Tag Archives: kids

Wildside’s Birthday Bash Kicks Off the Party Season!

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Imagine one giant party to celebrate everyone’s birthday. Sounds kinda wild, doesn’t it? Well Wildside Youth Ministries likes to do things a little different so they kicked off their school year party season with a huge birthday party celebration!

All the kids who attended the Birthday Bash on September 25th were able to celebrate their birthday. Each month was given a celebration and no one was left out of the fun! 52 kids ages 5-12 attended the first Wildside party of the season where they played birthday themed carnival games, painted faces, made crafts and enjoyed some great food.

But the most important part of the evening was learning about having the most important birthday: a spiritual birthday. The kids in attendance learned all about the importance of being born again and following Jesus.

Wildside is the youth ministry at The Hope Center. In addition to monthly large event parties during the school year, Wildside hosts Sunday Night Wild on select Sunday evenings during the school year as well as The Crew which is the student leadership development program for older kids in the program. And each summer Wildside hosts Camp Wild, a free day camp for kids in July & August. All Wildside activities are free for kids ages 5-12. Learn more about Wildside and upcoming events by visiting http://www.wildsideyouth.com.

Your financial donations to The Hope Center help fund these important activities for kids in Hagerstown. We are able to keep Wildside and our other programs and services for free for our guests because of generous and faithful supporters in our community. Thank you for your support of The Hope Center as we continue to reach everyone in our community – even kids – for Christ!

Want to learn more about donating or volunteering at The Hope Center? Go to http://www.hagerstownhopecenter.com to get all the info you need on how to become a partner with us.

“We Just Wanted to Help”

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Cuteness alert: The Turner kids may just be the sweetest thing in Hagerstown – which is good because they used that sweetness to bake some delicious foods for a bake sale that they recently hosted at their house.

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Cassie, age 11, Mae, age 9, Bethany, age 7, and Joshua, age 5, are little entrepreneurs who sold all sorts of homemade mouth-watering treats like chocolate chip cookies, brownies, rice krispie treats, oatmeal cookies, and lemonade.

They invited church friends and neighbors to stop by and support their bake sale. They had 37 customers ranging in age 2 – 96 years old!

But the Turner kids didn’t have a bake sale for personal profit: their goal was to raise money to help others by supporting various agencies in the area, including The Hope Center. So after their bake sale the kids, escorted by their parents, Joe & Katie, stopped by to drop off a check for $22.

“We just wanted to help”, one of the kids said as their mom was saying that they drive by The Hope Center often and felt and just wanted to give to our mission.

We are so thankful for the kind and generous spirit of this family, and especially these four incredible kids. It’s so awesome to see kids getting involved and making a difference in their community by supporting The Hope Center and other organizations in the area. The donation from their bake sale will help to feed people who stop by for food bags or a daily meal, or will help to provide shelter for a homeless man who would be sleeping on the streets. God can take a simple bake sale and use it to save lives and change lives. And how exciting is it to think that when these kids reach Heaven they will see the full extent of how God used lemonade and cookies to further His kingdom and reach people for eternity!

Thank you so much Cassie, Mae, Bethany, and Joshua for your generous heart to help others for Christ! And the next time you have a bake sale we’ll be sure to stop by to taste how sweet helping others truly is!

If you’d like to learn how you can donate and help others just like the Turner kids then please call us at 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net. And to get a full scope of the programs and services we provide free-of-charge for our community please visit http://www.hagerstownhopecenter.com.

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.

 

 

National Peanut Butter Day!!

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Now this is a day to celebrate!! National Peanut Butter Day!

Here are some interesting peanut butter facts according to nationalpeanutboard.org:

-The average child will consume 1,500 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches before he/she graduates from high school.

-Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter

-Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

-Americans consume on average over 1.5 billion pounds of peanut butter and peanut products a year!

-Peanut butter is consumed in more than 90% of American households.

As you can see, America loves peanut butter! And at the Hope Center, we do too! That’s why it’s always at the top of our “needs” list. We use it for recipes in meals for our residents & guests, in food bags/boxes for hungry families and we use it each year for Camp Wild.

Peanut butter is one of the most important staples for our food bag ministry. One simple jar can be a huge health blessing to needy families with kids. Peanut butter can serve as a sweet treat while also giving kids important nutrients.  According to nationalpeanutboard.org, peanuts and peanut butter contain over 30 essential nutrients and peanuts have a higher antioxidant over grapes, Concord grape juice, green tea, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli and carrots to name a few.

So grab a spoon and your favorite brand of peanut butter and join us in celebrating the All-American treat! And when you go to the grocery store this week, pick up an extra jar for families in need. That way all of us can celebrate National Peanut Butter Day for years to come!

Even Soap Can Make a Difference!

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Imagine yourself working in your yard or garden on a hot, muggy summer day. Picture yourself working up a nice sweat whilst hiking a long, dusty mountain trail. Or think of those long, fun, hot days at amusement parks. We all can relate to one of those type of scenarios. We enjoy the feeling of sweating because it gives us the sense of accomplishment. But nothing feels better than taking a nice, long shower after a long day of labor. The feeling that a good shower or bath gives is energizing! Instantly, you feel refreshed and ready to take on the next activity.

We all enjoy the peace and refreshment that a shower provides. And it’s a daily activity that we probably take for granted. Just imagine how different your day would be without clean, warm water or soap and shampoo.

Unfortunately, the homeless in our community know that feeling all too well. Wandering from city to city, sleeping in parks, following train tracks, whatever their activity, the homeless often times go without basic American necessities, like bathing.

Bathing is an amazing activity. Not only does it rejuvenate the body but it also awakens the mind. For some of these transients, the simple act of showering and cleaning up helps to break down barriers and restore some self worth.

At the Hope Center, we understand the value of a shower. As silly as that sounds, we know the importance that bathing has to the individual as well as society. So when a transient arrives at the Hope Center, he is given a bag of toiletries – just for him!

The bag is full of travel-sized essentials like soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, disposable razors, shave cream and a washcloth. When available, we also provide a comb, tissues, floss and lotion. The transients are also given a towel to use during their stay at the Hope Center. The towels are washed each day so that each man has a fresh towel to use.

Men in Foundations, our 13-month residential program, are given full-sized toiletries. Once they are more established in the program, they are able to purchase their toiletries with the stipend they receive. If they are unable to afford items, we do make sure they receive what is needed. Residents also receive a new towel, washcloth and pillow.

Would you like to help us improve the quality of life for the many men who come into the Hope Center? If so, how about this weekend when you’re out shopping for your family, try to grab an extra pack of soap or some travel-sized bottles of shampoo?  Be on the look out for special deals at various stores. Whenever you find a free sample size, think of us! Maybe you could raid your bathroom closet or under your sink and find all those free soaps and shampoos from hotels. Throw them into a bag and drop them off. We’ll use them! If you’d like to donate mouthwash, please be sure that it is the alcohol-free kind. We do not give out mouthwash that contains alcohol as a safety measure.

Putting together a toiletry kit is an activity that kids can get involved with as well. After you’ve collected your toiletries, the kids can pack them in a ziplock bag and include a note or card of encouragement for the transients or residents. It’s a nice way to brighten someone’s day!

Why not talk to your Sunday School class, youth group, office, civic club or another group you’re involved with about collecting these much needed items? By donating items like these, we can use our monetary resources in other ways to reach people in need.

If you’d like more info about how you can help or you’d like to schedule a time to drop off these items, please call our office at 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

It’s a Christmas Tradition!

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Each year the young children from John Wesley Day Nursery (Potomac St, Hagerstown) purchase winter gear for kids in need in Hagerstown.

This year the children decorated their Christmas tree with the new gloves, hats and scarves all purchased to make sure that kids in Hagerstown stay warm through the winter months.

The families in our Wildside Youth program look forward to receiving new hats, gloves and scarves for their children each year. We are extremely thankful that Linda Baker and the rest of the staff and families of John Wesley Day Nursery give this kind donation each year. And it’s never too early to teach children the importance of giving to others and helping those in need!

If your children are in need or you know of a family that is struggling and could use hats, scarves and/or gloves for their children, please contact our office at 301.739.1165 or hagerstownrescue@verizon.net to request winter gear.

If you are interested in helping to make sure that kids in Hagerstown are warm this winter, just give us a call or email and see how you can get involved. Or you could just go to Target, Walmart or your favorite store and purchase child sized hats, scarves or gloves and drop them off at our Adminstrative Office.**

**If you would like to donate new hats, scarves or gloves for kids in need, please DO NOT drop them off at our donation drop/sorting building or our Thrift Stores. These specific items need to come to our Administrative Office to make sure they are given to families in need. Thanks!