Written by Katherine Wang (Class of 2024)
Photos by Celina Li (Class of 2025) and Katherine Wang (Class of 2024) 

On October 15, 2023, three members of DVGS’s Her Dreams Matter (HDM) club ventured to Ridgewood Ranch, located in Willits, for the annual Taste of Autumn Fundraiser. The first fundraiser after the pandemic, it was hosted by Hearthstone Village, a non-profit organization based in Ukiah that has branches all over the world, advocating for girls’ education in Haiti. Hearthstone Village is also the organization that HDM works closely with and where all funds are donated. Led by a board of directors to serve communities in need, Hearthstone Village has always been an inspirational beacon of light to the HDM club since they started working together in 2020.

Upon arriving at the fundraiser, the HDM team was introduced to all the board members by Nancy McGivney, the educational coordinator and liaison for Hearthstone Village. They also met Nancy Watanabe, the current president of Hearthstone Village and who organized the fundraiser. The fundraiser included a plant sale, baked goods, an auction, and hands-on arts and crafts. After meeting everyone and taking a look around at all the goods for sale, the HDM members decided to use their free time before volunteering to make some crafts at the activities table, including lavender sachets and cute spiders made out of pipe cleaners. Other highlights of the day included a family band singing uplifting songs, tables of snacks and other treats, and photos and poster boards of the girls’ orphanage in Haiti to help raise awareness.

As the fundraiser wound down, the HDM members helped to clean up the fundraiser, loading up everything sold at the auction and helping clean up the tables and chairs. Afterwards, they went to Bebops for a quick dinner before heading back home. Overall, it was a very inspirational and enjoyable experience, and it was amazing having the opportunity to meet everyone on the board of Hearthstone Village to discuss future plans of working together, including reinstating the pen-pal program previously at DVGS to facilitate communication between the students at DVGS and the girls in the orphanage at Haiti.

Special thanks to Nancy McGivney, Nancy Watanabe, and everyone else volunteering at the fundraiser for giving the HDM members such a warm welcome and opportunities to volunteer and enjoy themselves!

For more information on Hearthstone Village and its upcoming events, please visit their website at https://www.hearthstone-village.org/.

For more information on Her Dreams Matter, please visit their website at
https://her-dreams-matter.myshopify.com/.