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A volunteer with Sleep in Heavenly Peace cuts wood in order to make bed frames for children in need in San Jose, California, on September 14, 2024. Photo by Hal Hendrickson, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Leah Haynes, Church News
Local and international organizations benefited from the San Jose California South Stake, located on the state’s western coast south of the Bay Area, as members participated in the South Bay Service Fair, “Making a Difference Together,” to commemorate the National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 14.
The fair hosted nine different service projects, each of which aided different groups within the local community. Messages of gratitude were shared by Carlos Miranda of Home First, a nonprofit organization working to end homelessness; Councilman Arjun Batra, and Suzanne Wheaton of State Senator Dave Cortese’s office.
Church members shared information about the announced San Jose California Temple, FamilySearch, BYU-Pathway Worldwide, JustServe.org and more.
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A volunteer from the San Jose California South Stake drills wood in order to make bed frames for children in need on September 14, 2024. Photo by Hal Hendrickson, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Sleep In Heavenly Peace
Sleep In Heavenly Peace (SHP) is a nonprofit dedicated to building and delivering handmade, fully furnished beds to children in need. SHP’s mission is to tackle bedlessness, which affects nearly 3% of the population.
Jenice Conde, communication director for the San Jose South stake, heard about the SHP project from a friend and was so touched by the project that she traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area to see firsthand and participate in building a bed.
She later organized the event on September 14 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and over 200 volunteers served throughout the day sanding, drilling, bolting, dipping and branding beds. SHP held an initiative that day named “Beds Across America” with the goal of producing 8,000 beds. As part of that initiative, volunteers from the San Jose California South Stake produced over 50 beds and collected over 60 sets of comforters, sheets and pillowcases.
“It was so exciting to be a small part of this accomplishment,” said Conde. “The youth loved this activity, and one young man said, ‘This was inspiring!’ Kids always like to work with tools, so this was a project where they could really put some muscle behind a sander, a saw or a drill press.”
The Crayon Initiative
The Crayon Initiative is a nonprofit organization that aims to relieve the anxiety of hospitalization for children. The organization melts down crayons and with the residue makes larger, triangular shaped crayons that cannot roll off hospital tables. This way, children can color and be creative in a simpler way.
Participants in the South Bay Service Fair sorted hundreds of crayons into different colors to be shipped and melted down in Danville, California.
HomeFirst
HomeFirst, a nonprofit organization, is a leading provider in house services. They offer prevention, outreach, shelters, and interim and permanent housing programs to individuals who are housing insecure or unhoused in the Bay Area of California. On September 14, participants were able to donate and complete over 100 cleaning kits for local Veterans.
Good Karma Bikes
Located within the San Jose South Stake, Good Karma Bikes is a nonprofit community bike shop. Good Karma Bikes refurbishes old bikes are gifts them free of charge to those in need within the San Jose community.
This is the second year that the San Jose South stake has donated bikes to the nonprofit.
Hope’s Corner
Hope’s Corner provides free nutritious meals and warm showers to those in need in the San Jose area. On September 14, volunteers decorated lunch bags to bring cheer to those in need.
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Volunteers from the San Jose California South Stake write cards of encouragement and love for foster care children as part of the "Making a Difference Together" service fair on September 14, 2024. Photo by Hal Hendrickson, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Cards of Hope and Operation Gratitude
Many children in foster care will never receive a birthday card or a note of encouragement. Cards of Hope is a nonprofit organization that collects cards to be sent to children in the foster care system. At the South Bay Service Fair on September 14, dozens of cards were written to be sent to children.
Operation Gratitude, similar to Cards of Hope, is a way for volunteers to write “Thank You” cards to all those who serve. Volunteers also wrote and signed cards to be sent to military and first-responders.
Days For Girls
Days For Girls is an award-winning nonprofit global organization that eliminates stigmas and limitations associated with menstruation so that women can have improved health. Volunteers at the South Bay Service Fair on September 14 were able to aid in this project.
One Warm Coat
Volunteers collected over 200 new and gently used coats for the One Warm Coat initiative project on September 14. This is a nonprofit organization that provides coats and jackets to children and adults in need in an economically-sustainable way.
“It was just an amazing event. I know that many, many people were instrumental in making it a lovely and successful day. Everyone was so kind, helpful and engaging. I truly cannot say enough about how it touched me,” said an anonymous attendee.
The Magic Yarn Project
Some 400 volunteers came together to participate in the Magic Yarn Project, an effort that was posted on JustServe, in a meetinghouse in Saratoga, California, on September 27 and 28. Participants made over 200 yarn wigs.
The wigs are styled after Disney characters such as Elsa, Rapunzel, Moana, Ariel, Belle and more. Caps for boys are designed like Captain America, Superman, etc. Magic Yarn volunteer staff traveled from all over the country to attend this event and help volunteers create the wigs.
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Jaden Weger, cancer survivor, left, helps to make yarn wigs for children with cancer in San Jose, California, on September 27, 2024, after having received his own yarn wig years prior. Photo by Hal Hendrickson, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.In attendance was cancer survivor Jaden Weger. Jaden was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at 12 years-old. He spent 224 days in the hospital, received 219 doses of chemo, and 166 blood transfusions. Jaden and his family came and helped make wigs as he knows what it is like to lose hair. He received a Captain America beanie to cover his bald head and proudly wears it to this day.
The wigs made will be donated to local hospitals and cancer clinics.
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