A Bethesda-based organization that was created to aid Afghan refugees has expanded to helping underserved communities in need.
Yellow Boomerang, Inc. was created early this year, powered by volunteers and its giving projects, according to its organizers.
“We started doing one project after another and we eventually, during COVID, we started feeding food to insecure families and we also started doing a couple of projects and one of our volunteers says, ‘Hey, I’m an attorney, why don’t you turn this into a company?’” Yellow Boomerang President Anna Behnam said during a Yellow Boomerang block party held Saturday on the 5700 block of Mohican Road in Bethesda.
Behnam said the organization has since expanded its mission and aims to help underserved communities in Montgomery County.
“We want to make sure every child has a smile, has food, has a winter coat,” she said. “We take our projects as they come, so when someone calls me up and says, ‘Hey, we really need help with X,’ we assess it and that’s usually what we help with.”
According to Behnam, one of the organization’s biggest projects is to provide local elementary schools with recess enrichment items such as board games, balls, jump ropes, playing cards, giant Jenga playing pieces and giant Connect 4 playing pieces.
Yellow Boomerang organized Saturday’s block party on a section of Mohican Road to thank its supporters and to raise funds for its projects.
“It started off as doing a small cookout [and grew to] to ‘let’s have some kids games,’ so, of course I have to jump in: ‘Let’s do a moon bounce, let’s get it catered,’” said Behnam.
The block party included a free toy store featuring donated toys and books, live music, popcorn, cotton candy, two moon bounces for older and younger children, arts and crafts for kids and a silent auction. Proceeds from the event’s donations will be used to fund Yellow Boomerang projects, Behnam said.
The organization’s winter project is to provide a holiday dinner to 750 families.
“We’re going to provide them with a complete holiday meal kit, including a gift card for the meat, fruit, vegetables, including the potatoes. We have a baker that donated fresh bread,” Behnam said. “It’s going to be an amazing meal.”
According to the organization’s website, the holiday meal project is expected to cost about $35,000 and the project to provide recess enrichment items is estimated at about $20,000.
Block party co-host Scott Wilkerson said the party provided a way to introduce Yellow Boomerang and for the community to get to know the organization.
Those involved in Yellow Boomerang have a desire to “give back to the community and just take some time out to help do something that’ll benefit those in need in the area,” he said.