Volunteers with a wide range of skills will help create holiday items for a fund-raising boutique to benefit activities of Children and Youth Services (CYS)-Project Together, a program of Orange County Health Care Agency's Behavioral Health Services. Volunteers may spend a few hours or an entire day crafting holiday items at CYS-Project Together's central office in the Santa Ana Civic Center area. The annual Holiday Boutique sale, held in November, raises funds to support Project Together's mentor/child activities and outings. If you are interested in volunteering, or would like more information, please call Sylvia Valles at 714-796-0100.

CYS-Project Together, in conjunction with the Mental Health Association of Orange County, works to enhance the lives of at-risk children who are in mental health treatment in clinics throughout Orange County. The focus of the program is to recruit and train adult volunteers from the community to mentor these children, forming a special friendship and serving as a positive role model. According to Sharon Modaff, Service Chief and director of the program, Project Together is a great boost to children. "The mentoring experience can enhance the child’s overall treatment program, promote self-confidence, and can have a positive effect on the child as he or she becomes an adult," Modaff said.