My name is Jessica Solis-Hernandez and I’m the Marketing and Development Specialist at Hospitality House. My role is to connect with many wonderful donors, volunteers and businesses in our community who want to help address the problems of hunger and homelessness in our community. I also help organize special events, such as Empty Bowl and Night of Giving, campaigns and agency marketing. While my job does not intensely interact with guests the same way case managers do, one of the most rewarding parts of my job is meeting guests at our shelter and learning they’ve received job offers and housing opportunities from community members who read our Weekly News, Monthly News or seen a social media post about our current needs.
Being kind is easy, but getting involved in a small community like ours and fighting every day to make a difference in someone’s life is deeply impactful. Do you have extra time this summer? Join our volunteer team! Do you have a business and wish to directly address hunger? Hospitality House has a variety of partners who help further its mission and services all year long and we are always looking for more partners to get involved. Not sure how to help and limited with time? Join our Hearts & Hands Club and contribute $25 monthly to further the efforts of Hospitality House. How about creating a lasting impact? Join our Legacy Circle, a planned giving program to ensure self-sufficiency and housing for all. If you’re looking for a new career, we are currently hiring and looking for individuals to join us.
If interested in joining any of our programs or for more information, email us at info@hhshelter.org, call (530) 615-0852 or visit hhshelter.org to get started.
At this time, I’d also like to give a shoutout to all our volunteers who came out this past week to help in varying capacities. A big thank you to Hilary Dart and Kathy Perkins for grocery shopping for the shelter; to Bill Blount and George Dunstan who provided spiritual support at Sierra Guest Home; and to Corey Swartsel for providing a Mindful Meditation class at Utah’s Place. A special thanks also to our partners for providing ongoing food and/or financial support: SPD Markets, BriarPatch Food Co-op, Telestream, LLC, Interfaith Food Ministry, the Bishop Store (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada City) and Food Bank of Nevada County. To everyone who donated our most needed items last week, thank you as well! We are incredibly grateful to all of you who give your time, energy and compassion to those who need it most.
Now down to the shelter’s wish list of the week:
• NEW pillows (we are unable to accept used)
• Twin-size blankets (no other sizes, please)
• Towels
• Men’s and women’s pajamas (sizes S – XL)
• Men’s and women’s t-shirts (No long sleeve. Sizes M-2XL for men and sizes M-XL for women)
• NEW women’s underwear (S – L; we are unable to accept used)
• Men’s boots or athletic shoes (sizes 10 – 14)
• Bottled water
DONATION HOURS AND DROPOFF LOCATION: Donations from our needs list above and all unexpired/store-bought foods are accepted at Utah’s Place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am – 3:30pm and Saturdays from 10am – 2pm. Our shelter is located at 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945. We greatly appreciate the community’s help at such times of uncertainty. In the words of Utah Phillips, “If we all stick together, we’ll get what we need.” Thank you!