Just Keep Going

The HALO Center is honored to turn its blog writing pen over to HALO Center youth, Esther...

"Hey everyone, my name is Esther Mayobo. The name Esther means start in Persian and to Christians it is the name of a queen in the bible who saved thousands of people from being killed. To me my name means hard working, creative, loving, kind, generous, talented and forgiving. I was raised to treat everyone the way I would like to be treated and treat my elders with respect. I have always done the right thing but hard times have always seemed to love to creep in and make things hard for my family and I. We became homeless last year on October 1 2012. I remember this day because my cousin died on the same day. To be honest being Christian I felt for a very long time like god was punishing my family. "How could all these bad things be happening to us, they must be for some reason," is what I constantly thought. What gave me hope and kept my faith in god going was Halo. When I decided to do Halo at the Restart center(homeless shelter I lived at) I meet Chelsea and many Halo volunteers just like her who showed me that things do get really hard in life but the one thing you have to do is keep going. They were so kind and they dedicated there time helping kids like me and other kids around the world. I am glad to say as of December 13 2012, I no longer live at Restart, my family and I live in Orlando Florida because I have a performance coming up for talent scouts and producers who are looking for talented kids like me who are willing to work hard to follow their dreams. I'm hoping to get signed and start making albums and auditioning for big roles in movies and T.V. shows ASAP! I want to thank Halo for helping me get ready for this performance by encouraging me and letting me perform at Dance for change to get used to performing in front of a crowd of people."

Esther performing at HALO's 2nd Annual Dance for Change.

Esther is an incredible young woman with a bright future; HALO is honored to have been involved in her life. We challenge you to "keep going" just like Esther, it's amazing what wonderful opportunities lie ahead!

Surrounded by HALO fans after he performance.

Snapshots from Passport Day

The HALO Center is grateful for the help from Youth Volunteer Corps volunteers, HALO Center Interns – Micah Melia and Lisa Richardson, HALO Graphic Designer – Maggie Miller, and Park University for making Passport Day, held at Park on June 28^th, a huge success. It is with their help that more than 470 hours were put into planning and execution of the event.

HALO Center and ClubHALO youth were invited to attend the day. During the event, youth received their very own HALO Passport. Throughout the day, they got their passport stamped as they traveled to each HALO supported country – Mexico, Nicaragua, Uganda, Kenya and India. Below you can see some of the table displays, traditional art projects and cultural dances youth learned throughout the day.

Stay tuned for an in-depth video showcasing many more photos from the event...

Writing in our Passports

Mexico

Nicaragua

 Uganda

 Kenya

India

reStart Art Room Makeover: Before & After Pics

“Be the change you wish to see in this world.” 

Mahatma Gandhi taught us to fight for what we believe in and to make the changes we wish to see in our lives. It is with this inspiration that HALO Center volunteers and youth jumped at an opportunity to make a change that hit very close to home.

Youth and volunteers spent a combined total of 140 hours this past week working diligently to make-over the art room at reStart, Inc.  Below is a before picture.

First, the team focused on wiping down the walls to get rid of any dust or dirt that may interfere with repainting the walls.

30 youth and 15 HALO volunteers hit it hard painting the ceiling yellow like the sun…

… one wall light blue like the sky…

…and the other three a vibrant bright HALO Center blue to create an environment of creativity and inspiration.

 

After a week of dedication, some volunteers and youth show their excitement at the success of their hard work.

Lights and art work were hung…

…as well as framed photos of the youth…

…to honor the week’s worth of service in a special reception where parents and reStart staff were invited to see the unveiling of the new and improved art room.

My Lucky Charm

Throughout the entirety of The HALO Foundation - from staff in Kansas City, to volunteers in Portland, to youth in Uganda - we will now be focusing on monthly themes, designed to help all learn and grow together. March's theme is Accountability. 

Our team of Short Term Program Volunteers dedicated to reStart’s Youth Emergency Shelter, Andrew Stanley, Samantha Neal, Sam Gabbert and Patrick Smith put their heads together and came up with an extremely creative take on accountability to implement with the youth. March’s unit of workshops for reStart’s Youth Emergency Shelter includes making lucky charm key chains, dream catchers, personal postcards and dream jars. Each project embodies accountability as the youth create pieces that allow them to share their goals with each other, with HALO Center volunteers, with family and friends and with reStart staff. Each project serves as a reminder of what we are working toward and becomes our own personal accountability measure.

Tonight’s workshop was to create lucky charm key chains. Goals or aspirations were written down on paper. Youth used clay to mold their lucky charm and put their goal inside. Paper clips helped to hook the lucky charm to the key chain ring and, whola!, a personal accountability lucky charm. Attach to book bag, keys, belt loop, etc. to be consistently reminded of your dreams.

A rocket lucky charm drying. 

How do you hold yourself accountable? Post your answer on our Facebook wall.