The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Eastvale-based nonprofit helps youth in foster care and beyond
Hazel’s Hands, a nonprofit in Eastvale, which offers resources, services, and leadership for at-risk youth and their families, is expanding its reach. President and CEO Dr. Tyrone Spears and a team of executives, board members, and volunteers hope to achieve the 2024 fundraising goal of $30,000.
“We’re 100% donor funded, so everything we operate is through donations and/or grants,” Spears said. “Our target population is youth in foster care, kinship, and agedout foster youth. We work directly with foster family agencies, group homes, or, as they are now called, short-term therapeutic residential living.” We provide resources “in the form of the residential needs, and for the transitional age foster youth, we help them with their daily needs.”
In addition to focusing on housing needs of youths, the organization also offers assistance with food and education resources.
“If there’s food insecurity, we provide gift cards for food,” Spears said. “We’ve provided laptops for those that are in college who don’t receive a laptop from the institution. And for foster youth, we have two main programs.”
One of them is called My
Bag Program, which offers duffel bags to social workers who place children in foster care. The duffel bag is then used when there’s a placement needed. Another program revolves around newly placed foster youth in which the foster parents
can request such things like a new bedding set.
“We’re happy about another program rolling out at the end of the school year called Get the Grades,” Spears said. “We’re encouraging foster youth to really take advantage
of the education system and do well in school.”
We’re encouraging them to apply for a gift card, he said. Any foster youth, grades 7-12, with a 3.0 GPA on their final report card can apply.
“It’s just a way to encourage
them to stay, and do well, in school,” he said.
Recently, Hazel’s Hands received a Black Equity Fund grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation. Spears said he was excited as the funding helps the organization’s future development.
“We’re a small volunteerbased organization, and the grant has really helped us with our capacity to enhance some of the infrastructure of the organization,” he said, including investing in the website.
Grant funds were also used to help with a consultant with the group’s board governance.
“We already had our organizing documents, but we wanted to make sure the board was trained and informed on aspects of raising capital or funds so we can continue with our mission,” Spears said.
The organization is named after Spears’ late grandmother Hazel Stokes, who dedicated her life to helping others, and fostering youth and families. The road ahead looks promising as the organization continues to grow, Spears said. He points to the nonprofit’s website for volunteer activities and also for upcoming events and initiatives.
“We don’t have any salary stipends,” he says. “We’re 100% volunteers. 100% of what we raise goes back to the youth we serve.”
Learn more: hazelshands.com.