The Fresno DRC participants, along with other community members and organizations, recently volunteered for the 30th Annual Fresno Kids Day. The event raises money for Valley Children’s Hospital, and this year’s event raised a record amount and exceeded the set goal with a total of $628,611 collected! To raise funds, our DRC participants sold special editions of The Fresno Bee newspaper for just $1 with the hopes that people would also donate more. Participants stood at stop lights and at other areas throughout the community, educating people about the cause while selling the newspapers.
Community involvement is a key element of successful reentry for DRC participants. Along with DRC participants, volunteers included Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno State students, Clovis high school students, Fairmont Elementary students and staff members from The Fresno Bee. This event allowed our participants to get involved in the community and connect with local residents who are affiliated with organizations whom our participants can use for future resources. We’re proud of our participants for giving up their time to help others, and we look forward to next year’s event.