Tag Archives: Halloween

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.

 

 

Volunteers Are the Heart of The Hope Center

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In 2015 we celebrated 60 years of hope at The Hope Center. And a major part of what makes it possible for us to continue to provide services to men, women & children for free are all the hours of service given by faithful, caring friends in our community who serve as volunteers at The Hope Center.

Since 1955, The Hope Center has been a lighthouse to the needy in our community. Whether it was a man addicted to alcohol, a mother in need of clothing for her children, or a family who needs some food assistance, our doors have been open everyday to help those in need without asking a dime from any of our guests…or the tax-payer.

Friends, businesses, churches and other groups in the area have financially supported us from the very beginning allowing us to help so many people without being a burden on the tax payer.

But volunteers help supplement all of our finances by providing hours upon hours of compassion and hard work in many different ways at The Hope Center.

As we celebrated our 60th Anniversary in 2015, we had some special events taking place in the community which gave us some new opportunities for volunteers to get involved and make an impact in our city. But many of the areas that volunteers gave so many hours were activities and events that happen on a regular basis at The Hope Center.

In total, we had 719 different volunteers work more than 13,394 hours! That’s incredible! This is exactly why we think that our volunteers are the best!

These volunteers worked throughout the year in one or more of the following areas of service:

  1. Sorting room
  2. Wildside Youth events (www.wildsideyouth.com)
  3. Camp Wild (www.campwildusa.com)
  4. Chapel services
  5. Men’s ministry check-in desk and teaching classes
  6. Off site: baking cakes, making sandwiches, providing food for after chapel (these are on a regular basis)
  7. Outreach: 60th anniversary events (Rock the Run 5K; Party-in-the-Park; Ladies’ Tea; Anniversary banquet); Thanksgiving Day and more.

Our volunteers gave in so many different ways throughout the year. And we’re so thankful for each and every one of them!

But our volunteer opportunities didn’t stop in 2015. We are always looking for volunteers to join the ranks of our volunteer program all the time. We have so many different areas for volunteers to get involved.

In fact, our 2016 Party-in-the-Park will be held on Saturday, October 22 at Wheaton Park in Hagerstown. We are currently looking for volunteers for this fantastic outreach opportunity. This is a great service project for youth groups to get involved with in their own community.  We will need volunteers to help with food, games, music, face and nail painting, crowd control, popcorn machine, cotton candy, set up and tear down, etc.

If you, your family & friends, church group, civic club or more would like to volunteer at our upcoming Party-in-the-Park then give us a call today at 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net. We welcome you to help us reach our city and provide hope for those in need!

For more information about all the various volunteer opportunities at The Hope Center go to http://www.volunteerhagerstown.com.

 

 

Wildside’s Back-2-School Bash!!

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On September 25th, Wildside kicked-off their fall party season with the fun B2S (Back-2-School) party at the Trinity Center.

Approximately 60 kids attended the party that was full of games, prizes, food and most importantly, stories about Jesus!

The kids had a great time hanging out and having fun together! This was the first event since the end of Camp Wild 2012 and it was a fun “reunion” time for our staff, volunteers and kids!

One lucky young lady, Wy’keia, was the grand prize winner of the evening! She won a brand new Mickey Mouse backpack filled with new school supplies.

We want to thank all the staff and volunteers that helped to make the evening so much fun for all the kids that attended! If you are interested in volunteering and helping to make a difference in the life of a child in Hagerstown then contact our office at 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

The next Wildside event is coming up very soon! The extremely popular Fall-O-Ween party will take place on Tuesday, October 23rd from 4:30-7pm in the Trinity Center. This event is free for any kids between ages 5-12. For more info, go to www.wildsideyouth.com or Wildside at 301.739.1165.