are volunteering as well. I am extremely thankful for everything that this organization has not only done for me, but for many others within our community, and I am happy that I could be a part of it.