Patriotic cards donated by Cathy Walters for C’YA’s ‘Mail for Troops’ and ‘Vets with Pets’ programs. Community members can drop off cards or coloring pages at C’YA’s ChamberFest booth on Saturday. Courtesy/ C’YA
By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Executive Director
Champions of Youth Ambitions
Champions of Youth Ambitions (C’YA) will celebrate 12 years this week, with what expects to be a momentous year ahead … well 18 months is more like it. We’ll start with an appearance at Los Alamos ChamberFest with a celebratory CommUNITY Giveback this Saturday!
Our June 6 debut is called the CommUNITY GIVEback, and we’d like your help celebrating 12 years, but not asking what you can do for us, but ways as a community we can help others. How can you do that? Well, I was hoping you might just ask that question.
Our booth at ChamberFest will be used to collect as many cards as possible for our “Mail for Troops” and “Vets with Pets” programs. You can stop by and use our free cards to drop someone a kind word and thank them for their service, especially as we’re about to celebrate 250 years! You can also write a note, card, letter or you or your kids can color a picture and put it in our military mailbox. We have military people from our community serving in many states across America.
Our “Vets with Pets” program and work with the Los Alamos and Santa Fe Animal Shelters could use the donations of toys, treats, food or even old blankets or towels (clean please) as we embark on kitten and puppy season. If we’re lucky a pup or two may even drop by our booth. We will have volunteer information available, too.
If you want to help C’YA, we’ll have a “Change for Change” jar and we’re only asking for 12 cents. We’ll even take 12 pennies to celebrate the retirement of the happy, little coin. There’s a hitch though, you give us 12 cents, and we give you a small treat, while supplies last. Those funds will help us send all those cards and letters to some deserving current and former service members.
We’ve begun the inauguration of a gathering of community art for a 2027 community calendar with a focus on health. We welcome submissions of all ages and abilities and in any medium. You simply show us the answer to the question: What does good health look like to you?
Think about what reduces your stress, makes you happy, gets you up and moving and show it in an art project. We’re hoping for a spoken word submission or a poem about the beauty of our home on the range. Hey, I’m secretly hoping for a 30 second or less musical entry that we could use on social media.
We’ve had two local businesses already claim a spot for sponsoring a month of their choice. The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce and the Los Alamos Film and Culture Festival like the idea and like the sponsor benefits even better. If you’d like details on sending an art submission or interested in a sponsorship, send us a text, email or give us a call.
C’YA will also provide information on many other non-profits with our Small Acts = Big Impacts document. You can learn about groups like; the Lasses and Lads of Enchantment (Barbershop Chorus) , Los Alamos Makers, Dance Arts Los Alamos, the Rotary Club, VFW and more. You can pick up handouts about organ donation or see how every time you shop at Smith’s, you can benefit local non-profits at no additional cost.
We hope to see you at ChamberFest!