Although the Jamestown Plunge was canceled, the Newport County YMCA’s Y Girls insisted on braving the arctic temperatures on the first day of 2018 to raise money for Lucy’s Hearth. They stood outside for hours to sell their beautifully decorated bowls filled with warming chili. On a day that few people ventured out, these girls were able to raise $500. Special thanks to the Y Girls amazing community advisers, Lynn Roach and Eileen Donnelly, for your unwavering support.
On Wednesday, January 31st at 3:30 PM the Y Girls will be presenting their donation to Lucy’s Hearth at 19 Valley Rd, Middletown, RI 02842.
Y Girls is a YMCA based enrichment program seeking to create a safe, nurturing environment for adolescent girls by providing mentoring from a supportive community of females, encouragement to develop individual talents, opportunity to have a voice in issues affecting their lives, and empowerment to affect positive community change. It is our goal to instill a strong sense of purpose, belonging, and identity by guiding confident girls to become confident women who understand the importance of making community involvement an integral part of their everyday life. Y Girls know that all girls should have no limits.
Lucy’s Hearth serves homeless mothers and their children through an emergency shelter program, a transitional apartment program, a permanent apartment program and an outreach and aftercare program. They primarily serve Newport County residents, but warmly welcome residents from other areas of the state when beds are available. Most of the mothers we serve are in their late 20s, and the children are newborns to 18-year old’s. Some residents have histories of homelessness and are at high-risk of becoming homeless once again. The causes for our residents’ homelessness include economic hardship, inability to find affordable housing, eviction, family crisis, separation, and divorce.