EMPOWERMENT = ACHIEVEMENT!
Our Alumni Support Group (ASG) was started four years ago from a group of moms and their children whom we first met in shelters. We have gone on to establish meaningful relationships with these individuals while in the transition process and long after as we watch them grow more and more successful with each of life’s progressions. These women have gone on to educational, vocational, and inspirational achievements through the help of HoG. ASG is an essential piece of the framework of our organization as we enable these families so that they will not fall back onto hard times. About half of these women have been a part of the HoG family for many years while others have only just recently left shelters. We have monthly meetings where we provide the comforts of a meal and we bring in a motivational speaker who discusses a theme related to that evening’s agenda. The meetings give the women an opportunity to bond with one another by allowing them to share their own stories, hopes and concerns for each other. The group also gets together on HoG sponsored educational field trips for both children and moms alike. There is a Biggest Loser Contest, where we offer incentives and prizes to the mom who finishes with the most pounds lost. HoG creates a community and network for these families to feel comfort and acceptance.

Program activities include:

• A daily homework help program in the shelter that tutors children and enhances computer skills throughout the school year.  Participating children’s moms enjoy a hot meal with their child or as “takeout” for the entire family. 
• Summer camp scholarships for shelter and ASG children to attend YMCA camps around the city as well as upstate sleep-away camps.
• A summer drop-off shelter program for younger children who are cared for by HoG interns.  Children enjoy arts and crafts, daily outings to local parks and healthy snacks.
• Summer day trips for shelter and ASG families to Sesame Place, Game Farms and and other fun locales.  Winter brings bowling, Liberty Science Center visits, museum visits, and more.
• The Origins-sponsored “Pampering Extravaganza,” complete with gift certificates and a “makeover,” rewards one mother per month from each shelter for showing improvement in her parenting and housekeeping skills.
• Distribution of cleaned lightly-used and new clothing for both moms and children at Clothing Fairs throughout the year to enhance families’ wardrobes and moms’ job interview wear.

HoG understands that bringing about change in any life requires work and a drive to succeed. We reward our moms for striving to care for their children and themselves socially, emotionally, and academically. Additionally, we reward moms and children’s academic and personal achievements.