The month of December has been a busy one here at HOME. The cold weather has brought more youth to HOME and its resources. We also have been busy preparing for our annual Christmas Party which took place last Friday. We had 60 youth come into the drop-in and over 40 passed through the gift room where they were able to choose a backpack to fill with gifts for their family and friends. All gifts and backpacks are donated and the party would not be possible without the support of our community partners and generous citizens. This year we received donations from many anonymous donors as well as The People's Church, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, WorkSource Oregon, Oregon Department of Energy, Kohl's, Mrs. Stomp's Small Group at Salem Academy, the youth group at the Slavik Christian Church of Salem and Chemeketa's Small Business Development Center. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR EFFORTS!! The holiday party is consistently one of the busiest days of the year for us and this year was no exception. It is so fun to share the excitement the youth experience that night! For many, those are the only gifts they receive for the season and for some, during the whole year.
We have also had a great fortune of receiving monetary donations during the past weeks. The generosity of these individuals and groups is truly inspiring! Thank you so much for thinking of our youth and the importance of a safe place, like HOME, for them. Below are some excerpts from notes which accompanied checks:
Several years ago I volunteered at HOME in a United Way Day of Caring and liked what I saw... Please use this money where you have your biggest need. Thanks for what you do!
We are all grandmothers and we feel that our teens today have more choices and struggles than we had in our youth, so we chose to help support you this year.
We are so grateful for the generosity of these donors; their donations are what allow us to continue to provide a safe and caring environment for teens.
