fundraiser
Marian is Fundraising for Sharing the Love
$50 Raised
$775 raised by 6 donors
3% complete
$25,000 Goal
At Sharing the Love Foundation, we believe in the power and promise of our youth. Guided by the belief that "the youth are our future," we see it as both a civic duty and a moral responsibility to equip young people with the strategies, skills, and confidence they need to thrive socially responsible and conscientious citizens. We empower youth to lead, within our organization, their schools, churches, and communities.
Our Young Ambassadors Program inspires our teens and college students to pursue their dreams, and strive to have a positive impact on the lives of others. The program incorporates youth empowering youth, mentoring the children in the Youth Can program, and uplifting and supporting their peers. For instance, they are excellent facilitators of our Youth Can activities and projects, which include enrichment programs throughout the year.
The program has proven to be quite successful. Our founding Young Ambassadors are college graduates from universities and colleges across the U.S. and abroad and tirelessly remain active in our programs. Their commitment and dedication to our programs have only bolstered their mission to serve college communities in numerous leadership roles. Moreover, the mentoring program is far exceeding our expectations as our Youth Can kids are eagerly entering the Young Ambassador Program, following in the footsteps of their mentors. We sincerely believe exposing children to different cultures broadens their horizons, and builds respect, acceptance, and empathy.
For several years, our Young Ambassadors have annually executed hunger relief projects, including but not limited to, providing youth lunches during the summer, and Thanksgiving meals for senior citizens and women' shelters. However, their stewardship was not limited to providing meals. They expanded their spirit of service to gardening opportunities throughout Kaufman County. For years now, our Young Ambassadors have committed to service projects supporting and maintaining community gardens in the Kaufman County area. STLF provides workshops, youth programs, and community service projects year-round for youth to learn how they can make a difference in the lives of others. Our newest addition to our Hunger Relief Program is community gardening. We provide simple gardening practices to youth, which have had a range of benefits. It is a known fact, that gardening can benefit children of all ages as it provides a great opportunity for children to learn and equips them with critical skills which can help them in other areas of their lives. In addition, gardening promotes healthy eating choices, ignites sensory exploration, develops motor skills, encourages responsibility, embraces diversity and community building, fosters relationships between youth and senior citizens, and provides community service opportunities for the young and old.
Thankfully, Sharing the Love broke ground on our very own community garden on March 20, 2021! We are blessed and overjoyed at the opportunity to develop land with the exclusive purpose of providing food for those most in need. Sharing The Love Foundation (STLF) established The Children's Legacy Garden in Forney, Texas to provide fresh produce for senior citizens, veterans, and other underserved community groups in the area. The Legacy Children’s Garden is in Forney, Texas, and is approximately 3,000 sq. ft. Mike & Amanda Lewis, and Forney Community Ministries support the garden. We are extremely blessed and honored to have their support.
Our Goal:
Harvest and distribute 500 pounds of fresh produce annually to those in need. To date 2,000 lbs.
The original plans for the garden and our hunger relief program have grown exponentially as the world has seen a drastic increase in inflation and food insecurity. The need to bring awareness to healthy eating choices and provide resources to encourage gardening opportunities as a self-sufficient nutritional opportunity is more relevant than ever.
2024-2025 accomplishments:
🌱 Sustainable Gardening Program: Eco-friendly gardening with native plants, pollinator habitats, and water conservation practices. Our new greenhouse extends the growing season and gives youth year-round hands-on learning.
👩🏾🌾 Youth Can Garden Workshop: Engaging lessons spark a love for growing food—club membership is up 40% as more youth join in.
🥗 Garden to Plate Food Demos: From harvest to healthy meals—young gardeners learn to cook fresh produce and try new recipes.
🤝 Volunteer Power: A welcoming, inclusive volunteer community has grown by 65% this year—more hands, more heart.
🍅 Harvest Distributions: Over 2,000 pounds of organic produce shared since 2021 with seniors, veterans, and our local food pantry.
🌟 Young Ambassadors
Leaders in Action – Planned and led the 2025 Youth Can Summer STEAM Camp.
Serving the Community – Helped provide backpacks and uniforms to 2,500+ families for back-to-school success.
Our Mission: To connect youth with resources that encourages leadership. Our Vision: A future community of empowered youth. Our core belief: Youth are our future, and we have a responsibility to provide them with strategies and skills to be successful socially conscious citizens.
We are in extreme need of a 10 x 12 shed to store our large garden equipment. Currently we have outgrown our current shed. We also need to install fencing with manual gates. around the garden perimeter. In addition, we would like to further expand our kids' garden workshop to include a climate control greenhouse.
Our goals embrace diverse cultures. Innovation happens by bringing together individuals who share a common purpose but who have diverse outlooks and approaches. When volunteers feel their contributions are valued, they feel confident presenting their ideas and stay involved.
View our current participation opportunities.
In-Person Volunteering
Community Service Day at Children's Legacy Garden
Sharing the Love Foundation's Children's Legacy Garden
Organization name
Sharing the Love Foundation
Causes
Youth & Children
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Kaufman
BIPOC Leadership
Both the Executive Director/CEO and Board Chair
Address
Mailing: P.O. Box 640