Past Accomplishments

Smile Campaign

The Smile Campaign was one of our most important, long-term projects of the 2020-21 season. What initially started as a small project to make homemade masks gradually grew into a series of memorable events. In light of the pandemic, our members decided to repurpose everyday household items such as old blankets and denim jeans and turn them into masks. We were able to make a total of 800 masks, and we soon began to ponder what to do with all of them. 

Our overarching goal was to aid people in need, especially those taking major losses from the uprising of Covid-19. In order to achieve this goal, we proceeded to contact other organizations for both donations and collaborations. We sent these companies letters, and were met with eager responses. From Dooil USA, we received donations of a variety of goods such as food products, hand sanitizers, alcohol wipes, and dental masks. In addition, Hanmi Bank and Pacific City Bank provided reusable, high-quality bags so that we could assemble all of our different items, including our hand-made masks, into sets. The members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation gathered in groups to put these “goody-bags” together, the total amounting to 400 bags. 

The Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation had established a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim, located at the Anaheim Youth Center. The Boys and Girls Club hosted weekly food drive-thru pick up events, where families could pick up a week’s worth of groceries free of charge, and we decided to participate in these food drives for two weeks. On the designated days, we transported our 400 packages to the Youth Center and aided the workers of the Boys and Girls Club in handing out the packages as well as the groceries. We were able to help over a hundred families that had come through the drive-thru, and this experience helped our members learn the value of the interactions and understanding established between them and the families.

Guardian Angel Letters

Following the rise of the pandemic, our members decided to work on a project that would show our appreciation for frontline workers who put their lives on the line to help others, including us. We referred to these workers as our “guardian angels”. Each member wrote multiple letters, sent at different times, which were sent directly to the guardian angels to express our gratitude and admirance. We addressed our letters to the health care workers at the UCLA Medical Center in Torrance as well as the California Hospital Medical Center (Dignity Health). Once they received their letters, the workers were very excited and sent us pictures holding our presents.

Love n Care Homeless Shower Truck

In partnership with the Love n Care Foundation, the members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation helped run the Homeless Shower Truck, a truck fashioned with showers so that homeless individuals could safely and comfortably wash up and refresh themselves. Small groups of Dream Tree Youth Leader members traveled to a large parking lot in Eagle Rock, where we set up booths to hand out fresh clothes and toiletries such as towels, razors, toothbrushes, brushes, and more. 

Mexico Medical Mission

The Mexico Medical Mission (MMM) is a non-denominational Christian mission which helps people in Mexico and supports them in terms of medical and developmental services. The members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation contributed backpacks, pens, pencils, and other school supplies to further support many children within Mexico. These items were procured by-way of the funds earned through our projects such as the Walk-A-Thons, Coin Drives, and Flea Markets. We recognize that there are so many children and students in need of support systems all around the world, and through this project, we aim to assist children who are experiencing difficulties alongside those who do not have access to such items. 

Alexandria House

Alexandria House is a transitional home for women and children, located in Koreatown. The house provides women who are homeless or in-between homelessness with housing, basic necessities, food, and much more. Alexandria House offers services specific to mothers, which include wraparound services, counseling on side counseling, after school programs, daycare programs, and book club. The Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation has been collaborating with Alexandria House since 2020, where members raised funds in order to purchase items such as diapers, sanitary pads, tampons, and baby wipes to donate to the House. In addition, the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation has been collaborating with Alexandria House with the LA Community Solar Fridge and Pantry, which is a community refrigerator accessible to anyone, where members donate and help fill the pantry.

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COR Mission

On April 17, 2021, Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation, Ye Children’s Choir, Rebound Dance Team, and Cue5 Dance Team participated in the fundraiser for COR Mission. The performing clubs provided support in the form of music and dance performances and a short presentation on the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation (formerly known as the Hope LA Chapter). This fundraiser event was in support of Hapa Nation 1, the project that will fund Hapa Nation’s 2022 Journey to Motherland. “Hapa” is a term derived from the Hawaiian saying “hapa haole,” which means “half-white,” which was initially a derogatory term. However, in the past decade, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have reclaimed the word, taking pride in their Asian heritage. Hapas of mixed ethnicities, such as Eurasians, Latin Asians, African-American Asians, multi-ethnic Asians, and even fully Asian individuals who were adopted and raised by non-Asian parents aim to share their experiences and understand their heritage and cultural identities. This fundraiser helped raise funds that would aid Hapa Nation in supporting orphans and orphanages in foreign countries, where hapa children are going through similar journeys as other members of the community.

Turkey Packing

The Thanksgiving Turkey Packing Project was another way for us to help out those in the community, particularly to families that couldn’t have a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving. The members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation worked with the Salvation Army, a Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organization that we often collaborate with for many projects. We collected many basic foods including canned foods, meats, dairy products, soups, sauces, and whole grains, utilizing funds from previous projects including the coin drive, recycling, LA Chapter Walkathon and more. On day one, the members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation gathered and prepared, organizing and packaging to make about 200 boxes full of food supplies. We first folded 200 boxes and then placed all the food one by one into each box. We then placed all the boxes into one place so that they could be ready for distribution the next day. The next day, families gathered outside the Salvation Army church to line up, waiting to receive the goods. Together, the Salvation Army and the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation distributed all the boxes by a window as family by family came up to retrieve them. We also helped them carry the boxes to wherever they needed if they needed assistance. By the end of the day, all the boxes were given out and that week, the families were able to look forward to Thanksgiving Day.

Fresno Hmong Refugees

The Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation provided Chromebooks to Hmong refugees in Fresno who were in need of assistance at the time. To give these Hmong Refugees some context, at the time when Laos was bombed by the North Vietnamese, more than 200,000 refugees fled to the United States. Many of them, who are currently residing in Fresno, California, are in need of assistance and support as a result of these occurrences. Due to COVID restrictions, we were able to deliver the chromebooks through the mail. 

Korean Family Counseling Center

The Korean American Family Services Center (KAFSC) is a primary dual agency that addresses domestic violence and sexual assault victims, being aware of cultural settings.  KAFSC has grown from the response of the Korean immigrant community in New York back in 1989 to what it is today. Due to the pandemic, the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation had donated chromebooks to those in need through KAFSC. The chromebooks donated by the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation were given to those who ran away from difficult home situations. As it was around Christmas time, it was a small yet meaningful gift to those who needed it the most during the time of giving.

St. Anne's

St. Anne’s Family Services in the Rampart district offers support programs to struggling expectant mothers and young families so they can get back on their feet. Today, St. Annes works hard, developing and improving the programs they offer, such as traditional housing, therapy, early learning centers, and parenting classes. From the funds collected from recycling, coin drives, and walk-a-thons, the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation purchased and delivered items such as toiletries, masks, hand sanitizers, wet wipes, and other necessities to St. Anne’s. 

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Toy Sort and Food Packing

Our Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation has many different holiday volunteering projects, and one of them is our Toy Sorting and Food Packing. The Toy Sorting and Food Packing is completed in preparence for Toy and Food Drive. Convening with the Salvation Army at the Salvation Army Church on Hoover Street, members helped sort toys into separate, big, cardboard boxes. The toys were organized in accordance to age, and the Food Packing consisted of packing foods such as canned food, dried products, juices, and other items such as masks and wipes. 

Toy and Food Drive

The Toy and Food Drive also takes place in the Salvation Army Church. It is now time to spread love and items to families that come and pick up these items! On this day, we have shoppers that help families pick toys for them in a big blue plastic bag. They get to pick a toy from the sorted toys based on what they want for their child. As families exit with handfuls of toys, we give them the food boxes we prepared, and help them move their items to the front gate. It is a great way to celebrate our holidays and give to the needy. Tis the season to be jolly indeed!

Adopt-A-Family

The Adopt-A-Family Project was a way to give gifts to the community, specifically, children in families that were unable to experience the spirit of Christmas. Using funds raised from projects like the coin drive, recycling, and the walkathons, the members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation worked together with The Salvation Army, a Protestant Christian church as well as an international charitable organization, to acquire heaps of presents, many of them also being collected through donations. The Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation adopted three families during the Christmas season to provide the items that they wished for. These families were the Argueta Family, the Moreno Family, and the Kim family. The members of DTYLF came on multiple days to gather all the gifts and wrap them. Everyone was hard at work wrapping all the presents, making about a hundred wrapped gifts and they were then sorted into large boxes so they could be given to their specific families. Each family was also provided with a chromebook laptop which was also bought through funds raised by the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation. The members wrote numerous Christmas greeting cards to accompany the gifts as well. The Kim and Argueta families came to the Salvation Army church to receive their presents, and for the Moreno family, the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation personally delivered their presents. In the end, members of the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation were able to personally meet all the families and hand them their box of presents, while also exchanging conversation.