SPARKS OF HOPE
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Mission Statement
Sparks of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization assisting child survivors of abuse along their healing journey to find their courage and their voice. Sparks of Hope’s Mission is to empower children who are survivors of abuse to thrive by providing special services to encourage hope, and by creating opportunities that will develop trust and healing so they can achieve life-long success. Sparks of Hope provides the following services: Healing Camps Gifting Program Ignite Hope Mentoring Program Young Adult & Teen Speakers Bureau Ever Forward - Youth Support Groups And just recently added: ***Sparks of Hope's K-9 Healing/Therapy Dog.***
About This Cause
Sparks of Hope’s Mission is to empower children who are survivors of abuse to thrive by providing special services to encourage hope, and by creating opportunities that will develop trust and healing so they can achieve life-long success. We are creating intentional safety and a place of healing to assist them in their efforts in overcoming the barriers they face in their long journey of healing thereby allowing them to be kids again and regain a piece of their childhood that was stolen. Every child deserves to go to camp! We assist children and teens to overcome the barriers they face as survivors of abuse to become successful young adults. Without early intervention, child survivors have a high probability to tank their life because they feel broken, worthless, and unlovable. By doing what we can do to intervene, we can make a huge difference in a child’s life. The earlier abused children get help, the greater chance they have to heal and break the cycle—rather than perpetuate it. It is through Sparks of Hope’s Healing Youth Camps® that these children can move from brokenness into wholeness, which encourages healing. It is a lifetime journey of healing for many abuse survivors. Sparks of Hope Healing Youth Camps® are centered on assisting the child/teen survivor to heal and reclaim their childhood, their power, and their voice. Our entire program activities are intended to empower, build trust, self-esteem, and courage in a safe and supportive environment to promote the child’s healing. Most importantly, all children who attend our camp(s) learn they are not alone in their healing journey and that healing is possible! We serve children from the age of 8 to 17 years old. However, we continue the relationship with each of our kids well into adulthood through our Transition Program. The Transition Program’s intent is to train teens (18 or older) that are aging out of our camp program to continue on to becoming a Big Buddy/Mentor themselves. We accept children who live throughout the state of Oregon, but will not turn any child or teen away wishing to attend our camp who live in another state. Activity Description: During the Summer, camp activities may include: hiking, swimming, fishing, archery, campfire songs, craft cabin, incredible skill-building/life-enriching workshops, outdoor/indoor games, game room, a challenge course with high and low elements including a zip line, climbing tower, and ropes course, a nature center, horseback riding, and many other activities. During the Winter and Spring, camp activities may include fishing, archery, indoor group games, game room, craft cabin, incredible skill-building/life-enriching workshops, horseback riding, campfire songs, movie night, and many other activities. Boys Only & Girls Only Camps: We offer separate boys and girls camps to help expedite the healing process. Big Buddies: All campers are assigned their very own Big Buddy (same gender) throughout the entirety of camp. The Big Buddy’s job is to be a mentor/support person/friend. Big Buddies must be 18 years of age or older. Potential Buddies must attend our mandatory intensive trauma-informed care training program. Extensive background checks are completed, including state and national criminal and sex offender databases. Lastly, all are trained and certified in CPR and First Aid. Camper/Big Buddy Ratio: We have a 1:1 camper to Big Buddy ratio with Backup Buddies. Campers are supervised 100% of the time by their Big Buddy, Backup Buddies, and our camp support staff. We provide each new camper a Welcome Package that includes: Brand new sleeping bag Pillow Pillow Case Toiletries Flashlight Camp shirt and/or sweatshirt depending on season The average cost per camper per week is $800 (Cost to camper’s families: NONE). The expense for campers to attend camp is solely provided by the generous donations of our corporate/business partners, as well as individual donors. Children whose application registrations are accepted will be 100% sponsored. OUR FOUNDER: Lee Ann Mead is turning survivors into thrivers. She has become a fierce advocate for child abuse survivors. She founded Sparks of Hope based on her own personal story of childhood sexual abuse. Giving children the things she needed to heal as a child has been her dream. Since its founding, she's been igniting Sparks of Hope in the hearts of abused children throughout Oregon and the nation. Turning Child Survivors into Thrivers through Sparks of Hope's Healing Youth Camps®! Established in 2011, Sparks of Hope® is a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer nonprofit organization that offers direct healing services to children and teens who have been impacted by abuse; assisting child survivors by walking alongside them in their healing journey to find their courage and their voice. Based in Portland, Oregon, Sparks of Hope offers services statewide. The plan for the future is to expand nationwide. Sparks of Hope’s number one priority is to meet the needs of our most vulnerable youth in whatever capacity we can. Sparks of Hope believes that every child deserves to go to a safe, supportive, and fun camp. ™Sparks of Hope is a registered trademark in the US Patent and Trademark Office. To accomplish our mission, we grant wishes to these children. Abused children usually only wish for the simplest gifts, such as a new pair of shoes, musical instruments, lessons, or a birthday party. The simple things we take for granted can be the very thing they have never had the opportunity to experience. To encourage continued healing and success, we offer mentoring and healing camps to teach them to move in their healing journey from victim to survivor, survivor to thriver, and from thriver to mentor. These life skills will allow them to one day be mentors themselves. The goal of our Ignite Hope Mentoring Program is for the child/teen to establish a safe and trusting relationship with an adult. A mentor is a trusted adult the young person has formerly established a connection with at our healing camps. The Mentor establishes a long-term, consistent commitment to the young person (called a “mentee”) by walking alongside them through the mentee’s healing journey while providing support and guidance. Our unique mentoring program matches our young person with two adults of the same gender. Our program encourages hope, healing, and trust in a safe and supportive environment. Having a relationship with caring adult role models helps empower the hurting young person to develop their true potential to discover their self-worth. By providing kids with positive adult role models, it inspires hope to help them navigate through life’s challenges growing up as an abuse survivor. It brings hope for a better future. Mentors meet with their mentees twice a month. For safety and accountability, there are always two mentors to every mentee – one main mentor and one back up - the mentee is never alone with a single adult at any time – just as it is at our healing camps. Together, they enjoy activities of their choice, on their own schedule, and have fun to experience new adventures and opportunities with a goal of building hope, healing, and trust while learning new life-skills and creative ways to cope with life’s challenges. Studies show that mentoring is, by and large, an effective mode of intervention for vulnerable youth. Mentors help kids avoid risky and destructive behavior; encourage them to have greater confidence in themselves and their abilities. They also do markedly better socially and academically. Having the presence of adult role models in a young person’s life leads to a positive lifelong impact. “We Speak Out” & “Talk About It” is part of our powerful Prevention & Awareness Campaign. We are building a compelling program made up of inspiring speakers with empowering and impactful age-appropriate dialogue along with our impactful PSA to help bring about awareness to the silent epidemic of child abuse. "We Speak Out" is a group of courageous and dynamic teens and young adults that speak to schools and community groups to educate and inform the public about the silent epidemic of child abuse. They share their personal stories (in age-appropriate ways) of triumph over trauma to inspire and give hope. By sharing their stories, they hope to move others to come forward for the first time and get the help they need to heal, as well as empower children with the appropriate language to protect themselves to prevent child abuse, or help encourage children and teens to disclose to a trusted adult if they were or are now being abused – facilitating child and adult survivors to come forward to Talk About It. Our Ever Forward youth support program will serve to empower and strengthen children and teens from 8-17 years old as they address surviving trauma, body-image, anxieties, social belonging and academic stress while learning healthy ways to cope in a safe and supportive environment. The supportive environment allows for processing life’s challenges with peer sharing and other healing techniques to help them give a voice to their feelings. Our emphasis is on helping them express themselves further through creative and focused activities – sparking creativity through new and creative outlets of copying thereby empowering these young people to thrive. Sparky is Sparks of Hope's K-9 Healing/Therapy Dog. Sparky helps child survivors of abuse gain courage when facing their abuser in court; healing the hurts of the past - loving on them every step of the way.