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Volunteer - Help Us Meet Immediate Needs including food distributionProviding essential items and food is a powerful way to help children feel safe and cared for and helps to offset cost for caregivers. Our mission is to be here to support our village. Adults and mature teens are welcome to volunteer.
Volunteers Needed: Monday through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm. Volunteer for one or more hours. Food distribution: Occurs Monthly on 3rd or 4th Thursday from 10 am to 3:00 pm. Volunteer to serve one or more hours. Priority is as follows:
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Monthly Social and CelebrationJoin us for our Monthly Family Event which includes potlucks, swim parties, barbeques, movie nights, game nights and more. These events are held in our community as a means to provide wholesome family recreation and allow parents and children to connect with others who understand their situations and experiences furthering their sense of community.
Birthday Celebration: For a caregiver who has a foster child(ren) with birthdays in the current month of the family social, ASA Now will be celebrating them with a birthday party at this event. We will be providing them with gifts and a personalized cake |
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Volunteer for Childcare serves while parents attend mandatory trainings or receive respite hours.Caring for children impacted by foster care on a daily basis can be very stressful and difficult for foster and adoptive parents. This ultimately takes a toll on the family as a whole. Our community center provides a much-needed break for exhausted foster and adoptive parents while still meeting the special needs of the children. This intervention provides parents with an opportunity to recharge, prevent burnout, stabilize the whole family, and attend mandatory trainings.
Note: This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity, or business service opportunity! |
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Birthday Wish Project
Our Mission is to provide the joys of birthday celebration to children in foster care who may not otherwise have one. We are committed to instilling self-esteem and self-worth in each of these children with a custom celebration that is as unique as each of them. We believe that every child deserves to feel special - especially on their birthday! Help us grant Birthday Wish requests to our most vulnerable population.
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We also offer and support volunteer opportunities for Jacob's Mission Community Center and Shade Tree Academy.Jacob’s Mission Community Center: Providing a safe and nurturing environment, Jacob’s Mission Community Center, our mission is to provide free out-of-school programs for at-risk youth
Shade Tree Academy: Our K-12th grade trauma-informed day program provides a nurturing environment for students to gain the social and emotional skills necessary to be successful in school and thrive in life. Join our family today! |
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Volunteer Opportunity:
If you have a large group willing to volunteer to help us wrap and/or drop off Christmas Presents Collection boxes at businesses or help us sort through donations, sign up through the links below or call us at 623-428-1592.
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Monthly Family SocialJoin us for our monthly family event, which includes potlucks, swim parties, barbeques, movie nights, and game nights. These events are held in our community as a means to provide wholesome family recreation and allow parents and children to connect with others who understand their situations and experiences, furthering their sense of community.
Birthday Celebration: For a caregiver who has a foster child(ren) with birthdays in the current month of the family social, ASA Now will be celebrating them with a birthday party at this event. We will be providing them with gifts and a personalized cake (a 10-day notice is required for a personalized cake). Registration includes lunch, dessert, and activities. This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity, or business service opportunity! All ages welcome. |
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Back to School Backpack Drive & VolunteersASA Now invites individuals, youth groups, businesses, and families to host a backpack drive and assist with our upcoming Back to School Backpack Giveaway event! Last year alone we distributed over 300 backpacks.
What We Need:
Drop off all donated items by Friday, June 27th, at ASA Now—Jacob’s Mission Community Center, 7830 E. University Dr., Mesa, AZ 85207. Your contribution will directly impact the lives of children and youth in foster care, providing them with the resources they need to excel academically and socially. Thank you for being a part of this meaningful initiative! |
ASA Now Save the Date Events
Mark your calendar for our upcoming events!
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Costume Drive for Children and Youth Impacted by Foster CareHelp make Halloween extra special for some of the 14,000 children and youth in care. Gem's Dress Up Closet is collecting new and gently used Halloween costumes to distribute to children affected by foster care during our annual Trunk or Treat event. Take this opportunity to either purchase a new costume or clean out your closets and make a child’s Halloween memorable! Please coordinate the drop-off of items with Leila Woodard or purchase through Amazon, and your donation will be sent to her.
Costumes will be distributed during our Trunk or Treat event on Friday, October 20th. We encourage you, your child, or your family to donate costumes and/or accessories by Saturday, October 14th. We also encourage collection drives at churches, schools, neighborhoods, among families, and in businesses. This is an excellent opportunity for youth groups, date nights, family activities, or business service projects! |
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Trunk or Treat Volunteers NeededJoin us at ASA Now's 6th Annual Trunk or Treat event on Sunday, October 27th, from 3 pm to 5 pm. Our annual Halloween party is one of our monthly events during the year that some foster children are able to see their siblings. This year we are partnering with and having our event at Central Christian Church in Mesa.
Volunteers dressed to impress will welcome the children and their caregivers. Decorations, balloons, fun stations, clowns, magicians, fortune-tellers, puppeteers, apple bobbers, treats, therapeutic animals, and a cake walk are all welcome as highlights of the evening entertainment. Volunteers are encouraged to dress up, help run a fun booth or craft, serve food, and help us host a spook-tacular trunk-or-treat event. This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity, or business service opportunity! All ages welcome. |
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Thanksgiving Feast for Foster YouthAt ASA Now, we believe that every child should experience the warmth and joy of Thanksgiving, and this year, we're hosting our 6th annual Thanksgiving Feast for youth in group homes at Chateau de Vie.
We want to ensure that every child, no matter their circumstances, can savor a delicious Thanksgiving meal surrounded by love and laughter. And what's a Thanksgiving meal without a turkey? We're expecting 300 youth to attend this heartwarming event, and we invite you to be a part of this incredible experience. This event isn't just about providing a meal; it's about creating cherished memories and spreading kindness during the holiday season. This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity, or business service opportunity! Mature teens and adults are welcome to help serve dinner. |
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Volunteer Opportunity:Want to serve in other ways? We want to hear from anyone willing to donate their time and talents to our cause. If you have a large group willing to volunteer to help us sort presents and pajamas, wrap presents, and/or put Christmas wish lists together please reach out to us at 623-428-1592.
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Holiday Toy Drive - Giving Children Hope Toy DriveGive hope this Christmas by donating a gift card, new toys, pajamas, medium- to large-sized stuffed animals, blankets, and/or books to a child in need! ASA Now will be providing Christmas presents during our holiday party to hundreds of children in attendance.
We will continue to take in toy donations throughout the month of December to fill the immediate needs requests of holiday presents for children who were just removed from their home. On average 20-25 children are removed from their homes daily. For many of these children and youth, these will be the only gifts that they will receive this Christmas. We want to serve both the kids and their caregivers so they don’t have to make a choice between Christmas presents or other basic necessities this holiday season. Collection drives are encouraged at churches, schools, neighborhoods, families, and businesses. This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity, or business service opportunity! All ages welcome. |
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Santa’s Helpers NeededJoin us at our "North Pole" to wrap presents. With more than 600 gifts to wrap, we need your help to get it all done. Wrapping takes place over two weeks with multiple shifts. Sign up for one or more shifts, and be sure to sign up with as many "elf" helpers as you will have. "Elf" volunteers are encouraged to join us to sort through toy donations, pull Christmas order requests, and wrap presents for children impacted by trauma.
Every child and youth we adopt will receive:
This is a great way to get the whole family involved in the spirit of giving. This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity, or business service opportunity! All ages welcome. |
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Winter Wonderland Volunteers NeededFor many foster children, Christmas is a reminder that they are separated from their parents, siblings and family. It is a time of high anxiety, triggers and trauma as they face the realization that they will not be "home for the holidays." ASA Now recognizes and understands the financial hardship and the added strain that foster and kinship families face during the holidays.
For foster families facing financial difficulties, ASA Now provides gifts for the entire family. We provide families with the opportunity and time to focus on the children in their care by hosting and Enchanted Christmas Holiday Celebration. This event gives foster and adoptive children the chance to meet Santa, enjoy refreshments, games, crafts and holiday-themed activities. Families also have the opportunity to receive a professional family photo as well as a photo with Santa. Our event lifts children's spirits during a difficult time of the year when they miss their families most. It helps lessen feeling of isolation and loneliness in foster children by giving them an opportunity to spend time with other children in foster care and most importantly, it allows children in foster care who are living in separate homes the chance to reunite with their sibling for a fun-filled holiday celebration. ASA Now welcomes our community to volunteer at this event. This is an excellent youth group, date night, family activity or business service opportunity! All ages welcome. |
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Help Us Fill Immediate Needs Christmas OrdersFor many foster children, Christmas is a reminder that they are separated from their parents, siblings and family. Especially for those who are removed weeks or days before Christmas. It is a time of high anxiety, triggers and trauma as they face the realization that they will not be "home for the holidays." ASA Now recognizes and understands the financial hardship and the added strain that foster and kinship families face during the holidays.
For foster families facing financial difficulties, ASA Now provides emergency Christmas gifts through Christmas Day. We provide families with the opportunity and time to focus on the children in their care. Sign up to serve for one or more hours to fill emergency Christmas Toys requests. |