2017 Year in Review
We have been busy this past year in Houses of H.O.P.E. feeding people, raising money to help those in need, having parties for Senior Citizens, and more!
In March we had a St. Patrick’s Day party at the local battered Women and Children’s shelter. (To maintain privacy we can’t take too many pictures but here are some kids playing and some of the delicious food we served.) At that event we spent the day with the children & mom’s enjoying food, games & prizes
In April we went to visit the Senior Citizens and had an Easter party complete with a rousing game of Bingo!
In May Houses of Hope had a fundraiser with TAPP’S. We had a raffle, a corn hole tournament, delicious food and free dance lessons. All of the proceeds went toward feeding the homeless.
In June we went to the Avalon Battered women’s and children’s shelter. We had a fun party for the kids while the mom’s learned how to make freezer meals. Supplies and recipes were supplied for the women. They learned how to make a total of 5 freezer meals.
In July Operation Gratitude was our project. We collected supplies to send care packages to 100 military personnel.
With August school was looming, so H.O.H. collected school supplies for Hotel Kids We were able to supply 100 kids with school supplies along with clothes sp they could start the school year off right!
September was a busy month! In September we:
- Went back to the Senior Citizens home for another fun day playing Bingo!
- Went to Avalon Shelter and provided babysitting services so the mom’s could have a day free of children to do something for themselves. (Self Care is so important)
- Had a wonderful back to school party for the Hotel Kids
In October we had a Yard Sale to raise money for the Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays, so we can provide food and gifts to the shelter and other needy families.
In November we partner with Operation Gratitude to collect supplies to send 100 Care Packages to Military for Christmas.
Thank you to all who supported us, so we could support others!!
Valentines Day for Seniors in Newport News VA
Valentines is always thought of as a day for love. But what about those who may have lost their loves after years of being together? Valentine’s Day is about honoring and celebrating love in all its forms. It’s the perfect day to express love and care for seniors, and to help them through the sadness that the day may elicit. Valentine’s Day may be a day of emptiness and loss for a senior who has lost a beloved partner. Use the day to express love and support for seniors, and to let them know what their love means to others.
I think about my best friends grandmother who spent nearly 60 years with the love of her life, and the last 15 missing him. I find it unfathomable the pain she must feel not having her love lying next to her each night, not having his strong hands to hold, or his lips to kiss. While I’m sure there is not a single day that passes without his memory in her mind, I imagine Valentine’s Day brings some added weight to her sorrow.
Her story is unfortunately not unique. Many seniors are widowed or living alone, and finding a special way to show them some extra love on Valentine’s Day can make a big difference.
With that in mind, Wanda and Houses of H.O.P.E. ventured out to Berkley Village in Newport News to bring some love and joy to seniors who have brought love and joy to others for so many years. Berkley Village Apartments is a senior low income housing apartment subsidized by the federal governments HUD (Housing and Urban Development Division).
Home made cards were made by 4th & 5th graders, cake pops were made by 2 girls who are in kindergarten & 4th grade, goodies bags were donated by college students. They were also provided with information regarding keeping a healthy heart.
Have a look!
Hotel Kids- Help for those who need it!
Houses of Hope works with many Non profit organizations, and love to work with them to help those in need. We have worked with youth, elders, adults, military, bereaved parents, among others. Our mission is to help those in need, and we work very hard to make that happen as much as we possibly can. One of the organizations that we work with, especially as it gets cold, is Hotel Kids.
This is an organization that provides aid to homeless children and their parents. The families are placed into hotels until there is available Section 8 housing for them. However, this is a temporary fix, and the families can only stay in the hotels for 28 days. After that 28 days they have to move because Hampton and Newport News do not want anyone living for extended periods in hotels or motels that don’t have kitchens, so they enacted similar length-of-stay laws that say “It shall be unlawful for any person … to stay … longer than (30) days in a (60) day period.”
This is problematic for many families with no other alternative, and in truth it is possible to plug in a crock pot or a skillet and cook in the room. There are some was to get a waiver with the city, and if you get an approval, Hampton has a 30-day extension, and Newport News a 90-day extension.
Hotel Kid works to help these families by providing things such as food, clothing, diapers, baby supplies, blankets, furniture, towels, shoes, toiletries, etc. The organization is also in need of storage units to store items collected to help our local homeless families in need.
This Organization is also sponsoring some events with Santa so these kids can be provided with toys and http://wavy.com/2014/05/12/new-laws-could-force-hotel-families-to-the-streets/much needed items for Christmas.
Their Facebook page has lots of updates as well as videos and photos of the wonderful things Hotel Kids is doing to assist and bring joy to these families.
https://www.facebook.com/HOTELKIDS.ORG/
All gifts both monetary and items are tax deductible!
Lets work together to make the lives of homeless families in our local area better! Together we can make a difference that is lasting and meaningful!!
Please watch this story about these families done by Wavy 10
Thank you for your support!
Giving the gift of comfort and love to grieving parents
Operation Hope of Hampton Roads is a local group in Hampton Roads that provides memory boxes to parents who are grieving the loss of an baby. Last year we here at Houses of H.O.P.E. partnered with them and helped to send 40 boxes to give these parents a small piece of comfort. Our goal for this year is to help provide 60 memory boxes to local families in their time of sadness.
These boxes include things such as journals, canvas and ink, pads for hand and foot prints, flameless memory candles, baby rings and other keepsake jewelry, homemade baby blankets and hats as well of grief resources. Additionally there are letters of love and encouragement from other mothers who have faced the loss of a baby through.
You can help by donating $25.00 to provide items for the boxes or you may purchase items to place in the box. We are also looking for people who have the skills to knit or crochet blankets and hats. Blanket size is 18x 18 and should be soft pastel colors so they don’t denote a specific gender. The hats should be small to fit a newborn, however, we need more that are small enough for a premature baby’s head.
These boxes will go to various hospitals in Hampton Roads to provide for families dealing with the unthinkable and tragic cases of infant loss at birth or shortly after. These boxes are given at the hospital at the time of the passing of the baby so the families will have some memory items of their baby that will last a lifetime.
October is National infant loss month, so we would like to receive all donations by October 15th.
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