6th Annual Stockings for the Veterans

Overview: While the holidays for many can be a time for family, festivities, and happy memories, for veterans it can be a trying time. Particularly for the veterans who have to spend their holiday hospitalized for long periods of time in the local VA hospitals. Some of these veterans do not have family and friends to visit them and spend time with them. They are alone.

Objective: Kristi’s Hope partnered with Ray Lopez and Marine Corps League 835, along with the community to collect Christmas stockings and stocking stuffers to fill and deliver to our hospitalized Veterans. We also had Temecula Valley VFW Post 4089, several girl scout troops, boy scouts, local sports teams, Miss International and a Military Santa join in on our efforts.

Result: For about 3 weeks the community worked on handmade patriotic stockings, donations were dropped off and volunteers started RSVP’ing to help fill the stockings. On Sunday December 3rd local volunteers met at Metro Sound in Huntington Beach to fill 915 stockings and again at Harveston Park in Temecula to fill 451 stockings. We had a GRAND TOTAL of 1,366 stockings for our veterans. Within that total we had 165 sugar free stockings for the diabetic patients. We also had one local girl scout troop make 16 amazing stockings for the VA service/therapy dogs. The young volunteers decorated 700 pillow cases for our veterans to enjoy as well!

• Thank you Metro Sound for allowing us to use your parking lot in Huntington Beach.
• Thank you Steve Hyham for donating the tables for us to work on.
• Thank you Amy Wiedner for your endless behind the scenes work to making the HB event a success.
• Thank you to Dr. Pakiz’s office in Long Beach for collecting SO many donations.
• Thank you Jenny for setting up and collecting donations at Xcell Fitness.
• Thank you Shamrock Irish Pub in Murrieta for collecting donations
• Thank you Flexx Fitness in Temecula for collecting donation
• Thank you to all the corporations who donating items to fill the stockings and THANK YOU to the community for making this entire event a success by donating and volunteering your time!

For HB pictures, please visit our album: https://www.facebook.com/pg/kristishope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1966635806751929

For Temecula pictures, please visit our album: https://www.facebook.com/pg/kristishope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1974917145923795

1st Annual Share the Love Pajama Drive (Riverside County)

Overview: Every Child has a right to a good night. Thousands of children across the United States go to sleep at night afraid and lonely, in ill-fitting and soiled clothing and alone with their dreaded thoughts. These children may live in a group home, a shelter or temporary housing facilities. The children are often shuffled from one place to another. Many of them have been abandoned, abused or neglected. Most of these children have never enjoyed the simple comfort of having a parent tuck them in at bedtime with warm, clean pajamas and a bedtime story. Some of the children are living with their families below the poverty level, in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter and some are living within our foster care system. The two simple gifts of pajamas and books let these children know that someone cares - sometimes these are the only new things they have ever received. Through this simple act of love, we can fulfill every child’s right to a good night.

Objective: The pajama drive challenge was intended to bring awareness to the overwhelming need for caring and compassionate people in our community. The children who will receive these donations are victims of circumstance. Children that are a part of the Orange County Social Services, entering foster care. Something as simple as pajamas can put a smile on the children’s faces and bring comfort to their nights in a strange place.

Results: Volunteers met at Temeku Park in Temecula, CA to help match donated pajamas with age appropriate books for children in our Orange County Foster Care system. Beautiful cards, made by the young volunteers, were attached to each pair and they were wrapped up with ribbon. We assembled a grand total of 102 beautifully wrapped pajamas and books.

For more pictures from this event, please check out the album here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/kristishope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1607793942636119

4th Annual Share the Love Pajama Drive (Orange County)

Overview: Every Child has a right to a good night. Thousands of children across the United States go to sleep at night afraid and lonely, in ill-fitting and soiled clothing and alone with their dreaded thoughts. These children may live in a group home, a shelter or temporary housing facilities. The children are often shuffled from one place to another. Many of them have been abandoned, abused or neglected. Most of these children have never enjoyed the simple comfort of having a parent tuck them in at bedtime with warm, clean pajamas and a bedtime story. Some of the children are living with their families below the poverty level, in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter and some are living within our foster care system. The two simple gifts of pajamas and books let these children know that someone cares - sometimes these are the only new things they have ever received. Through this simple act of love, we can fulfill every child’s right to a good night.

Objective: The pajama drive challenge was intended to bring awareness to the overwhelming need for caring and compassionate people in our community. The children who will receive these donations are victims of circumstance. Children that are a part of the Orange County Social Services, entering foster care. Something as simple as pajamas can put a smile on the children’s faces and bring comfort to their nights in a strange place.

Results: Volunteers met at Peter Greene Park to help match donated pajamas with age appropriate books for children in our Orange County Foster Care system. Beautiful cards, made by the young volunteers, were attached to each pair and they were wrapped up with ribbon. We assembled a grand total of 220 beautifully wrapped pajamas and books.

Thank you to Medusa Salon for being a drop off location and for advertising this event for us! Thank you to Regina at Medusa Salon for hosting the Orange County event and making sure everything went off without a hitch!!

Check out the pictures from the event:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/kristishope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1600677086681138

5th Annual Stockings for the Troops

Overview: Men and women serving our country outside our borders, in foreign land, many putting their lives on the line every day, desire the same things you do during the holidays. We can’t bring them home, but we can send a piece of Christmas to them and lovingly remind them that America has not forgotten them.

Objective: Kristi’s Hope partnered with the community to collect Christmas stockings and stocking stuffers to fill and ship off to deployed troops. We also had The JROTC, Brownie Scouts, and the Red Hat Society volunteer their time.

Result: For about 3 weeks donations were dropped off and volunteers started RSVP’ing to help fill the stockings. On Saturday October 28th local volunteers met at the park to fill 761 stockings with donated items such as hygiene products, fun snacks, healthy snacks, entertainment items like puzzles, books, games etc. and several letters/cards drawings thanking the soldiers for their service/sacrifice.

The Brownie girl scouts brought specific donations for the deployed K9’s. The filled stockings for the dogs, and made special holiday cards for them as well.

These stockings were shipped off to deployed troops and all shipping was sponsored by The American Legion in Newport Beach.

• Thank you Congressman Dana Rohrabacher for joining us and supporting our efforts.
• Thank you Jacqueline Toueg for featuring our event in the local news and for all the fun interviews with the volunteers.
• Thank you troop 4174 for collecting donated items for our deployed K9’s.

For more pictures, please visit our album: https://www.facebook.com/pg/kristishope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1493243464091168

Project Foster Care - Teen Hope

Overview: Remember when you were 17 years old and full of rebellious teenage energy? Now imagine that when you woke up on your 18th birthday, you were all alone. Imagine having to navigate the "real world" all by yourself at that tender age. Sure, at 18 you might have felt like an adult, but as you got older and gained perspective, you realized you still had a lot to learn and needed a lot of support and guidance. What if you had no one--no family, no support system at all? That is the predicament nearly 25,000 18-year-olds face each year when they "age out" of the U.S. foster care system.

Objective: Since MAY was NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH, it was a good opportunity to make a difference. Before being sent out into the world to figure things out on their own, we can provide them with a backpack or duffle bag that includes a few comfort items, necessities and even things that may help them get a job!

Results: THANK YOU again to each and every one of you who took time out of your busy lives to donate to this really worthy cause. Thanks to your generosity, we will be able to provide 31 backpacks filled with necessities for the foster care youth aging out of our Orange County Foster Care system.

Resurrection Celebration Feast 2017

The Salvation Army’s emergency shelter is aptly named The Hospitality House. The Hospitality House first opened its doors in 1964, providing emergency shelter and resources to people in need. Since that time, it has been a beacon of hope to thousands of individuals, networking with community agencies and like-minded organizations to meet the needs of an ever increasing homeless population. 

Thanks to food donations Kristi's Hope and The Sweet Mission Project cooked and served Easter dinner to approximately 100 individuals at the shelter. We were also able to provide each guest with an Easter basket filled with hygiene items and a little bit of Easter candy. These items sure put a smile on their faces!

Project Easter Basket 2017

Overview: Like all children, the children at Colette's Childrens Home in Huntington Beach love to play and they go to school, BUT at the same time, they are different than other children. To no fault of their own, they are struggling with their mom's to meet their basic needs. Easter basics are fun but not always affordable.

Objective: Kristi's Hope worked hard to to rally you all for support once again. We wanted to show these children that their community cares. Our goal was to provide fun Easter baskets to as many of the kids in their program as we could.

Results: Volunteers worked together to assemble 72 Easter baskets for children in the program at Colette's Children Home. Thanks to each and every one who donated we were able to provide a donation of 72 Easter Baskets filled with eggs, toys, candy and more.