Buckets of Hope Update
On behalf of City Youth Matrix, we would like to thank all of those who have had a part in the Buckets of Hope project. It has been a beautiful tool to supplement the enrichment activities of children during the COVID 19 pandemic. With your help, the Buckets of Hope program delivered 775 buckets to children in need within our community! That is huge!
Now we want to update you on the future of the Buckets of Hope program:
We are excited to share that Caryn Driebelbies (cdriebelbies@cityyouthmatrix.com) is now our Supervisor of Buckets of Hope Development. Please encourage and support her in her new role and share this vision with your family, friends and community: We would like to invite members of the community, businesses, and churches to partner with CYM by “Buying a Bucket of Hope and Donating a Bucket of Hope.” For $250.00, the buyer receives a bucket to share with family or a friend and CYM will provide a second bucket to a child in need. Isn’t this a great Christmas idea to share with loved ones and help a child in need? (The retail value of a bucket was about $220.00 BEFORE the recently added supplemental items to the buckets and the soon to be released private-lesson option.)
After October 1st, the public distributions from Trinity United Methodist will end. We will be condensing our BOH program to only distribute buckets on an as-needed basis by those organizations or community members who actually purchase a bucket and donate a bucket. As you can imagine, the cost for purchasing the contents for the buckets by just CYM is not a sustainable effort without the community’s help.
As of today, we currently have 20 students registered with CYM for enrichment programs. We have trained 20 new family liaisons and have offered continued training for our existing 12 family liaisons. With multiple children in each family we expect to have over 50 children and 32 families enrolled by the end of October!
This Fall, CYM will focus on the registered children and their families by partnering with them and offering the best support possible as they explore enrichment opportunities that are available within our community. Our CYM youth will continue to receive lessons online related to the content of the buckets.
We are close to launching our on-line registration APP which will allow us to securely qualify parent partners and their children. Once qualified, the children will be able to receive on-line instruction and engage with their BOH teacher in an internet-secure space - much like the technology they are currently using with FCPS.
Volunteers are still needed! We need help on Thursday evenings cleaning /labeling and possibly assembling buckets until the end of October. IF you are interested in continuing to volunteer with CYM in this capacity or in a different position, please contact our Director of Volunteers, Joanne DeSalvio (jdesalvio@cityyouthmatrix.com). She can help you find the right fit within our organization.
Please stay tuned and connected with us in the days and months ahead!
Gratefully,
Aaron Vetter
Executive Director
City Youth Matrix