Windchime Decorating Workshop at TFD

Community art therapy workshop led by Yekseny centered on creative expression, mindfulness, and community connection. The workshop started with a check-in, welcoming both new and recurring community members to feel welcomed. Yekseny introduced the meaning and origin behind mandalas, along with their connection to reducing anxiety and creating a sense of balance. Community members decorated their own windchimes with colors, patterns, and symbols.

Conversations throughout the workshop encouraged reflection, connection, and comfort while creating alongside one another. Once everyone was finished decorating, everyone went around and presented their windchimes and where they planned to place them. The workshop encouraged others to create freely, reflect openly, and leave with something meaningful to them.

Money Management with Joy

Money management workshop, led by Jasmine, our Executive Director, focused on healing our relationship with money through a joy-based approach. We created a space to learn, reflect, and begin shifting our relationship with money through intention and care. Throughout the workshop, we explored personal money stories and how past experiences shape our habits, emotions, and decisions around finances. Jasmine introduced budgeting as a tool to center value, align goals, and redefine what financial success looks like individually. We also discussed financial boundaries, emergency funds, and long-term goals while staying connected to the community as support. As well as learning about tools for money management, there are also strategies: budgeting methods, ways to implement them, and options for saving and investing.

TFD Volunteer Day | Mental Health Kits

As we prepare for Mental Health Awareness Month, we had an amazing volunteer night where we built community while packing stickers, assembling mental health kits, and sharing a meal together. In total, we packed 500 “Bag of Big Feelings!” We usually need two volunteer days to pack all 500 Mental Health Kits, but we had a dream team of volunteers who worked so hard to get all the kits packed and ready for our youth!

Our volunteer day has a packing station to put the stickers together, a station for packing the “Bag of Big Feelings”, and volunteers who made this day successful and fun!

Painting Pots with Yekseny | Art Therapy

Our Painting Pots workshop, led by Yekseny, centered on reflecting on growth while painting pots. Yekseny talked about how spring is a reminder of growth and noticing change over time. Our community members painted terracotta pots as a personal expression of where they are in life. They used the process to reflect on accomplishments and goals for continued growth this year. Each potted plant was selected, connecting intention to a physical action, and group conversations allowed everyone to share the meaning behind their designs and choices. Overall, it created a grounding space for creativity, reflection, and community connection.

Mujeres Business & Fitness Fair

We are so excited to have participated in the Mujeres Business and Fitness Fair hosted by State Representative Norma Hernandez and her team! It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with community members and fellow small businesses, share the work The Firehouse Dream is doing, and provide resources and programming. We also offered items from our mental health kits to help support and sustain our co-created “Bag of Big Feelings” giveaways.

The fair was full of resources and activities: Zumba by Marcela Velazquez, yoga session led by our community partner Dasia Key, CrossFit by Susie Castro, and a panel discussion where our board president, Karina Mora, was one of the panelists. We also had the chance to walk around and check out the other businesses and vendors.