March 29, 2024

Support Local Homeless Children This Holiday Season Upcoming Opportunities to Give Back

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Brockton, MA (November 5th, 2019) - Horizons for Homeless Children is seeking volunteers & toy donations to support their Playspace Program this holidays season, which serves over 1,375 children each week in local homeless shelters.

No child should have to spend the holidays living in a homeless shelter, yet this year more than 1,375 infants, toddlers and preschoolers will have that experience. We truly depend on holiday-season donations to support children this holiday season as well as keep our Playspace Programs running year-round. Our Amazon Holiday Wish List will allow you do purchase items online and ship them directly to our office. It is the best way to get us exactly what is needed. You can reach out to our Southeast Region Office at 508.510.3250 to find out other ways to support our children this holiday season.

Each Playspace is supported by trained volunteers, called Playspace Activity Leaders (PALs), who play with homeless children who reside in 20 shelters in Southeastern MA and Cape Cod. Horizons will be hosting a New Volunteer Orientation on Saturday, December 7th in Middleboro. Individuals who are interested in signing up can do so online.

Each Playspace has two-hour volunteer shifts that occur throughout the week. For children living in a shelter, Playspace visits with PALs may be the only opportunity to listen to stories being read, create an artistic masterpiece, dress up as a superhero, play a musical instrument, and just have fun.

“Our Playspace Program helps make sure that children can experience the joys of childhood, no matter where they live,” said Kate Barrand, President & CEO of Horizons for Homeless Children. “Critical developmental milestones happen at such a young age, and volunteers like those on Cape Cod help ensure children living in shelters are given the opportunity to learn, play, and thrive. They are an incredible corps of people that help make this program possible for us and our shelter partners.”

Horizons for Homeless Children created the Playspace Program with the belief that play is essential to healthy childhood development, and every child has the right to play. To make healthy play possible for children living in shelters in Massachusetts, regional staff build and maintain developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed, “kid-friendly” spaces and stock them with books, toys, games, and arts materials. Horizons’ Playspaces serve infants and young children who are living in homeless shelters. PALs lead play activities in the Playspaces to help each child heal from the trauma of homelessness and gain the cognitive, physical, and social/emotional skills essential to future social and academic success.

To learn more about the Horizons’ Playspace Program, or to sign up for either of this or other trainings, please visit www.horizonschildren.org/playspace or contact Meghan Schafer, Playspace Program Director, Southeast Region, at mschafer@horizonschildren.org.

About Horizons for Homeless Children
Horizons for Homeless Children is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young homeless children and their families. Horizons provides high quality early education, comprehensive family support services, opportunities for play, and statewide advocacy work. Today, Horizons serves more than 1,600 young homeless children each week in Massachusetts through three early education centers and more than 90 shelter-based Playspaces. For more information about Horizons for Homeless Children, please visit: www.horizonschildren.org

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