Newsletter

Fall 2007 Center for Hope in Action... Every day brings opportunity for offering a hand up... A homeless young run away who said she had plenty of food stored in the back window of her car to settle into a home By sitting and talking about Jesus with a lonely man cast out from friends and family because he turned to Christ A young woman dropped off from an abusive situation with no bus money to get home Washing and providing clean clothes to an elderly woman who had an accident in her clothing and wasn't allowed on the bus to take her home And the list goes on... Every day brings people who want to help... A local walkers club, Works in Progress, now volunteer in the Angel Food Ministries distribution day Volunteers hang new items to display with a request for a small love offering of $1, $2, or $3 in the Center for Hope "better clothing" Clothes Closet The Center partners with wonderful outreach programs that include Penn State's Adult Literacy Program where students enjoy a family like environment as they brush up on math and reading skills or strive to earn their GED The WIC program comes several times a week to serve women, infants and children with their special services OVR meets Ambridge clients in this convenient location several times a month The local Lion's Club, Junior Tamburitzans and Girl Scouts use this community faith based center on a regular basis Lots happening at the Center... The Freedom Area Middle School kids gathered lots of food for the pantry and Director's food closet A manufacturing plant in our area is having a food drive competition and then bringing us the food Friends from Oracle Corporation in Moon Township are organizing a food drive along with a special clothing drive for children City Rescue Mission has been registering lower income adults for Thanksgiving food baskets for us to distribute to A church over in Wexford is going to give us coats for pre-school kids plus lots of new toys - we will turn that into a Santa's closet for a love offering of $1 per toy Money from "Santa's closet" will be helping us build a cash fund to do a special "We love Ambridge" soup dinner close to Valentine's Day.   New Program Now Possible The Center for Hope received approval on the Center for Hope Lunch and Learn grant. This grant will assist as we develop the Lunch and Learn workshops for the fifty plus group. The program will be held in the Center for Hope Cafe.   Open House Photos   The Center is open Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. and evenings and weekends for special programs.

Summer 2007 New Trustees Nominated to Board We wish to welcome two persons to our Center for Hope Board. Arlene Bell has joined us at our July meeting. Arlene works for Heritage Valley Health System. Max Hauser, with the Moon Township Area Schools has joined us as well! We welcome both of them to our advisory board. Alert! Alert! Alert! Our vendor for providing us a reimbursement from cell phones and toner cartridges has dropped out of the program. Please do not use any of the self-postage envelopes we had provided you. Please bring your old cell phones and cartridges to the Center. We have found a new vendor, but the old envelopes are no longer usable. We Are Gaining Volunteers to Assist Brining the Center to Life!!! Hats off to the excellent recruiting of our directors, Sue and Dave. In meeting people at the Cafe, the $1 $2 $3 Clothes Closet, the Angel Food Program and other venues we now have somewhere between 25 and 31 volunteers assisting in our ministry at the Center for Hope! A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who have found a place for ministry here at the Center! Open House - Watch For - Plan to Attend -Send a Donation We are having an Open House on October 8th - a wonderful time to greet one another and to showcase all of the opportunities available at the Center!!! Our Annual Signature Event - An Auction - Coming in December We are asking each church 'related' to us to provide one auction item for this event. Then let's all come, fill the Center with joyful bidding, as we get something really nice for ourselves and give something real nice to our Center for Hope! We'll have a luncheon, great holiday gift ideas and live and silent auctions. Plan to come. Tentative date: Saturday, December 1st. New Programs Coming Soon!! Special "lunch and learn" workshops for adults 50 years and older. It's fun and informative. More details coming soon.   Don't forget, we pray for you and your loved ones every month. Share your concerns with us when we meet again. Blessings, Glenn Kohlhepp

Spring 2007 Greetings, friends of the Center for Hope, Spring is here and the Center for Hope is blossoming from the seeds of love planted and nurtured by so many hands and hearts. As our missionary, Patty Watenpool, takes a leave of absence to continue recovery from her recent illness and to re-evaluate her future plans, the Center for Hope has also taken time to restructure to meet the needs of our beloved community. True to our mission, we are more fully utilizing Otis McAliley's great passion and talent to serve as CFH Mission Ambassador. In his new role, he will focus his energy on strengthening our relationship with area churches. We look forward to your help in scheduling a time with your Board or Mission Team to share the Center for Hope's story on a more personal basis and to find meaningful ways to work together to expand support for the Center for Hope. In January, the Board began a search for a new Director responsible for fund development, program development, and community outreach and marketing to assure growth and sustainability of Center for Hope as good stewards to our mission. Many candidates applied through the CareerLink advertisement. After interviews, the Executive Committee and Advisory Board approved the hiring of Sue and Dave Otto as Co-Directors to begin March 1. They requested to be hired as a tea. David's work experience was 27 years with Penn State University. During this time he served as Director of Continuing Education then Campus Executive Officer. Currently he serves as Senior Core Leader for the Teen Community Bible Study. In his church, he serves as a Deacon, as a teacher for an adult Sunday school class, and leader for the Fifty Plus Group. He brings previous participation in community service as a member of Rotary Club, a board member of Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Private Industry Council, a board member of the Association of Retarded Citizens, and a board member of United Way of Beaver County. Welcome, David! Sue comes to us from being the Fund Development Director for the Girl Scouts of Beaver and Lawrence Counties where she directed the council fund development campaigns and events to support the council's financial needs. Funding is raised to support nearly 3000 girls and 800 adult volunteers in Beaver and Lawrence County. She presently serves on the advisory board of Rochester Salvation Army. Sue has been involved with preparing dinners for the Teen Community Bible Study, is a member of the Community Bible Study Leaders Council, and teaches the 5th grade Community Bible Study Class. Sue is a member of the Mixed Nuts Bible Study Group at her church and also participates in a Monday night adult Bible study. Previously, she has been involved with Gifts for Kids, Share Christmas, Adult Literacy Action, and Presents for Patients. Sue was also one of the founders of the Beaver County Festival of Trees. Welcome, Sue! During the month of March, Dave and Sue worked with the Executive Committee, Otis, and the CFH staff to establish a smooth transition. Some of the following will be our primary goals to help quickly turn the Center around. We expect to accomplish the following goals within the first six months. Evaluate current use of the building. Work with current services, help strengthen existing programs, and identify new program opportunities that fit within the mission of the Center, as well as update the security system. Establish a fund development plan to help financially support the Center. Develop a donor record keeping system, start planning for an annual signature event, investigate potential for a community festival, create a fundraising mail appeal, promote gift in kind opportunities, and strengthen support from local businesses and organizations. Seek new programs and services to better serve the community. Provide opportunities for area churches, staff, volunteers and neighbors enabling the Center for Hope to reach out and love thy neighbor. Encourage the local community and Center for Hope program participants to jointly study and learn the word of God. I am excited about this new day at the Center for Hope. With appreciation for all the faithful leadership that has brought us to this place, we envision continued excellence in the journey that is ahead. Sincerely, Glenn Kohlhepp

Center for Hope Awarded 2nd Place in Spelling Bee March 27, 2006 by Anna Ricciardi Congratulations to Reverend Dean Ziegler, Patricia Watenpool and Doreen Perry for their great success in representing the Center for Hope at the 11th Annual Corporate Spelling Bee for Adult Literacy Action Penn State Beaver. The event took place on Thursday, March 2, at Penn State Beaver. "The 'team concept' that took place at the spelling bee was good," said Watenpool. The teams were given words to spell. Competitors felt the words were of a very challenging nature. If a team spelled a word incorrectly, the team was out of the competition. The spelling bee included competitors from several different corporations, fourteen in all, such as: Geneva College, Penn State Beaver University, and teachers from Black Hawk High School. The Center for Hope had great success, especially being first timers at the event and not knowing what to expect. "It was pretty stiff competition. They were all good players. It wasn't the people I expected to be competitive that were competitive," Doreen Perry said. The teams were given stress relievers in the shape of green brains prior to the beginning of the competition. Watenpool joked that "two brains are better than one." Audience member, Otis McAliley, executive of the Center for Hope, took his daughter Katie and her friend to the spelling bee. Otis said the event was different than he expected, seeing adults as opposed to children competing and having fun in a spelling bee. McAliley also mentioned that there was a large audience to support family members and friends competing. "Using spell-check, you lose the art of spelling," McAliley said. The spelling bee was good to instill the art of spelling. The spelling bee seemed to be a good experience for the competitors involved. "I really wanted to do the spelling bee for adult literacy. I thought it was for a good cause," said Perry. Perry mentioned that it was important to encourage the other teams that supported the same cause as well. Patricia Watenpool (right) at the spelling bee competition. (Picture taken by Otis McAliley) The Center for Hope makes the final two in the spelling bee competition. (Picture taken by Otis McAliley) Center for Hope representatives take second in spelling bee. (Picture taken by Otis McAliley)   Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any of you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.

Need a break... how about one into the past? March 19, 2006 by Anna Ricciardi Ever wonder what President Abraham Lincoln was like? How about George and Martha Washington? Well, now is your chance to meet them. Their impersonators that is! The Center for Hope is hosting an educationally fun filled event from 4:30 to 7:30 on Sunday, March 19, 2006, located at 232 Maplewood Avenue in Ambridge. Take a leap into history with vintage food and pioneer crafts...for free! Hungry? How about some old fashioned beef and venison stews or some delicious desserts like cornbread and cherry pie? (Did George Washington really chop down the cherry tree?) Also, create an old fashioned 'stove pipe hat' and craft wagon, while kids enjoy choosing and designing a fashionable hat of their own, including: pilgrim, bonnet, or Indian headband. Do you want to be president? You do? Then come to the center and enjoy story time with the Laughlin Library's choice book "So you want to be President?" You can also learn about Pennsylvania's 13 fur bearing animals, delivered to you in a special furs presentation. Guests from Penn State Beaver have volunteered to play historical music for visitors to the day's events as well. A special thanks goes to the volunteers who are putting together the events for Sunday, including: Diana Hannah and Betty Rader for making the food, Arlene Boyd for doing craft research, and Patricia Watenpool for coordinating the event. A thanks also goes out to all of the other volunteers for making the day's events possible. Questions? Call The Center for Hope at: 724-266-4974   Luke 11:9 Ask, and it will be given to you.   Search, and you will find.   Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

Adult Literacy Action In Your Neighborhood February 27, 2006 Are you interested in improving your job prospects or life situation free of cost? Then let us help you. Adult Literacy Action Penn State Beaver is a program designed to help adults 18 years and older to achieve their individual education goals. We offer classes in the basic skills of reading, writing and math, and preparation classes that help people to attain their General Education (GED). We also have classes for individuals interested in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). An innovative program called Family Literacy is also offered that teaches parents how to prepare their young children to succeed in school. We have classes scheduled at the Center for Hope on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 A.M. If you're interested in improving your skills, call our office in Beaver for more information (724-773-7810). We are certain that we can help you! Please come and join us.

233 Merchant Street,   Ambridge, PA 15003 Phone and Fax: 724-251-4899

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