Manteca’s youth are staging at least two efforts to make sure others aren’t forgotten this holiday season.

One involves securing donations to place wreaths at the graves of all veterans buried at the East Union Cemetery.

The other is a cookies and cocoa fundraiser to help generate funds for Ray of Hope Children’s Services.

Those two events are in addition to The Tommy Awards — a  dinner gala showcasing outstanding Manteca youth doing double duty as a fundraiser to support the Thomas Toy Teen Community Center — set for Friday, Nov. 21, at Calvary Community Church on Lathrop Road.

Wreaths Across America

Manteca City Ambassador Nihar Jain is leading the first-ever “Wreaths Across America” project at East Union Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 13.

A $17 donation will cover the cost of a wreath to go on the grave of a veteran. There are 467 veterans buried at the cemetery at Louise Avenue and Union Road. Among them is a veteran who served with the Union during the Civil War.

So far, donations have been obtained for 98 wreaths leaving 369 to go.

The wreaths will be placed on the graves of our country's fallen heroes and every veteran’s name read aloud after a noon ceremony on Dec. 13.   

Jain attends East Union High where he is the student leader for the JROTC.

Information can be found about Wreaths over America as well as the ability to donate can be found at https://wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/188867/Overview

Cocoa and cookies

Karam, Jovan, and Bhavleen — the Sahota triplets are once again raising money to help support Ray of Hope Children’s Services by selling hot cocoa and cookies.

On Sunday, Dec. 7, they’ll be at Woodward Park, at their usual corner on Woodward and Bridewell avenues from 10 a.m. to noon.

Donations will also be accepted using the Venmo or Zelle apps.

In the past, Karam, Jovan, and Bhavleen managed to raise over $1,000 in donations.

The Tommy Awards

The $75 ticket to the Tommy Awards  includes dinner, awards presentations, and performances for upcoming Manteca teen garage bands that entered the inaugural Tommy Awards competition.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner and program at 6:30 p.m.

Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are available at the website at thomastoycc.org.

Proceeds will help support center activities that include adding field trips.

The plan, if money is raised, is to arrange field trips to science and art centers in places such as San Francisco and similar venture.

The non-profit currently serves 600 teens m the seventh through 12th grades Monday through Thursday from 2:30 to 6 p.m.

 On any given day, the center at Yosemite and Fremont avenues serves between 60 and 80 teems.

Many come from under-served backgrounds.

The teen center operates as a safe haven for teens to interactive with peers in a large game room and café. It also offers mentorship through various programs.

Food is served at a discounted rate and can be obtained free by punch cards that are “punched” when they deposit smartphones in a locker at the door and do other small deeds.

The current programs are:

*Garden Club – Teens can claim their own little plot of earth to grow seasonal fruit, vegetable, or flowers, as long as they consistently tend to it.

*Art Club – Teens can learn the basics of art, or find encouragement along the path of discovering their own unique artistic style.

*Karate Club – Teens can learn self-defense and self-discipline and even earn belts in their martial arts training.

*Fitness Club – Teens can strengthen their mind and body with weight and cardio training.

*Gym Club – Teens can join us at a nearby gym to play basketball, volleyball, and other team sports.

*Music Club – Teens can learn to play guitar, piano, or bongos.

*STEM Club – Teens can learn about science while engaging in hand-on activities.

*Robotics Club – Teens can form teams to build robots to compete with other teams (probably an offshoot of STEM Club).

*Bike Shop – Teens can learn how to fix and maintain bikes.

*Fireside Studio – Teens can sign up for studio time to record podcasts, music and more

*Bible Club – Teens can learn the basics of the #1 bestselling book of all time.

*Debate Club – Teens can learn the art of debate, while learning that it’s ok to disagree and remain respectful of other peoples’ viewpoint.

*Tom’s Market (Pantry) – A place where TTCC teens and their families can supplement their food budgets.

 *SERVE Team – A team of teen leaders who want to take ownership of the Center through service and planning.

Additional volunteers will allow the center to expand hours and offerings.

For more information on volunteer opportunities, go to thomastoycc.org

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com