Happy Fall to all of our Friends from Hope Farm
It was a very busy summer. Below are some of the highlights of the past couple months:
· With the continued increase in food cost, we are experiencing a significant increase in the number of people we serve. We are seeing more moms and children on Wednesday nights at the Community Dinner at Middlebury Chapel. The operation of lunch making has moved to the Middlebury Chapel location on Sunday afternoons. Volunteers are always welcome at these two critical functions of Hope Farm. If you or a group are interested in serving or cooking for 200+ people please contact us. We would love to plug you in!
· This year Hope Farm has started to participate with other non-profit groups to collaborate on social issues. These organizations are involved with Recovery, Mental Health, Single Moms, Teens, Youth Services and other Homeless Concerns. Our group is called Better Together. It is a blessing to share needs, concerns, and vision with community advocates and like-minded organizations.
· Hope Farm Treasurer, Dana Matthews and I wrote our first grant and were chosen as recipients from the Summit County Opioid Healing Fund through the Akron Community Foundation.
It is an honor to have people come alongside us. We would like to acknowledge the following:
· Front Street Music – Summer Car Wash Fundraiser
· Annunciation Akron Greek Orthodox Church – 5K and 1 Mile walk
· Don Sitts Auto - faithfully helping our Toyota travel around the city to serve our homeless friends
· Our Monthly Donors - for their continued FAITHFUL support
· Various Facebook Fundraisers
· The Steak Club organization - for providing & serving monthly during the Wednesday night community meal at Middlebury Chapel
· The Suicide Skulls Motorcycle Club - for their weekly commitment to serve during the Wednesday night community meal at Middlebury Chapel
Please note some of the upcoming important dates.
Saturday, November 18, 2023 – Annual Friendsgiving Meal @ Middlebury Chapel
Saturday, December 23, 2023 - Annual Christmas Luncheon @ Middlebury Chapel
· We will again be blessing our friends with a shoebox gift. In preparation, please save your SHOEBOXES! You can drop those at the church or contact me for pick up.
We continue to assemble the Hope Farm Leadership Team. I request your prayer for wisdom and discernment as we continue to serve our chronically homeless and shelter resistant friends. Our mission is to provide permanent supportive housing in Summit County. We believe that the model in Austin Texas – The Community First Village is an example of successful housing. This concept is being reproduced all over the country. It is our HOPE to establish a similar model in Summit County. Please view the link for more information. https://mlf.org/community-first/.
With your support and promotion we believe the Lord will use local churches, service agencies, and corporate sponsorship to help achieve the goal of a permanent location for Hope Farm.
