What is Helping Hearts for the Homeless?
Helping Hearts for the Homeless is a non-profit, non-religious, and non-ethnic organization that is dedicated to bettering lives of homeless individuals in Orange County and the greater Los Angeles County by not only providing food, water, blankets, vitamins, and other items that may be essential for day-to-day survival, but also creating meaningful relationships with these individuals. Furthermore, Helping Hearts for the Homeless constantly seeks to educate students at the University of California, Irvine about the difficulties and challenges that surround homelessness.
How Can You Get Involved with Helping Hearts for the Homeless?
If you are interested in getting involved with the efforts of Helping Hearts for the Homeless then you are welcomed to the club's meetings, which are held every Thursday from 6:30-7:30pm in ET (Engineering Tower) Room 202. If you have missed any or all of our meetings it is never too late to join! We hope to see you there =]
(Engineering Tower is located right by the Middle Earth bridge. The building looks like this from Ring Road and like this from Aldrich Park)
(Engineering Tower is located right by the Middle Earth bridge. The building looks like this from Ring Road and like this from Aldrich Park)
Homeless Awareness Week held During Winter 2012 =]
During Week 7 of the Winter quarter Helping Hearts for the Homeless proudly hosted the Homeless Awareness Week. For this week long event we set up various signs, props, and visuals along various pathways in Aldrich Park in order to educate the students at the University of California, Irvine about various issues related to homelessness. Specifically, we set up these items along three pathways with each pathway having its own theme. One pathway focused on raising awareness about the facts and myths of homelessness, another pathway focused on raising awareness about homeless women and children, and the third pathway focused on raising awareness about the violence that homeless people experience. It was really great to see so many students stopping to read each sign that was mounted along these pathways. Many students even took pictures of the displays and some people who aren't members or associated with Helping Hearts for the Homeless even posted it on FaceBook for others to see =] We were really glad to see that so many people took the time to check out these displays because it is important to be aware of real-world issues that affect millions of people on a daily basis, whether we see it or not in Orange County. We would like to thank all our members for contributing to making the Homeless Awareness Week as amazing as it was because without them, none of it would have been possible! (click photos below to enlarge)
Photos courtesy of the Her Campus organization at UC Irvine: click here for the link to their article about Homeless Awareness Week
UC Irvine's Most Promising New Group for 2011 =]
On May 18th, 2011, UC Irvine held its annual Anteater Awards Ceremony. At this event UC Irvine recognized various campus organizations for their year long efforts and accomplishments. It was at this awards ceremony that Helping Hearts for the Homeless received the "Most Promising New Group Award for 2011," an honor bestowed to one campus organization that was established during the 2010-2011 academic year for their achievements and campus-wide involvement! This accomplishment would not be possible without the fact that Helping Hearts for the Homeless has the most dedicated, passionate, and tireless members on this prestigious campus! =] Your willingness to help others and undergo a constant learning experience is what defines the essence of Helping Hearts for the Homeless!
Helping Hearts for the Homeless Officer Applications for Next Year! =]
Hello Helping Hearts members! Below is a link for the application to become a Helping Hearts for the Homeless officer for next year! To complete the application process all you need to do is open the PDF below, print it out, and turn in your filled out application to any of the weekly meetings (Thursdays at 6:30pm in ET 202)! If you can't make it to the meetings to turn in the application then just print, fill out, and scan your application and email it to HelpingHearts@mail.clubs.uci.edu. The last day to turn in your application either at the meetings or by submitting it via email is May 17th (Week 7 Thursday)! We hope to see an application with your name on it!
| helping_hearts_officer_application.pdf |
Helping Hearts' Book Drive
During the winter quarter of this year Helping Hearts for the Homeless held the Helping Hearts Winter Quarter Book Drive! During this three week period we asked our members to collect as many books as possible from friends, roommates, family, and anyone else from the UCI community. It took us a long time to organize the books by size so we can organize them in to boxes and count them, but we were very surprised to find that we had collected 488 books!! If you have any books that you would like to donate then please feel free to email us at HelpingHearts@mail.clubs.uci.edu or feel free to call/text Farhad at 661-803-1129 and we will try to collect it from you =] We would like to thank everyone involved in making this drive amazing, but also give a very special thank you to our top four book collectors during this period: 1. Evelin Lopez 2. Khalidiah Tokhi 3. Dilpreet Khalsa 4. Vivian Phan!! Thank you everyone!!
(click the pictures below to see the image and read the description of what kinds of books were collected)
(click the pictures below to see the image and read the description of what kinds of books were collected)
Helping Hearts' Toy and Blanket Drive
This fall quarter is really special because Thanksgiving is in the middle of the quarter and Christmas time is immediately after. To make these times of the year joyous for the homeless, Helping Hearts for the Homeless is holding a Toy and Blanket Drive. If you or anyone you know has any toys (board games, teddybears, dolls, random toys) and blankets, Helping Hearts for the Homeless will gladly accept it from you =] If you have any toys or blankets that you can donate then pleaseus at HelpingHearts@mail.clubs.uci.edu or feel free to call/text Farhad at 661-803-1129 and we will try to collect it from you =]. Please help us make it a great time of year for the homeless, particularly the homeless youth =]
Helping Hearts' Shoes and Socks Drive
The most frequently requested items from the homeless in Los Angeles has always been shoes and socks. As a result, Helping Hearts for the Homeless held a Shoes and Socks Drive during a three week period in the spring quarter. Our members collected any shoes or socks that they could from friends, family, roommates, dormmates, neighbors, and from themselves. After counting the total amount of collected shoes, we were very proud to find that we had collected 87 pairs of shoes! If you If you have any canned food, noodles, or any non-perishable foods you would like to donate then please email us at HelpingHearts@mail.clubs.uci.edu or feel free to call/text Farhad at 661-803-1129 and we will try to collect it from you =]
Helping Hearts' Canned Food Drive
During a three week period in the winter quarter of the 2010-2011 year the members of Helping Hearts for the Homeless collected as many cans as possible, which was later donated to a homeless shelter. Items that were collected during this drive included canned foods, noodles/ramen, and smaller canned food items such as tuna cans. After counting these items the final numbers totaled to 479 cans and 126 noodle/ramens!! If you have any canned food, noodles, or any non-perishable foods you would like to donate then please email us at HelpingHearts@mail.clubs.uci.edu or feel free to call/text Farhad at 661-803-1129 and we will try to collect it from you =]
Helping Hearts' Clothing Drive
After weighing the clothes our members collected during a 2 week span in the Fall of 2010, we were happy to find that the total weight of the clothes collected was 632 pounds!! If you or any of your friends have any clothes you would like to donate to the homeless then please email us at HelpingHearts@mail.clubs.uci.edu or feel free to call/text Farhad at 661-803-1129 and we will try to collect it from you =]
Although everyone in Helping Hearts is a winner, we would like to recognize the winning groups of the educational and/or fun-based games played at the meetings this year in what is known as The Winner's Wall of Fame:
