Happy And Helping Hands

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

On January 22nd, 2018 the Without a Roof club member had the opportunity to set up an apartment for a family of eight, (5 boys) from Afghanistan. With the donations received from club members, local churches, and other generous volunteers, we were able to furnish the 2-bedroom apartment. Us volunteers filled the apartment with pots & pans, dishes, toiletries, and linens! We even built a dining room table and set up a bed for each member of the family. It was a very humbling and rewarding experience to help this family start from scratch and giving what we can to help.

 -Madison Shepherd

Turning The Pages To Our Own Ending

"You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book" 
- Dr. Seuss

We would love to personally share our appreciation to Marina Village Middle School and their National Honor Society for putting on this drive together at their school. When added with a reward of a doughnut party, the books kept coming in! We were astonished when we realized that we had to find a space in our car for over 2,000 books. 

Lake Forest followed their lead the following week, and today we collected over 800 more. We are so grateful for such a wonderful community of teachers, parents, students who took the time to serve others in need by donating something that empowers minds and helps cultivate imagination. 

These books will be used as a part of a Literacy Program Initiative at Cordova Meadows Elementary School who have over ninety students that are refugees.

-Lauren Irizarry

Light The World

Natoma Station Elementary just finished running their second year of hosting the Warm and Fuzzy Drive. We would like to thank them for collaborating with us and for the wonderful leaders and administrators who helped make this all possible. The student council was unbelievable with the effort and dedication they put into making and decorating posters and boxes. We thought that last year was a huge success, but this year blew us away with the many wonderful donations brought in by students and families. This year we worked with Cordova Meadows Elementary by donating directly to the many refugee families that attend their school. Thank you to Natoma Station for being a light to the world during this season of giving. Joyful feelings of love and appreciation were felt by everyone involved.  

-Lauren Irizarry

Total Items Collected: 22 Coats, 23 Jackets, 45 Scarves, 103 Gloves, 85 Hats, 32 Blankets, 74 Shirts, 53 Pants & Shorts, 38 Pajama's, 75 Socks, 12 Shoes, 2 Dresses and 4 Towels

Lose Yourself In Service

We had our first apartment move-in for Without A Roof's second year. We had the opportunity to furnish the apartment and go on an extra shopping trip to get a few more items needed for this incoming family. As we serve these refugees, we can look to Mahatma Gandhi's wise words of "the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others". Thank you to all who helped through donations and service!

-Lauren Irizarry

Carving Out Time For Service

Our leadership team had the opportunity to go and speak to the students at Marble Valley Academy this week as we kicked off running a Hygiene Kit Drive at their school. We were all able to teach and answer questions during an assembly about what our club does, who refugees are, what they face and why it is important to help.

It was great to learn of their awareness and hear the great questions that were asked. As well, the first-grade class preformed the most adorable Halloween song for us. All of this was a treat to the Without A Roof Club member as we took part in this wonderful opportunity.  We are especially grateful for all the donations and would love to thank to Marble Valley Academy's administration, teachers, students and families for all that they have done. This school truly went out of their way to give during this season of giving. 

-Lauren Irizarry

A New Year Of Opportunities

As we begin a new year, our goal is to grow and continue service to those around us. We had another great turn out for Club Signing Day with nearly 100 new members. We would like to welcome in all new and returning club members. We look forward to you becoming fully involved in what our club supports. 

It has been a blessing in our lives to be able to work with and serve many refugees in the Sacramento Valley. 

There is a great need to donate time and talents to help provide and serve in this community. Many refugees still face trials and hardships after they arrive. How can we make life easier for them and give them aid to be welcomed and successful?

Our mission is to help provide basic necessities, participate with apartment move ins, and facilitating collection drives for refugee families.

Thank you to those who support and sponsor Without A Roof!

-Lauren Irizarry

Leadership Team 2017-2018

I would like to take the opportunity to introduce our new Leadership Team this year with five new and outstanding individuals. Our club is growing and so are the number of leaders needed to make this all run smoothly. This group has a desire to stand for what is right and make an influence for good in this world. They have a passion for charity work and love to participate in giving back to the community. We hope to help bring awareness and support to refugees and make a difference in this world. This team never ceases to stop impressing me with their ambition, drive and good will. I am thankful to have them by my side.

Back Row: Lauren Irizarry, Nathan Irizarry, Matthew Johnson, Bella Orciuoli

Front Row: Ellie Crook, Maya Sahtout, Nicole Chase, Madison Shepherd, Lauren McCauley, Linnae Andrus