Tag Archives: Autumn

The Hope Center Family Came Together for an Evening of Fellowship and Fall Fun!

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For the first time since the pandemic started we were able to bring our staff, Board of Directors, Auxiliary, and residents together for an evening of fun, food, and fellowship.

We hosted our first Hope Center Family Fall Fest at our Hope Center Farm located just outside of Hagerstown on the Conococheague Creek.

All of our staff, Board members, Auxiliary, Foundations Life Recovery residents, and some graduates were invited to come to the farm for a relaxing evening of hanging out and having fun together.

We had a hayride, lawn games, and tons of delicious food! And on top of all the fun, God provided an absolutely gorgeous fall evening to make the event perfect.

We all had a great time feasting on all the fall flavors, catching up and getting to know each other, and playing games like horseshoes and corn hole.

And it was a very special evening because this was the first time that many of the men in our residential life recovery program, Foundations, had the opportunity to hang out with the staff, Board, and Auxiliary. Many of these men entered the program after all the pandemic rules and procedures went into effect. We’ve been unable to host big group events like this so it was a special night for everyone.

The guys in our Foundations program especially loved having a night outside the city to have fun and meet new people. In fact, the guys were so excited for the event that they created a corn hole tournament with brackets prior to arriving at the farm! They organized and hosted the tournament for anyone who wanted to play.

Everyone enjoyed the food and fellowship but, let’s be honest, the food was the star of this event! We had our staff, Board, and Auxiliary all bring fall foods to share with everyone. The Hope Center provided the meat – and boy, was it good! Dillan Izer, son of staff members Aimee and Terry, spent hours overnight to make the most perfect and delicious smoked pulled pork. We’re so thankful for Dillan volunteering his night to prepare the meats for our picnic! The meat was definitely worth it!!

It was so nice to finally be able to host a large event with our staff, Board, Auxiliary, and residents. Covid has been a challenge for all of us but these moments together make us so appreciative of all the wonderful people God has put in our lives. We’re so thankful for our staff who have worked so tirelessly during the pandemic to keep our doors open and programs operating while also keeping everyone safe and healthy. God protected and provided during the pandemic and we’re so grateful to Him for all He did during these trying times.

As the pandemic slowly releases its grip on the world we’re excited for more opportunities to come together like this. And we’re really looking forward to the return of large events that include our wonderful volunteers and community guests! Continue to pray for protection for each other and continue doing what is necessary to keep each other safe during this pandemic.

Give an Old Suit New Life

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Fall is less than two weeks away and the new season is a perfect time for a new suit. And Ingram’s Mens Shop in Hagerstown is giving you a chance to not only receive money off a new suit but also give back to your community!

During the month of September, when you trade in one of your suits Ingram’s Mens Shop will give you $100 towards a new suit AND donate your suit to The Hope Center for men in our program & community who need a suit.

You know the feeling of confidence that a suit gives and Ingram’s Mens Shop is the place to go to get a quality new suit. And Ingram’s wants to make sure that men in our area who are starting over have a chance to feel that same feeling of confidence in a suit.

We’re in the business of putting a new man in a suit – and you can help put that man in his very own suit. Men in our Foundations Life Recovery program give 13 months of their lives confronting the addictions and issues that have cost them everything – family, friends, jobs, housing, and their confidence. We work with them to help them become the amazing men God created them to be. Providing them with a suit of their own is just the icing on the cake of their success. The gifted suit can be an encouragement and motivation for these guys as they venture back into the workforce and rebuilding their lives.

Please help us spread the word by telling your coworkers, church, family, friends, and neighbors. Follow us on Facebook and share our posts to your social media followers.

Ingram’s Mens Shop is located at 18047 Garland Groh Blvd in Hagerstown. Visit http://www.ingramsmensshop.com to check out the high quality selection of suits and other apparel at Hagerstown’s premier mens shop.

To learn more about our rehabilitation program please visit https://www.hagerstownhopecenter.com/rehabilitation-

Happy, Happy Halloween!

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Today may be Halloween but Wildside Youth started celebrating a little early!

Last Tuesday around 60 kids from Hagerstown enjoyed an evening of costumes, games, spooks, stories, and plenty of great food at our annual Fall-O-Ween party. The Trinity Center was transformed into a Halloween-themed carnival where kids were able to play all sorts of different games where they could win various Halloween prizes. In addition to the carnival games, the kids braved a spooky tunnel that delivered them into a “spooky room” with more Halloween fun!

The night wasn’t all games and prizes. Nothing is more exciting on Halloween than a good story which is exactly what Wildside delivered. The kids heard the tale of Tartan the Werewolf who helped to tell a valuable tale to the kids about how God loves us and welcomes us into His family even though He is perfect and we are not. Based off the verse, “even if my father and mother abandoned me, the Lord would take me in”, the story is helping to remind these kids that they are so important and valuable to God and they are never alone or forgotten.

But is it really a party without some great food? Volunteers cooked up some scary good food for the kids who came and provided Halloween treats for everyone. Everyone had a great time at Fall-O-Ween but we couldn’t have done it without all of the staff and volunteers who put so much time and work into making these events so much fun for all of the kids who attend. And we can’t forget to thank each of you who help to support The Hope Center through prayer, financial support, and other means to help us continue to keep all activities, programs and services free for everyone, including kids, in our community! Thank you for helping provide such a wonderfully frightening night for these kids!

Every year Fall-O-Ween is a fun evening of Halloween fun where kids can be themselves and enjoy this holiday in a safe environment. But the Wildside fun is just getting started! There are plenty more parties and events coming up including Wildside’s Thanksgiving party in a few short weeks as well as hosting some games and other activities during our Great Hagerstown Thanksgiving Feast on Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd, starting at 11am in the Trinity Center. For more information please call 301.739.1165 and visit http://www.wildsideyouth.com.

Another Great Party-in-the-Park!

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On Saturday, October 22nd we hosted our second annual fall Party-in-the-Park at Wheaton Park in Hagerstown.

This Halloween themed event is designed to be an outreach event by going into our surrounding neighborhoods and meeting the many wonderful families and residents of these areas.

Originally meant to be an actual park party, we eventually moved our party into the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center due to high winds. We are very thankful to the staff of the  Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center for offering the building for use for our event. We appreciate being a part of such a kind and giving community!

Even though our event was indoors, that didn’t stop anyone, including our 30 volunteers, from having fun! From games, to face painting, entertainment, food and more our volunteers worked hard to make this event a success.

We enjoy being able to go out into our community to build stronger relations with our neighbors. This may only be our second time hosting this party but it most certainly won’t be our last. We want to build strong bonds with our neighbors so that we can work together to make Hagerstown a better place.

This event was sponsored by our Ladies’ Auxiliary. All the expenses of this event were underwritten by the Auxiliary and we are so thankful for their commitment to this ministry and our community. As you can see our Ladies’ Auxiliary are a very important and beneficial part of The Hope Center. This event and many other events are sponsored by this wonderful group of women. If you are interested in being a part of our Ladies’ Auxiliary then call 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net. We are always looking for more women to get involved and help us keep events like the Party-in-the-Park going year after year.

As successful as this party was, we know that we couldn’t have done it without the help from all of our great volunteers! We firmly believe that we have the best volunteers in the tri-state. Thank you to each of the volunteers who gave hours of their Saturday to help us create so much magic and fun for our guests! We welcome you back to help us with any other event or activity that we’re hosting. And we need to give a special shout out to Gene Ridenour, president of our Board of Directors, and Jeff Reed. Both of these men have been very vital to all of our party events. Gene entertains kids and adults alike with his balloon modeling and Jeff makes everyone happy by being the best grillmaster in Hagerstown! Thank you both for giving of your time to reach our community.

If you’re interested in volunteering at The Hope Center then please go to http://www.volunteerhagerstown.com and learn more about the various ways you can be involved. You can also contact us by calling 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

 

 

Our Pantry Needs You!

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“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” Matthew 25:35

Since our beginning in 1955, one of our missions was to make sure that the hungry in Hagerstown had a welcomed place to eat. As our society has changed and economic troubles have hurt families, our mission to feed the less fortunate has changed from not just serving a hot plate of food but also making sure that families had food in their own cupboards to help them get through the month.

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Our pantry is looking a little too similar to Old Mother Hubbard’s these days. To be honest, it’s becoming a little difficult to keep our food bags filled with a nice variety of food.

Please consider helping us keep our pantry full for all of our daily guests, our residents and all our neighbors who need food bags for their homes.

The next time you’re at the grocery store, why not pick up a few of these items and drop them off? Or your church, Sunday School class, workplace, school, civic club, Boy/Girl scout troop or neighborhood could host a food drive to collect some of these much needed items.

Please help us fight hunger and hopelessness in Hagerstown!

PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED:
  • Macaroni & cheese boxed dinners
  • Hamburger Helper or similar boxed dinners
  • Spaghettios, Ravioli, or similar heat & serve pasta
  • Creamy peanut butter (15-16 oz. jars please)
  • Cans of soup (all varieties and sizes – except no cream soup please)
  • Ramen Noodles
  • Tuna (5 oz. cans please)
  • Any canned meat (Spam, chicken, potted meat, etc.)
  • Rice A Roni (all varieties)
  • Pork ‘n Beans
  • Spaghetti (1 lb. pkg)
  • Spaghetti sauce (cans or jars 24-26 oz.)

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Thank you for helping us feed our city! We appreciate your commitment to following God’s call to help take care of the poor and less fortunate in our community. For more information about our food program or to talk to someone about food drives or other ways you can help, please call 301.739.1165 or email hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

It’s Harvest Time!

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Even though summer is coming to an unfortunate end, we can at least celebrate the arrival of the fall harvest!

The local harvest has been good and God has really supplied for us this year. We have had an abundance of produce donated this year including, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, corn, apples, grapes, zucchini, cabbage and lettuce.

Recently we had a large amount of green beans donated. Some of our staff and ladies in our Auxiliary helped to snap the green beans and prepare them for the freezer. These ladies worked from 9am until noon preparing the beans. At the end of it all we had about 20 gallons of green beans placed into our freezers!

All of the fresh produce that was donated will help to feed hundreds to thousands of people in the community throughout the fall and winter. The donation of the fruits and vegetables helps to keep our food costs down and gives us the opportunity to not just feed hungry people but give them good food to improve their overall quality of health.

We are so thankful to everyone who donates food in one way or another. We appreciate having fresh produce and local meats to serve to our residents and guests, and we are so thankful for all the food drives and bags of packaged foods that are given to keep our panty stocked.

We’ve seen an increase in the number of daily lunch guests throughout the summer. As the weather begins to get colder and the economy continues to struggle, our food resources become a vital part of our ministry and an important part of the everyday lives of our neighbors.

Thanks again to everyone who helps to keep The Hope Center stocked and ready to feed anyone in need!