One YES Can Change a Life. One YES Can Save a Life.
Sometimes a YES is an act of faith.
It is believing God can do something we cannot do ourselves. Sometimes it is trusting that God will provide simply because we were willing to say YES.
But sometimes, our YES is something else entirely.
Sometimes our YES is believing in someone who has stopped believing in themselves.
Years ago, while working on my master's degree, I had the opportunity to spend several years studying something that has stayed with me ever since. My thesis focused on a sociological concept called the self-fulfilling prophecy.
In sociology, the self-fulfilling prophecy describes how a belief or expectation about a person or situation can influence behavior in ways that eventually help bring that expectation into reality. Sociologist Robert K. Merton described how even an initially false belief can lead people to act in ways that make it come true.
In simpler terms, what we believe about ourselves, and what others believe about us, can have a profound influence on what we come to believe is possible.
One of the things that impacted me most during those years was learning about the difference that even one person could make in the life of a child.
One person who says, "YES, you can do this."
One person who says, "YES, I believe in you."
One person who sees potential where others may only see problems.
And what struck me most was that believing in someone wasn't simply about offering encouraging words. It was about what happened next.
It was about putting that belief into action.
It was the teacher who stayed after school to help a struggling student. The coach who gave a child a chance to play. The adult who helped remove a barrier that stood between a young person and an opportunity.
Over time, those experiences can begin to shape how someone sees themselves, what they believe they are capable of, and the choices they make about their future.
Of course, encouragement alone cannot overcome every obstacle. Poverty, trauma, and difficult circumstances create very real barriers. But that's what makes this so important to me.
Sometimes believing in someone means helping remove the very barriers that have kept them from believing in themselves.
And the more I learned about this, the more I began to realize something so simple, yet so important.
We all need someone to believe in us. We all need a YES.
Think about your own life for a moment.
Has someone ever said YES to you?
YES to a job you weren't sure you were qualified for?
YES to making a team you didn't think you were good enough to join?
YES to an opportunity you never thought you would receive?
I imagine every one of us can remember someone who took a chance on us. Someone who believed in us before we believed in ourselves.
Now imagine growing up without that person.
Imagine being told NO so many times that eventually you stop asking.
Imagine being told you aren't smart enough, talented enough, capable enough, or worthy enough until you begin to believe it.
Imagine having your dreams slowly beaten out of you—not because you didn't have potential, but because no one helped you see it.
And imagine what it might mean if someone finally came alongside you and said:
"YES, I believe in you. And I'm willing to help you take the next step."
For many of the children, families, and individuals we serve at The HUB OC, that YES can be life-changing.
Sometimes, it can even be lifesaving.
What Does a YES Look Like?
At The HUB OC, saying YES isn't always something extraordinary or expensive.
Sometimes it's a pair of soccer cleats.
Sometimes it's a scholarship for a child to participate in a sports program.
Sometimes it's a bicycle so someone can get to work.
Sometimes it's a new set of tires so a single mother doesn't lose her job.
Sometimes it's one month's rent so a family doesn't lose their home.
Sometimes it's a suit for a job interview or a court appearance where a parent is working toward reunification with their children.
Sometimes it's a cellphone so someone can apply for a job and receive that life-changing phone call.
Sometimes it's paying for a food-handler certification so someone can begin working.
Sometimes it's a beautiful dress for a woman who has an important job interview.
Sometimes it's paying an unexpected medical bill that has pushed a family to the edge of homelessness.
And sometimes it's a Christmas gift that allows a mother to experience the joy and dignity of giving something special to her children.
These may seem like small things to some of us. But for someone standing at the edge of giving up, they can mean everything.
What if the child whose football registration we paid for stays connected to a positive community, makes the high school team, and eventually receives a college scholarship?
What if the student we provided a tutor for begins to succeed academically, discovers a love for learning, and pursues a future they never thought possible?
What if the single mother whose medical bill threatened her ability to pay rent never has to experience homelessness because someone stepped in at just the right moment?
What if the bicycle we gave someone becomes the reason they can keep their job, build financial stability, and eventually move into permanent housing?
We may never know the full impact of these moments.
But we do know this:
A small YES today can open the door to an entirely different tomorrow.
One YES Leads to Another YES
One of my favorite things about The HUB OC is that saying YES rarely stops with just one person.
In fact, we've discovered something extraordinary.
YES is contagious.
Let me tell you what I mean.
Several years ago, an anonymous donor learned that children in our community were experiencing food insecurity.
Children were going home without enough to eat. Families were struggling to put food on their tables. Students were trying to learn while carrying the burden of hunger.
And that donor said YES.
That one YES helped launch our school food pantry initiative.
Together, we worked to establish food pantries in 15 Title I schools in Orange, making food more accessible to children and families who needed it.
But something unexpected happened.
As we began meeting the needs of children through the food pantries, we discovered another barrier.
Some girls were missing school because they didn't have access to menstrual hygiene products.
Think about that.
A young girl missing her education, not because she didn't want to learn, but because she didn't have access to something so basic.
So what did we do?
We said YES again.
We began collecting and providing feminine hygiene products so that girls wouldn't have to miss school because of a need that could be met.
Do you see what happened?
One donor said YES to food.
That YES opened our eyes to another need.
And that need led to another YES.
One YES led to another YES, which led to another YES.
And the impact continued growing.
When a Prom Dress Becomes More Than a Dress
Here's another story I love.
At Full Circle Thrift, we learned that some girls in foster care didn't have the means to purchase a prom dress.
For many teenagers, prom is a rite of passage—a night to celebrate, belong, feel beautiful, and make memories.
But for a young girl who has already experienced so much instability, something as simple as not having a dress can become another reminder of what she doesn't have.
So Full Circle said YES.
We made prom dresses available for foster girls to shop for free.
But it didn't stop there.
A local florist heard about what we were doing and decided to say YES too.
They stepped in to provide flowers and corsages for the girls' special night.
Can you imagine?
What began as a YES to a dress became a YES to an entire experience.
An experience that told these girls:
You matter.
You are beautiful.
You are worth celebrating.
You belong.
That is the power of YES.
And it doesn't stop.
Why Our Donors Make YES Possible
Here's something I want every person who supports The HUB OC to understand.
We are incredibly grateful for the grants, partnerships, and contracts that help fund our programs and the staff who faithfully show up every single day.
These resources allow us to operate our youth centers, resource center, community programs, and other essential services.
But something happens when our donors give.
Our donors give us the ability to say YES when an unexpected need arises.
They help ensure that our staff don't have their hands tied when someone walks through our doors facing a barrier that could change the course of their life.
Because needs don't always fit into a grant budget.
A flat tire doesn't wait for a funding cycle.
A medical emergency doesn't wait for a grant application.
A child who needs cleats to join a team can't always wait until next year.
A family facing eviction may only have days before everything changes.
And a person who finally has the courage to apply for a job may need a suit tomorrow.
This is why our donors are so important.
They make it possible for compassion to become action.
They allow us to respond to the person in front of us, not simply the program on paper.
They help us remove barriers, big and small, so that people can keep moving forward.
Because at The HUB OC, we believe that every person has value, every person has potential, and every person deserves someone who believes their future is worth investing in.
A Thanksgiving YES That Could Become So Much More
Recently, something beautiful happened.
As part of our Help the HUB Say YES campaign, we shared that it costs approximately $20,000 to provide Thanksgiving meals, turkeys, and food to the families and individuals we serve.
For many of the people we serve, Thanksgiving isn't simply about celebrating a holiday.
It's about having enough food.
It's about gathering around a table.
It's about a mother being able to prepare a meal for her children.
It's about someone experiencing homelessness knowing they haven't been forgotten.
And one generous donor heard about this need and said YES.
She offered to match every Thanksgiving donation, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000.
One person.
One generous act.
One YES.
But here's what excites me most.
We don't know what that YES might unleash.
Maybe it will inspire someone else to give.
Maybe it will encourage a family to give together.
Maybe it will lead a business to step in.
Maybe it will open the door for us to say YES to a need we don't even know about yet.
Because that's what we've seen happen again and again.
One YES creates an opportunity for another YES.
And before we know it, an entire community is moving toward people who need to know that someone cares.
The YES We Haven't Said Yet
Here's what I know after years of serving some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
We cannot predict every need.
We cannot anticipate every emergency.
And we cannot always know which small act of generosity might change someone's life forever.
But we can choose to be ready.
We can choose to believe in people.
We can choose to remove barriers.
We can choose to see potential where others see problems.
And we can choose to be the people who say YES.
Sometimes a YES is a meal.
Sometimes it's a pair of shoes.
Sometimes it's an opportunity.
Sometimes it's someone saying, "I believe in you, and I'm going to help you get there."
And sometimes, that YES is the beginning of a story we could never have imagined.
What if your YES is the one that changes someone's life?
What if your YES is the one that saves it?
This season, we're inviting you to help The HUB OC say YES.
Not just to Thanksgiving.
Not just to Christmas.
But to the children, families, and individuals who need someone to believe in them all year long.
Because we believe God can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine.
And sometimes, it begins with one simple word.
YES.
Help the HUB Say YES.
Mobilizing the Church. Meeting Needs. Transforming Lives.
Author: Holiday Zimmerman, CEO of The Hub OC