As the summer heat rages, it’s hard to believe kids will be heading back to school soon! What exactly will school openings look like this year, and how will Youth On Their Own adapt to serve youth experiencing homelessness? For YOTO, this year brings with it new challenges, but also new opportunities as we adapt [...]
For the sixth year in a row, Tucson Subaru proudly announced that Youth On Their Own will be the Hometown Charity for the upcoming 2020 Share the Love Event! Tucson Subaru is one of YOTO’s biggest supporters. Last year’s Share the Love Event provided YOTO youth with almost $80,000 in direct support! In fact, over [...]
What do you get when you bring together two friends who share the same birthday, a love of golf, and a desire to help others? You get the 411 Golf Classic! Friends Paula Stachowski and Greg Ives started the 411 Club as a way to celebrate their birthdays – both were born on April 11, [...]
YOTO youth are truly the most resilient and awe-inspiring young people around! Even though COVID-19 cast a shadow on many end of year activities and celebrations, senior students have found a way to rise above the disappointment and focus on their bright futures. Last month we checked in with YOTO high school senior Marianna to [...]
As the summer winds on, we’re so proud of our YOTO Family for continuing to support YOTO youth during the COVID-19 outbreak. One member of our family – Reyna Peery – even found a creative way to fundraise for YOTO students while simultaneously providing lasting memories for other high school seniors! Reyna is a local [...]
With over 2,000 students at over 100 schools (and only 28 staff members), YOTO’s work would not be possible without the dedication, commitment, and kindness of all our YOTO school liaisons! These amazing individuals are at the heart of YOTO’s program, identifying and advocating on behalf of YOTO youth, distributing stipend checks and basic needs [...]
The YOTO family stands in solidarity with the Black community against systemic racism, white supremacy, and the horrible injustices we’ve witnessed in recent weeks, and for far too long. We grieve for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless other Black lives taken without justice for them and their families. We acknowledge that [...]
Gary Hickey is the chef-partner at Charro Steak, Charro del Rey, and Charrovida. He is a former YOTO alumnus, graduating in the early 1990s. The food service industry has faced significant challenges since the COVID-19 outbreak. Restaurants have had to adapt to changing local and state public health policies in order to [...]
Pictured: Rowena O’Haver (left) and Jennifer Wilson (right) stand in front of a Ben’s Bells “be kind” mosaic mural after Jennifer received her Ben’s Bell Award. Jennifer Wilson, a sixth grade teacher at Ironwood Elementary School, teaches the importance of kindness and empathy to her students and leads by example each and every [...]
“I did not know it back then, but during those eight years that I lived without my family, I had my oxygen mask on and I focused on survival. And during those same eight years, I had to watch helplessly the pain and hurt that it caused my family to be apart.” - Elizabeth Camarillo [...]
