Tag Archives: recycling

Recycling and Redemption

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Along with our Thrift Stores & Donation Center, our Recycling Center is back up and running following a closure due to COVID-19. We’re happy to be able to start receiving cardboard to be recycled again.

Since reopening we’ve been blessed with a brand new baler for our Recycling Center! We want to thank Terry Izer for helping us with finding a new baler, transporting it to our Recycling Center and for training our team on how to operate the new baler. Our previous baler was old and continued to break down so this new baler is going to be a huge relief for the staff in our Recycling Center.

Baling 3One of our Recycling Center operators, Danny, is actually one of our recent graduates! Danny successfully completed the program and graduated in February with three other guys from our Foundations Life Recovery program.

Originally from Wilmington, DE, Danny actually ended up at The Hope Center by choice. After completing various detox and rehabilitation programs, Danny was given the choice to go to a recovery center and he chose The Hope Center.

While at The Hope Center Danny attended Gateway Church in Williamsport. It was there, just days before Christmas in 2018, that Danny accepted Christ and became a believer.

Danny’s favorite verse is John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” What an incredible verse to claim as a man who was addicted and destroying his life – now he has found the path to life and truth! And what a difference this verse has made in his life!

Upon completing Foundations Life Recovery at The Hope Center Danny reflects back on the life lessons learned. The first life lesson he states is simply a verse to help stay on the right path, “Therefore submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.

Danny is fully aware that the key to his success is to “put the Lord Jesus before anything and make Him your center point and foundation.”

Following his graduation from Foundations Life Recovery Danny is optimistic about his DSC_0429future. He’s devoted to “walk according to the spirit and not the flesh.” He’s hoping to deepen the relationships that he’s made. He claims Proverbs 3:5 & 6 “trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean into your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” as the verse for his future.

Currently Danny is working in our Recycling Center. The coronavirus pandemic put future plans on pause, as it did for the majority of us, but Danny is still optimistic about his future. One of his post-graduation goals is to get his drivers license! He was in the process of accomplishing this goal when the DMV shut down due to the pandemic but he’s excited to finally be able to restart the process of achieving his license. In addition to getting his license, Danny is ready to get out on his own. He had applied for housing prior to the outbreak but now things are moving forward for him in pursuing housing of his own!

We are so excited for all the great things happening for Danny! We pray for his continued success spiritually, emotionally, and professionally. The pandemic could’ve easily derailed his success but Danny has stuck with what he learned in Foundations and is keeping his eye on Christ.

Please continue to pray for Danny and the others guys who have graduated or are still working towards graduation from our life recovery program. Rebuilding a life isn’t easy but these guys have made the most important step to recovery: admitting they need help and asking for it. Whether they just graduated or just enrolled in the program, each day is challenging. But knowing that the community is praying for them and supporting them is the encouragement that many of these guys need to keep going strong! Thank you for your continued support – in many various ways – at The Hope Center. You are a part of the success story that is Danny and others like him.

If you’d like to learn more about the various programs and services at The Hope Center, or you’d like to start partnering with us to help change lives then please visit http://www.hagerstownhopecenter.com.

If you, or someone you know, would like more info or would like to enroll in our Foundations Life Recovery program then please call 301.739.1165 or email foundations@hagerstownhopecenter.com.

One Major Breakdown, Multiple Headaches & Eight Good Samaritans

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In May the baler in our Recycling Program broke down and was inoperable for approximately 3 weeks. While the baler was broke down our Recycling Center got backed up with piles of cardboard that we were unable to bale and truck away.

But then God sent a few good Samaritans, or angels even, to help us get back on track. But before we get to that act of kindness, maybe we should get you up to speed on what exactly our Recycling Center does.

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Most of you know all about the various ministries, programs and services at The Hope Center. But one area that many of you might not be as familiar with – or never even knew existed – is our Recycling Center.

Our Recycling Center is open M-F from 9am – 2pm (closed for lunch 11:30-12:30) and Saturday 9am – 11:30am. Our Recycling Center is manned by one of our Foundations Life Recovery program residents who is assigned to the baling room area of our Recycling Center as a part of the work assignment in the rehabilitation program. The program men who work the baling room are trained to operate the baler and also gain certification to operate a forklift.

The job of the Recycling Center attendant is to receive donations of cardboard; break down boxes; fill baler with the flattened cardboard; bale the cardboard and wrap with baling wires; and finally unload and stack the bales. At 33-36 bales we schedule a truck to pick them up.

In addition to recycling cardboard we also recycle old clothing and rags. The process for baling clothing is the same as cardboard. Now, you may be wondering what clothing ends up in the Recycling Center – good question! Any clothing that we are not able to sell in our Thrift Stores or donate to locals or missions agencies is sent to the baling room to be recycled into something new.  While we do recycle clothing and rags, we recycle much more cardboard because we try to find as many uses for clothing as possible before recycling it.

The Recycling Center is an important, but generally invisible, part of our ministry. So the unfortunate break down of our baler caused quite a few headaches.

And that’s when God sent Terry Izer to help! Terry is the Maintenance Service Manager,  Hagerstown Regional Maintenance of the Maryland Department of Public Safety. But he’s also the husband of Aimee, the manager of our Thrift Stores and Sorting Department at The Hope Center.

Terry is basically a jack of all trades and a master of them all! On top of his busy work schedule and his personal hobbies and family life, Terry lends a helping hand around The Hope Center whenever there’s a need. And this time we had a desperate need that Terry was just the man for. Terry gave of his time to volunteer to help repair our baler.

Even though Terry worked his magic and repaired our baler, the backup of cardboard was already an overwhelming job for our one worker. So Terry put the word out to some of his employees that help was needed to bale up the cardboard that had piled up.

After working their 7am – 3pm shift on Thursday, June 6th, six of his men came in to help get the job done! What a huge blessing these men were to The Hope Center!

We want to thank Steve Staley & Andy Koontz, welders who helped repair the baler, Bob Stine, Randy Mills, Mark Thomas, Marty Kending, Matt Reel, and of course, Terry Izer for all their help and their volunteering spirit!

 

Winter Weather Closures: Feb 5, 2018

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Due to inclement weather today, February 5th, 2018, the following will be closed:

  • Chambersburg Thrift Store
  • Donation Drop Dock in Hagerstown
  • Recycling Center in Hagerstown

UPDATE: Our Hagerstown Thrift Store is opening today at 10:30am.

The following is open and operating on regular schedule:

  • Soup Line (doors open at 12:45pm)
  • Overnight (homeless) Shelter

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at 301.739.1165 or hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

Please be careful in this icy weather! And have a great Monday!

RTR Pirate PrincessAnd if the snow, ice, and cold have got you ready for spring then why not take some time to register for our annual Rock the Run 5k: Pirates vs Princess! Go to http://www.rocktherunhagerstown.com to register for only $20 right now! Proceeds from the 5k go towards our overnight shelter and food programs including the upcoming and much needed refurbishment and expansion of our dining room and kitchen. Invite family and friends to join you in April at Fairgrounds Park! Go to http://www.rocktherunhagertown.com to learn more.

Recycling Update

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Effective Immediately:

Recycle EarthWe’re sorry to say that we can no longer accept newspapers for recycling. We apologize for any issues this may cause.

We do still accept cardboard and rags for recycling. If you have any questions or would like to know more about our recycling program please call 301.739.1165 or email hagerstownrescue@verizon.net.

Thank you.

Let’s Recycle Together!

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At The Hope Center, we are all about recycling and reusing products to save money and protect God’s creation. We have a recycling program that works with cardboard, paper, and rags. Sales of this recyclable material help underwrite the cost of our many programs and ministries, but it also keeps this items from becoming trash in our ever growing dumps.

And now we need you to help us with a little recycling. You know all those plastic bags you stuff full of groceries and other items at your favorite stores, well, we need them.

Our Thrift Stores are in desperate need of those plastic bags!

plastic bag 1

We reuse your used plastic bags for shoppers in our Thrift Stores. Using these bags helps us keep our costs down by not purchasing new bags and it keeps new plastic bags from becoming trash.

If you have piles of plastic bags and don’t really know what to do with them, donate them! We’ll use them. And we’ll urge our shoppers to donate them back to us to be reused again and again.

As you go shopping this weekend, collect up your bags and drop them by our offices or our thrift stores instead of throwing them out.

This is a very small way to help in a big way!

To donate your used plastic bags, please call 301.739.1165, email hagerstownrescue@verizon.net or just drop them off at our Thrift Stores in Hagerstown & Chambersburg or at our Administrative Office in Hagerstown. Directions and hours are listed below.

Thank you for helping us!

The Hagerstown Thrift Store is located on the corner of Walnut & Church Streets with parking in our central lot off of Church Street. The Hagerstown Thrift Store is open M-Sat 9am – 5pm.

The Chambersburg Thrift Store is located at 64 S. Main Street with metered street parking and also parking in the rear. The Chambersburg Thrift Store is open M-Sat from 9am – 4pm.

Our Administrative Office is located on our main campus across our parking lot from the thrift store on Church Street between Walnut and Prospect Streets. Our office is open M – F from 8:30am – 4:30pm.

Happy Earth Day!

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“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31a

earth

Today is the day that America, and the rest of the world, focuses on this incredible planet that we live on.

While some of the focus is spent worshiping the creation, as Christians we can celebrate Earth Day by worshiping the Creator.

Celebrating Earth Day is a wonderful opportunity to remind our children, friends and community about how beautifully, wonderfully and intricately the earth was created.

With each flower that blooms, each bird that chirps, each river that flows, and each web that’s spun, God has His hand in every delicate detail of this fascinating planet.

And when we look at the complexity of every life form on this planet, and the delicate nature of this incredible ecosystem, we must recognize the fact that it was designed so brilliantly and done so with such care and love.

Because of the love that God put into His creation, we as humans, and especially followers of Christ, must do our best to preserve and protect His creation.

Even at The Hope Center, we are helping to protect God’s creation by recycling clothing, shoes, purses, metal, paper and cardboard. By recycling these materials, we are protecting the unnecessary demolition of forests while also saving valuable land from being turned into trash dumps.

Recycled bales of cardboard weigh, on average, 850-1100 pounds. We recycle approximately 36 bales every 2 months. Bales of clothing weigh, on average, 900-1200 pounds. We recycle approximately 39 bales every 3 months.

Clothing is sent to Third World nations to be handed out by missions groups and humanitarian organizations to help provide the basic of physical needs to people who just don’t have the ability to clothe themselves.

It’s important that we worship our creative God by protecting, as best we can, this wonderful creation that He gave us dominion over.

So take some time to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation today.  Look up at the sun, stop to smell the beautiful flowers in bloom, walk through the green grass and pause to thank the Creator for such an elaborate and brilliantly designed world for us to enjoy! And remember that each animal, insect, tree and flower and everything else that you see has been spoken into existance by the same God that knows you inside & out and loves you more than you can imagine!

Celebrate God’s Creation!

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Happy Earth Day!

Some people may be surprised to see us celebrating Earth Day. But as Christians, each day should be a celebration of the wonderful world that God created!

Just take a few moments and slow down your daily routine to really look around at the beauty of the creation. Stop to watch the bees work in the gardens. Take a minute to listen to the birds sing. Actually stop and smell the roses.

Each living and non-living thing on this planet was crafted and created with care by our most marvelous and creative God! Think about how wonderful earth really is. From north to south, east to west, God has made a vast world full of different climates, beautiful and varied environments, spectacular species of animals and vibrant human cultures to compliment!

Each day on planet earth is another day to just stop and recognize God’s infinite creativity and splendor. And when you look around and see all that is beautiful in this broken world, remember that He is creating another world that is perfect beyond our imagination!

And as you take the time to admire the plush, green grass, the pink & purple blossoms and soak in the warmth of the sun, remember to also protect His creation. We can all do our part to worship God the Creator by taking care of His creation!

At The Hope Center, we’ve been a recycling facility in Hagerstown for many years. While this is an extra form of income to help fund the many ministries, this is also our way as Christians to be good stewards of this magnificent world that God gave us!

We recycle cardboard, newspaper and clothing in our Baling & Recycling Center. But we’ve also started recycling plastics and aluminum in our other facilities.

Taking care of the earth is not about worshiping the trees or “mother nature”. It’s about showing respect to God for His creation. He gave us dominion over this planet and with that power comes the responsibility to use the resources to our advantage and also take care of the earth to give our children and grandchildren a healthy, beautiful place to live in the future.

God created the earth to be a habitat for life (Isaiah 45:18). We have a responsibility to God to be good stewards of the earth He entrusted to us. We cannot exploit the earth’s resources in greed and technological ambition, nor must we care for the environment more than we care for God’s most precious creation, people.

We must also be careful not to neglect the needs of our fellow man. God called us to help each other. While He loves all of His creation, the most important to Him is mankind. After all, we were made in His image (Genesis 1:26). The most precious of all of God’s creation was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14).

So take some time to thank God today for the air that you breathe. Thank Him for the wonderful color display that He gives us each spring. Thank Him for the resources of this planet that He created so that we could have an abundant life. And be sure to do your part to keep the earth clean and leave it a better place so that the future generations can see how magnificent God is through His creation!