An Easter Party for Homeless Children (April 23, 2011)

The Shelter for the Homeless (also known as American Family Housing) in Midway City, California works to provide emergency, transitional, and permanent affordable housing,
as well as counseling and life skills training, to equip homeless and low-income individuals and families to improve their lives and become self-supporting members of society.

Fundraising for the Easter Party

In order to throw this Easter party,
we first needed to raise the funds to
do it!  :) 
We did this by selling Korean BBQ at Uni's Clubapalooza event and raised $130!!! 
With these funds and Chano's donation of his balloon artistry, we were able to throw this awesome party.  The balloon decorations were an extra that was financed from the Do Something grant (see below). 

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We Won a $500 Grant from

Our  Easter Party for Homeless Children project
was one of the top four projects in the country during
the Clubs Madness Challenge with ours representing
the West.  We will be using this money to create
an art program for homeless children.

Check out
http://www.dosomething.org/clubs/madness   and
http://www.dosomething.org/clubs/newsletters/april2011

In 2005-2006, 1.5 MILLION CHILDREN experienced homelessness*.  Within Orange County alone, there were 22,000 homeless children. 

With the recent economic downturn, the situation today is even worse.

Yet the problem is not visible for many people because these children and families don't look the way many have imagined homelessness looks.
(Click HERE to see video clips to learn more.) 

Child homelessness is a growing problem and it is one that can leave children with emotional scars that last a lifetime.

Hunger and the constant struggle for the basics make up much of their experience and they usually do not get to celebrate their birthdays and holidays or have fun just for the sake of it.

So, the Uni Care Project coordinated with the Shelter for the Homeless in Midway City, California to throw the children they serve an AWESOME Easter party on Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.

We ran the games; provided the desserts, decorations, and some of the prizes; did face painting; brought in a balloon artist; and brought a whole lot of energy and smiles to make this day a memorable one for kids. 

Happy childhood memories are an important part of growing up. We wanted to see these kids and their families experience a break from the constant struggle of daily survival and just have fun. While we didn't solve their issues, we helped to bring some joy into their lives.

Here's our Do Something page for the party:
http://www.dosomething.org/project/easter-party-homeless-children

*stats by the National Center on Family Homelessness

Bring Smiles         Raise Awareness        Create Change