“I have always liked how The Coffee Oasis goes out of their way to invite the community. It makes everything really fun!” – Youth

Near the end of October, Hit the Hay kicked off a packed season of holiday festivities at The Coffee Oasis. This year’s annual event brought 127 youth to drop-in centers in Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, and Tacoma.

During this wet and windy night, youth enjoyed a hot meal of chili, cornbread, and baked potatoes, provided by generous volunteers and church groups.

Youth enjoyed goofy games such as eyeball pong, a candy jar guessing game, and mummy wrapping, as well as pumpkin painting and cookie decorating. At every gathering, youth heard speakers share about holding onto hope in times of darkness.

In Tacoma, youth were able to receive free services to get their hair cut and styled—knowing that someone cared about them and took the time out of their busy schedule to be there for them, truly meant a lot. Youth looked in the mirror with huge smiles, as their self-esteem and confidence were encouraged. One youth even won a pair of headphones that ended up being very helpful, as they had just lost theirs.

Staff and volunteers shared:

“It was so encouraging to see the participants so enthusiastic and excited about participating in our competition events especially the pie eating contest and having so much fun.” – Katie

“The smiles and joy on their faces along with the sound of laughter being heard and just the genuine connection and engagement between staff and participants was really inspiring.” – Isaac

Thank you to all who made this event possible by providing meals, volunteering time, donating candy, purchasing pumpkins, giving youth haircuts, and creating a joyful experience for all the youth who attended.