ARIZONA HELPING HANDS
Bringing Hope to Children in Foster Care
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In 2013, Arizona Helping Hands learned that there was a huge gap in services for children in foster care. Currently in the state of Arizona we have 14,000 in foster care. Whether a kinship or community foster care placement was made, children often arrived with only the clothes on their back and in this new setting were left to sleep on a couch, inflatable air mattress or simply a spot on the floor. When a foster family arrives at Arizona Helping Hands their needs are assessed. When they depart that day, they leave with new bed or crib set, clothing, diapers, educational toys, hygiene kits, and encouragement to begin their journey toward stability and comfort of a loving home. At Arizona Helping Hands our programs provide health, safety and permanency.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Basic Needs
The Basic Needs Program provides children in foster care with a safe place to sleep and more, including twin beds, cribs, bedding, clothing, diapers, wipes, and hygiene items. In 2020, Arizona Helping Hands assisted 4,260 children throughout Arizona with essential needs.
Back-to-School
The Back to School Program prepares children for success in school year-round with backpacks, supplies, and uniforms. In 2020, Arizona Helping Hands gave out more than 6,600 backpacks filled with school supplies to children in foster care throughout Arizona. This program would not be possible without the support of our community including donors, volunteers, corporate and community partners.
Birthday Dreams
The Birthday Dreams Program celebrates children with personalized birthday packages filled with toys, games, books, and puzzles to lift their self-esteem. Arizona Helping Hands volunteers create personalized birthday packages with three brand new handpicked gifts and a new book to make every child feel special on their birthday. Additionally, we add a Birthday Party in a Bag that includes cake mix, frosting, candles, and more. Oftentimes, children in foster care have never had the opportunity to celebrate a birthday. A Birthday Party in a Bag provides the child with a celebration to accompany the gifts they receive. In 2020, Arizona Helping Hands provided 3,482 Birthday Dreams for children in foster care throughout Arizona.
Foster Footlockers
The Foster Footlocker Program creates peace of mind for children in foster care by providing a safe place to store personal keepsakes and belongings. In 2020, Arizona Helping Hands distributed 111 footlockers to foster youth throughout Arizona.
Annual Holiday Toy Drive
Since 1998, Arizona Helping Hands has partnered with donors, volunteers, corporate and community partners to make the holidays joyful for Arizona's children and families experiencing hardship. Since its inception, the annual Holiday Toy Drive has provided more than 206,000 children with gifts during the holidays to ensure they do not feel forgotten.
Licensing Safety Items
The Licensing Safety Items Program ensures a safe home environment with fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and more to meet Arizona's Life Safety Inspection requirements. In 2020, Arizona Helping Hands assisted 930 families in becoming licensed foster care and kinship providers in Arizona.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organizations (QFCO 2020
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsTotal number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Birthday Dreams
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We are fortunate to have an army of passionate volunteers who delivered 3,482 children in foster care with Birthday Dreams in 2020. Their incredible hearts demonstrate how much our community cares.
Number of children in foster care receiving a new bed/crib
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Basic Needs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Over the last seven years we have provided, 17,000+ children with a safe place to sleep, including twin beds, cribs, and much more!
Total number of children served through Basic Needs program.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Basic Needs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Through our Basic Needs Program, we provide children in foster care with a safe place to sleep and more, including beds, cribs, clothing, diapers, wipes, hygiene items, and educational activities.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Arizona Helping Hands aims to ease the burden of children in foster care. By providing Basic Essential Needs for families, we first help to stabilize the family. We then go a step further to provide support for families that have little to no resources. Helping kinship and foster families become licensed by the state is a priority, which includes providing safety equipment to pass state-mandated inspection to receive a small stipend from the state. Every day, families come to Arizona Helping Hands with horrific stories of what their grandchildren or nieces/nephews have experienced due to their parent(s) drug use, abuse, or neglect. These kinship placements are especially ill-equipped to take up to five or six children into their homes and provide them safety and stability. Arizona Helping Hands collaborates with dozens of other community partners to assure families are connecting to resources they need to stabilize their children's lives. What we hear most from the families we help is, "you gave us so much, but especially, hope for our children's future."
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The strategies Arizona Helping Hands utilize are:
1) Partnerships with retailers, foundations, corporations, service clubs, churches, synagogues, and others to donate or hold collection drives of needed product (diapers, wipes, toys, books, bikes) and provide volunteer time to prepare the children's Dream Kits (hygiene products), Birthday Dream (personalize birthday packages), Back-to-School Backpacks, etc.
2) Strong media connections and large social media following to inform the general public of the needs of children in foster care.
3) Provide families service in a timely manner to help stabilize the foster family as soon as possible.
4) Connect foster families to resources available.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
1. Strong financial standing with conservative spending practices.
2. Support from the Arizona community and local funders.
3. Well respected in community and by local government officials.
4. Proven results and outcomes.
5. Un-duplicated services offered to children in foster care.
6. Strong partnership with Department of Child Safety.
7. Outstanding partnership with collaborating nonprofit agencies giving ability to cover greater portion of state.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Being good stewards, Arizona Helping Hands has gone beyond basic needs to provide additional assistance through our mission-focused programs.
What's Next? A new technology system for Arizona Helping Hands will integrate program participant, donor, in-kind support and volunteer records, as well as warehouse inventory and a new phone system. This avoids duplication and streamlines the foster family's experience and remove significant stressor on the parents.
The primary goal for the new technology system is to give foster families a positive experience that reduces the stress they encounter during the first weeks of gaining their new family member(s). Additional goals include:
• Increase the number of families served
• Increase Arizona Helping Hands service area
Arizona Helping Hands is in the middle of our $3M capital campaign supporting our new facility, The Diane & Bruce Halle Foster Family Resource Center, a one-stop-shop with multiple services under one roof to support foster families. Our new facility triples our square footage which saves us from renting or borrowing additional storage space and assures adequate office space as we continue to grow. And, this has been accomplished without increasing the organization's monthly expenses.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is hard to come up with good questions to ask people
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ARIZONA HELPING HANDS
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Jay Spector
Barton Spector Wealth Strategies
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Disability
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Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/03/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.