A pair of Indio-based high school students have successfully started their own nonprofit organization – and are now looking to help children in the foster care system.
Through their youth club called HOPE, which stands for Helping Other People Every Day, twin sisters Brianna and Natalie Fabian set out on a mission to collect donated gifts for a “Mother’s Day boutique” in May that would allow foster children to select free presents for their foster mothers, biological mothers or even social workers.
“We came up with the idea after we realized that a lot of foster children do not have the opportunity to give a gift to their moms for Mother’s Day,” Natalie said. “The boutique will give them the perfect chance to find a gift.”
The Fabian twins formed their youth group, which falls under the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement, in October 2020. They were officially chartered into the California Federation of Women’s Clubs the following year.
GFWC HOPE is an actual nonprofit, and Natalie and Brianna have had to learn how to run the organization and file taxes — before even graduating high school. Though the GFWC Woman’s Club of Indio helps to advise the sisters, they are still self-run and separate from the Woman’s Club.
For the past three years, the sisters have focused their efforts on helping the estimated 4,000 foster children in Riverside County. GFWC HOPE now has 12 members, all of whom are middle or high school students within Desert Sands Unified School District.
Before their latest boutique idea, the Fabian sisters did other community outreach projects, including donating school supplies and creating Christmas boxes and Easter baskets. They’ve also supported the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, the Galilee Center, Indio Senior Center, Coachella Valley Foster Kids, and the Indio Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Although a date and time hasn’t been set for the Mother’s Day boutique yet, the event will be held at the county’s Department of Social Services on Jackson and Avenue 48 when it occurs. Donation boxes were placed in Indio City Hall, Absolutely Postal in Indio and around different schools within the Desert Sands Unified School District. Packaging of the donated items was completed earlier this month.
“We would really love to reach 9,000 donations,” Natalie said as the effort was underway. “That way, the kids will be able to pick three gifts each for their biological mother, foster mother or social workers.”
“I’m most excited to give back to the community,” Brianna added. “I love gift giving, so this will be a great opportunity to make someone’s day.”
More information: Want to learn more about the program? Email [email protected]. To learn more about the Women’s Club of Indio, go to www.wcindio.org.
