This Friday I went to a candlelit vigil for Social Advocates for Youth (SAY). SAY is a non-profit organization that helps homeless and former-foster children and teens build stable lifestyles for themselves. They provide housing for these kids as well as teach them valuable life skills. As their site says, "SAY does this with three tools: Housing, Counseling, and Careers."
On November 18th, they hosted "One Cold Night." This is a fundraiser where young professionals pledge to fund-raise and donate a minimum of $2,500 up to $15,000 for SAY. In addition, these professionals spend the night out in the cold. Meanwhile, homeless youth spend a warm night inside the SAY Dream Center. You can learn more about SAY here. There are opportunities to volunteer there, as well as donate to their cause.
While I didn't spend the night sleeping out in the cold, I did attend their One Cold Gathering candlelight vigil for the 663 homeless youth in Sonoma County. It was a lively atmosphere, full of people excited to be there. They had live music, and there were tents up selling "One Cold Night" beanies, offering free tours of their facilities, and places to drop off donations. The idea was to bring a gift card from either Target or Big 5 to the event, so that the teens would be able to buy something new, for themselves. Later we were told that from the gift cards alone, they had raised several thousand dollars!
SAY's supervisor Shirley Zane, the president Steve Warden, their CEO Matt Martin, and others spoke to us during the event, discussing their goals, their successes, and their hopes for SAY. Last year they provided housing to 150 kids, and provided clothing and supplies to many more. They also had a speaker who used to be a homeless teen, and is now staying at SAY's Dream Center. His name is Sam, and while he had a rough upbringing, with a drug addicted, abusive father, and many nights sleeping out on the streets, he now has stable housing and a full time job.
Candles were handed out to all participants, and we had a few moments of introspection, to consider what these kids go through each day, and what we can do to help. To be honest it was a very emotional moment, and I'm extremely glad I had the opportunity to be there.
And you may be wondering--how much did SAY actually fund-raise with their overnight sleepers? You will be surprised at the results. They had 48 people who, last night, spent the night in the cold (and the rain!). Together, they raised $137,000! In addition, Redwood Credit Union donated $15,000, Friedman's Home Improvement and DeDe's Rental each donated $5,000, and they recieved $14,000 in anonymous donations. That totals up to $176,000!
Ultimately, what I learned is that SAY is an awesome organization that does good works for our community. I'm honestly considering volunteering for them, if I can work out enough freetime to do so, and I encourage anyone else looking for volunteering opportunities to check out their website.
It was one cold night, but a bright one for our teens' future.
SAY's supervisor Shirley Zane, the president Steve Warden, their CEO Matt Martin, and others spoke to us during the event, discussing their goals, their successes, and their hopes for SAY. Last year they provided housing to 150 kids, and provided clothing and supplies to many more. They also had a speaker who used to be a homeless teen, and is now staying at SAY's Dream Center. His name is Sam, and while he had a rough upbringing, with a drug addicted, abusive father, and many nights sleeping out on the streets, he now has stable housing and a full time job.
Candles were handed out to all participants, and we had a few moments of introspection, to consider what these kids go through each day, and what we can do to help. To be honest it was a very emotional moment, and I'm extremely glad I had the opportunity to be there.
And you may be wondering--how much did SAY actually fund-raise with their overnight sleepers? You will be surprised at the results. They had 48 people who, last night, spent the night in the cold (and the rain!). Together, they raised $137,000! In addition, Redwood Credit Union donated $15,000, Friedman's Home Improvement and DeDe's Rental each donated $5,000, and they recieved $14,000 in anonymous donations. That totals up to $176,000!
Ultimately, what I learned is that SAY is an awesome organization that does good works for our community. I'm honestly considering volunteering for them, if I can work out enough freetime to do so, and I encourage anyone else looking for volunteering opportunities to check out their website.
It was one cold night, but a bright one for our teens' future.
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