• February Community Engagement Outreach - Volunteer Opportunities!
• 13th Annual Toiletries Drive - Donate this February!
• Donor Spotlight: U.S. Bank
• New Staff Spotlight: Casey Hanson, Operations Director
• Middle School & High School Club Updates
• Aspire Outfitters Committee Shoe Drive Recap
• Financial Literacy & Job Preparedness Workshop Recap
• Youth Marketing & Communications Committee - Interest Survey
• Internships Available for Young Adults (18-23) - Apply Now



CLICK HERE TO FIND A VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!

Hands4Hope’s 13th Annual Toiletries Drive is here! During the month of February, drop off your Toiletries Drive donations in the Big Blue Bin in front of our El Dorado Hills Youth Center. Multiple local schools and businesses are also participating in our Toiletries Drive! The schools that collect the most items receive a “Traveling Toiletries Drive Trophy!” 

Please consider the most requested items from the suggested list. (Note: Some of our families affected by the Caldor fire are still living out of campsites and campers and they have a specific need for RV Toilet Paper).

Visit our website to find out which schools and businesses are participating in this year’s Toiletries Drive!

For over ten years, with a shared mission to invest in our youth and their future, U.S. Bank has been a valued partner and supporter of Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference.

Through programs like the Financial Literacy & Job Preparedness workshop which 26 of our youth attended in January, U.S. Bank is providing our youth with skills and information to give them a strong start toward a healthy financial foundation and entrance into the workforce. 

Over the last 15 years, because of community partnerships like the one we have with U.S. Bank, we have been able to grow and strengthen our Education & Community Engagement Program and make a difference in the lives of thousands of youth and those they serve.



We are so grateful for their support!

Twenty-six youth attended the Financial Literacy & Interview Preparedness Workshop held on January 11th at the Cameron Park CSD. Attendees included Hands4Hope Youth Board Leaders and youth interested in learning about important topics such as managing credit, writing an effective resume, and practicing interview strategies. 

Thank you to U.S. Bank for their longtime support of Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference and special thanks to the five U.S. Bank representatives who volunteered their time to cover these important topics and doing such an amazing job of engaging our youth! 



See more photos from the workshop in our Instagram & Facebook page!

Please give a warm welcome to Casey Hanson who joins Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference as our new Operations Director!

Casey will play an important role in helping us maximize our time and resources so that we can best serve and support the youth in our Education and Community Engagement Programs. Casey’s goal is to expand our organization’s capacity to “encourage our future leaders while at the same time having a direct impact on those in our lovely community.”

We hope you’ll take a moment to get to know Casey whose adventurous spirit has taken her as far as Bangkok, Thailand! Her journey eventually led her back to the Placerville area where she was born and is now raising her two daughters with her husband (who she’s known since 3rd grade) in the home that belonged to her grandparents! 

In the 2022-23 program year, 434 youth (368 youth participants and 66 youth leaders) are currently involved in Hands4Hope’s Service-Learning Clubs on 13 middle and high school campuses in Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs and Placerville.

Clubs meet regularly to plan for their service-learning project for the year using the service-learning strategy referred to as “IPARD” - Investigation, Planning & Preparation, Action, Reflection, and Demonstration. 

Thank you to our donors and community partners for partnering with the ASPIRE Outfitters Committee to help fill the empty shoe shelves during our Shoe Drive in January! The committee ended up collecting a total of 107 pairs of shoes, increasing the number of families they are able to serve this year!

The shoes will be distributed via the ASPIRE Outfitters Clothing Closet based out of the Hands4Hope Placerville Youth Center where they will be distributed to local families when a request comes in from a social worker, school or shelter. 

Click here to read the recap written by Oak Ridge High School junior,

and ASPIRE Outfitters Committee Member, Tarika Kahlon:

Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference is forming the first year-round youth Marketing & Communications Committee. This Committee provides interested youth with experience helping guide Hands4Hope's social media communications to teens and the community, capturing and sharing stories of current participants, beneficiaries, partner agencies, and others impacted by Hands4Hope, and writing/organizing press releases for youth-organized events. 

We’re excited for this Committee to help us showcase Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference and its impact on youth, the community, and those struggling most from a youth perspective. No experience is necessary, just a desire to learn and share information in a fun, informative, and meaningful way.

For additional information about the Marketing & Communications Committee please fill out the interest survey. 

Young adults (18-23) seeking real-world, hands-on experience to build skills, as well as their resumes are invited to apply for paid internship opportunities with Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference. Opportunities are available to assist with project management, marketing/writing, tech and website management, graphic design, and operations.  Applicants do not need to be in college to take advantage of this opportunity.

“As a Hands4Hope alum, and recent college graduate, I cannot emphasize enough how much my success in my early career is attributed to my experiences in high school as a youth volunteer and leader in Hands4Hope, as well as to the internship opportunities I had as an undergraduate college student."

- Marin Cross, Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference Alumni

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please email Jbassett@hands4hopeyouth.org or complete the Internship Application.

Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference

is a youth-driven non-profit charitable 501(c)3 organization whose

mission is to inspire and empower youth in leadership and service. 

Our vision is to develop a community of civic-minded and

socially responsible citizens for generations to come.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY!