How Gary Hillery and his granddaughter, Braelyn,
turned volunteering together into a lasting family connection to HYC.

When Braelyn Smith was 15 years old, her grandpa, Gary Hillery, brought her to Homeless Youth Connection (HYC) for a volunteer opportunity. The two spent the afternoon assembling hygiene kits with shampoo, conditioner and deodorant. Braelyn loved the experience, and what started as a one-time opportunity soon became a weekly tradition.

“She loved it and it became a Friday thing,” Gary recalled. “I would pick her up from school and every Friday we would go to HYC.”

Coming back each week gave Braelyn more time to understand the young people HYC served and why the work mattered. They were close to her age, and that connection made the experience personal.

“This was a big motivating factor for me,” Braelyn said. “I know it’s already incredibly difficult to be a teenager and navigating life circumstances like homelessness make things so much harder. I wanted to do what I could, however small, to help ease that burden.”

The routine gave Gary a chance to share something he valued with his granddaughter. They also gave Braelyn an early introduction to the idea that even a small act of service could make someone else’s life a little easier.

Learning What Homelessness Can Look Like

Gary had been connected to HYC before bringing Braelyn along. His involvement began after the death of a baseball coach he knew. Gary learned about the behind-the-scenes work the coach had done to help homeless migrant athletes, which inspired him to get involved in similar work. He connected with HYC Founder Larry Cervarich and initially supported the organization through a golf tournament. Over time, Gary saw a connection between HYC’s work and his own efforts to support migrant families and people experiencing homelessness.

Volunteering at HYC also changed his understanding of homelessness.

“I think people think of homelessness as people living on the street,” Gary said. “There are a whole bunch of definitions of homelessness.”

For youth, homelessness can take many forms. Some young people are unaccompanied and navigating life without a parent or guardian. Others may be staying temporarily with friends or relatives, moving from one place to another, or living in a motel. They may still be going to school every day, making plans for college or a career, and trying to maintain a sense of normalcy while not having a stable place to call home.

That realization changed the way Gary saw the youth HYC serves. Their circumstances might not be visible, but the challenges they were carrying were very real.

Showing Up, Week After Week

Much of Gary and Braelyn’s volunteer work happened behind the scenes. They organized donations, counted inventory and made sure everyday necessities were accessible to the youth who needed them. The work they did had a practical purpose. Youth coaches could pick up supplies to bring directly to the youth they support, so having items organized and ready meant coaches could get what they needed when they needed it.

At first, the work may not have seemed extraordinary to Braelyn. As Gary remembers it, she would sometimes say, “Part of you thinks this is really cool and the other part of thinks it’s no big deal.”

What did make an impression was how much HYC appreciated the time they spent helping.

“We were there for an hour and a half, and HYC made you feel like you were there for a week,” Gary said.

Watching Braelyn volunteer gave Gary the chance to see her discover something he had learned much later in life: how rewarding it can be to help someone else.

“I was 50 or 60 when I realized you could help people,” he said. “She learned that at 15, 16, 17. That’s a cool thing to experience.”

A Tradition That Stayed With Braelyn

Eventually, college changed Braelyn’s routine. She knew school would take up much of her time, and she stepped away from volunteering. But she never really left HYC behind.

“Even while I was on hiatus, I always thought about how much I loved volunteering,” she said.

Years later, that feeling brought her back.

Today, Gary and Braelyn are once again volunteering together, along with Gary’s niece, Emma.

And some things haven’t changed. Gary still shows up ready to help, and Braelyn still has her favorite inventory item: laundry detergent pods.

“One of my favorite things about volunteering with my grandpa is that he always saves the laundry detergent pods for me to count because that is my favorite item to inventory and put away,” Braelyn said.

For Gary, those ordinary Friday afternoons became some of the most meaningful memories he shares with his granddaughter.

“HYC has provided a really cool safe haven to bond with Braelyn,” he said. “That’s one of the bigger benefits.”

More Than What’s on the Shelf

For HYC, volunteers like Gary and Braelyn are an important part of what happens behind the scenes. But their impact goes beyond the tasks they complete. What started as something Gary and Braelyn did together has grown into a family tradition of giving back to HYC. Over the years, they have returned ready to help wherever they are needed, becoming familiar faces and a dependable part of the HYC community.

That kind of commitment matters. HYC’s work is made up of many moments — a youth coach picking up supplies for a young person, a youth finding something they need, a hygiene kit being ready when it is needed. Volunteers like Gary and his family help make those moments possible by keeping things moving behind the scenes. Their consistency is a reminder that lasting impact often comes from simply continuing to show up.