Peggy Introduces Nichole

Those of you who have been reading our blogs will note that there's been, well, a gap lately. December is our busiest month of the year: people calling daily to see what we need for Christmas and then stopping by to deliver their gifts; organizing those gifts in our Gift Room, including passing along any that we cannot use; coordinating our volunteers; fund-raising events such as selling our jelly bean jars and Pietro's Pizza Night; also tracking financial donations and acknowledging them. All of this culminates in our holiday party and dinner which is just before Christmas.


It's really been a wonderful month. The generosity of our community is amazing. The gratefulness of the youth for what amounts to very basic gifts is rewarding. The energy and excitement level was pretty constant all month.




That's my explanation for so little blogging lately. And now I'd like to introduce Nichole, a practicum student from Willamette University who will be taking on our blog and Facebook duties for a while.


Hello everyone! I'm Nichole, a senior at Willamette University, doing my final senior experience studies at HOME to complete my Sociology major. I've volunteered for a few days now and I'm happy to say that I think this will be a rewarding experience and I'm excited to get to know everyone. HOME is such an awesome place that really reaches out to the youth in Salem and I'm so glad to be a part of that makes an effort to be a positive aspect in a youth's life. I'll be updating the blog with my experiences throughout my time here, so check back often.