Christmas Time at HOPE

  • By Dan Haycook
  • 11 Dec, 2017

Giving to families in need, making the holiday season special for everyone.  Pictured are students from NEK Preschool and Daycare and students from Thaddeus Stevens School donating toys to HOPE

Christmas is fast approaching and each year HOPE provides Christmas to over 300 families in need in our community.

The only reason we are able to do this is because of the generosity of our community members who help us make Christmas special for these families.

We are beginning to collect donations for our Christmas Program now through December 8th. We’ve already had folks call to ask how they can help. Below you will find a Christmas Wish List that includes a lot of the items we look for annually to wrap and give to the children in our community. PLEASE REMEMBER these items should be new, unused, and still in the packaging.

If you want to donate to the Christmas Program, take a peek at the list, and if you choose to be a donor, you can bring in your items to our store any day during regular business hours.

We’d like to thank each and everyone who contributes to this program from the bottom of our hearts. Your compassion, generosity, and community involvement is going to help bring smiles to little one’s faces on Christmas Morning

All Items should be brought to HOPE by Friday December 8th

CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

 

·    Coats

·    Snow pants

·    Boots

·    Pajamas

·    Underwear

·    Socks

·    Small Toiletry items (Deodorant, Shampoo, Toothpaste Tooth Brushes)

·    Makeup

·    Hair clips

____________________________________________________________________

 

·    iTunes gift cards

·    Subway gift cards

·    McDonald’s Gift Cards

·    Baby Dolls

·    Matchbox Cars

·    Young children’s toys

·    Educational toys

·    Toy trucks

·    Basketballs

·    Soccer Balls

·    Board Games

·    Playing Cards

·    Dice

·    Throw Blankets

·    Barbie Dolls

·    Art Supplies

·    Craft Supplies

·    Crayons

·    Coloring Books

·    Pillows

·    Reading books for all ages


There are many stories that come to mind when people think of H.O.P.E. The ways we have helped, whether it be in goods, time, or a shoulder to lean on in a time of need. We can only take credit for so much, and are only able to offer the services we provide through the assistance from the community, and people like Alex Strayhorn.
We came to know Alex because of Gordan George, a close friend of his and a regular customer
at H.O.P.E. In February of 2018, Gordie passed away suddenly. In honor of his friend, and wanting to support a place he clearly valued, Alex established a soup fund in Gordan’s name.
Yesterday, Alex vowed to keep the fund going so that we could continue to offer
hot soup at no charge during the cold winter months. Thank you, Alex, and friend Bill for your very generous donations in Gordie’s name. Any other donations are always greatly appreciated! We wouldn’t be able to do all that we do without the support of people in our community.

By Haley Marckres 01 Jun, 2022

Everyone Eats in the NEK has wrapped up as of June 30th 2021. A huge thank you goes out to The Burke Publick House for providing ready to eat meals over the last 10 months.

We'd also like to thank NECKA, without who's help this program wouldn't be possible. With their help, H.O.P.E. was able to distribute 1,496 meals, which fed 261 NEK residents, in 101 households over the course of the last 22 weeks alone!

Thank you to everyone who made this program the sucess that it was.

Together, we were able to help other people, everyday!

By Haley Marckres 02 Mar, 2022
H.O.P.E. will once again be partnering with The White Market for their Coins for Community fundraising campaign during the month of March.
Over the past two years, when our region was hardest hit by the economic and social impacts of Covid-19, The White Market stepped up and continued their community fundraising campaign, just months after launching the program. In just over 2 years, more than $225,000 has been raised for the multiple non-profit organization recipients. It is truly astonishing what giving a little can do in a community our size. We are continually humbled by the generousity of our supporters, and the giving nature of those in the Northeast Kingdom. 

Please consider rounding up when you shop any of their three locations in St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville.
Your continued support enables us to carry on our mission of helping other people, everyday.
We would not be able to do all that we do without you.

Thank you all!
By Haley Marckres 22 Oct, 2020
We are hoping to be able to outfit as many people in need of a warm, winter coat for the upcoming season as possible. If you have jackets that you or your family have outgrown, please consider donating to this event. Please note: all COVID-19 guidelines will be followed during the collection and giveaway of coats. 
By Haley Marckres 05 Dec, 2019
Is there a senior in your life who could use some extra holiday cheer? Bring them in to H.O.P.E. to enter our Senior Holiday Raffle. There will be four chances to win $25 during the month of December. Everyone over 65 is eligible for this free-to-enter raffle. Help us spread the joy of the season to elderly in our community. 
By Haley Marckres 12 Nov, 2019

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot


Cafe Lotti

4 mile course, out and back


Run/Race/Jog/Walk/Stroll…...ok, you get the gist


“FREE”


Donations Accepted: $$, kid’s coats, hats, gloves, and all Seasonal clothing

Presented to H.O.P.E (Helping Other People Everyday)


Closest to predicted time wins 1st, 2nd, 2rd Place Prizes


Honor system…...No Electronic Devices allowed…...pure fun!


Everyone has a chance at being a winner…...Volunteers needed too!


Registration: Thanksgiving Morning 7am at Cafe Lotti

November 28th, 2019

Race starts at 8:30am

All takes place at Cafe Lotti, East Burke VT


The course is an out and back from Cafe Lotti, Maple Street, Mount Hunger Road, and back ...fairly flat!


Contact Kevin Moloney kbm267@gmail.com

Special thanks to Johnny and Linda Lotti, Owners of Cafe Lotti


By Pat McGill and Jaime Brown 17 Jul, 2019
By Haley Marckres 20 Nov, 2018
Take a look into the everyday life of HOPE, and where all the donations and store purchases go to.
By Blog Owner 12 Sep, 2018
Join us September 22nd for HOPE'S 9th annual Red Sox vs. Yankees food drive to benefit the HOPE Backpack Program! Donate non- perishable food items (or cash!) to support your favorite team. The Red Sox have won the past 5 years and are looking to extend it for their 6th year. Will their winning streak continue or will they strike out?
By Haley Marckres 12 Jul, 2018

The nonprofit world is not a world that's easily understood unless you're part of it.  Developing and running programs is a trial and error process, managing volunteers can be a juggling act, and funding sources can make it difficult, as it's not always a steady stream of funding.  On top of this all, you rely heavily on donations and contributions to your organization to keep pushing forward.  With all of these variables on the field, you need to be ready to hit the curve ball at any given time.   At HOPE, we are constantly learning the curve and doing our best to hit it out of the park.  We do our very best to overcome each and every one of these obstacles to provide the best services we can to our community.  That's not to say sometimes we don't fall short.  That is where we are so very lucky to have such amazing community support, when we strike out, you all are right there supporting us at our next at bat.  Let's dive into some of these variables and shed some light on how things work in the nonprofit world.

Earlier we mentioned that developing and running programs is a trial and error process, and it truly is.  We have some programs that run so smoothly and function without a hitch; we have other programs that we are still working the kinks out of, and then there are the programs that no longer exist because they just couldn't work the way we envisioned them.  When you have an idea, a brilliant idea, you come together as a team to think about how you can make it work.  You spend hours going over the pros and cons, you put processes in place, and bam; you think you have a home run.  You swing the bat to knock the program out of the park and it ends up being a foul ball, and so it's back to the drawing board.  You keep doing this until either the program is a success or you strike out and it's on to formulating the next brilliant idea.

Through all of this work, you're also dealing with last minute issues and problems.  In our case, you may be working on a program, or report, and you have a domestic violence survivor coming in for help, or someone drops of a truckload of food donations and you have to drop everything to take care of it.  This is because our community, our clients, our donors are our most important supporters, allies, and the reason for our mission.  As a result, this sort of program development needs to take a backseat, because people are our priority.

In particular, the donors to our programs are so important to the success of our organization.  For example, in the fall and winter--as holidays approach we receive so much support in regard to donations.  In the same respect, that seems to be the time of year that the Vermont Food Bank is able to provide more when we purchase food from them.  Fast-forward to the summer months and our services typically increase as many families lose some of the support they rely on because school is out for summer.  At the same time, these are the months that we receive the least amount of contributions in regard to food--particularly protein.  So what do we do?  We scramble to be able to provide protein for our food shelf participants.  We try to push sales in the thrift store because the extra income will help us fill that gap, we scramble looking for more grant funding because that will help us fill the gap, we do what we need to do to continue to be able to provide for our clients.

Our community support doesn't just end with donors; it's our volunteers too--which throws another curveball at you!  In regard to volunteers we notice the reverse effect than the situation we are in with donors.  In the winter months when we have a ton of events and programs happening, and we have a ton of donations coming in; we see fewer volunteers.  It seems that everyone goes into hibernation for the winter and we are working diligently with minimal staff and volunteers.   As mentioned before, summer months is when we have the least happening in regard to events, donations coming in etc., however, this is the time when we see a flood of volunteers.  So you see, there is no formula to making a nonprofit run smoothly all the time, as mentioned before, it is a total unexpected curve ball most of the time.

 

So you swing at the programming curve ball and it’s a hit, you swing at the donor curveball and it’s a hit, you swing at the volunteer curveball and it’s a hit; and just when you think you’re done, the pitcher winds up and BAM another curveball—funding. If you’re a nonprofit, how do you handle funding?  In our situation, it’s even more complicated at HOPE because we are a private Non-profit and this is the biggest curve thrown yet.

 

In the nonprofit world you rely heavily on grant funding and funding from private foundations.  In our case, the income generated from the thrift store helps supplement that funding, but doesn’t cover it all.  In the world of grant funding there are so many “what ifs” that it can be terrifying at times.  There are grants that you apply for and you don’t receive, not because they don’t support your cause, but because they get flooded with so many applications all at once.   The other major hurdle with grants is most you cannot apply for annually.  Some are a one-time deal, some are every other year, and some are even every 5 years—which makes consistency of funding very difficult.   Many foundations that give monetary contributions are very particular about who they give to, and where they give to.  In the same respect, corporate foundations will only donate to geographic areas in which their company operates.  Vermont is known for promoting small business, and exiling corporate business. This makes it very difficult to go after those funding sources as well.   You can say a nonprofit going after funding are like chipmunks looking for nuts before winter comes; packing away as much funding as possible before its all gone.

 

So you see, when working in the nonprofit world, you need to always be ready for the curveball because you never know what you’re going to be up against.   You need to be ready for a funding source to not come through and figuring out how to make it work.  You need to be ready to have an influx of volunteers and to figure out how to make it work.  You need to be ready to reach out for community support when food donations are down. You need to not be afraid of a program failing, and be ready to stand up, dust yourself off, and swing at the next curve ball that comes your way.

 

 

The nonprofit world takes heart, it takes guts, it takes courage.  It takes dedicated people who are not afraid of what’s on the horizon, and not afraid to keep pushing forward.

 

Always be ready for the curveball, but more importantly always swing.  Even if you strike out the first time, you’ll knock it out of the park the next time.


By Haley Marckres 03 Jul, 2018
Join us July 8th in Bandstand Park for our 2nd Trader Days.  Vendors will be set up selling handmade furniture, collectibles, yard sale items, homemade soap, clothes, Pampered Chef and so much more!  There will be a Bake Sale going on as well!

We hope to see you there!
Show More
Share by: