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BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

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BRETHREN HOUSING ASSOCIATION 219 Hummel Street Harrisburg, Pa. 17104 www.2020VisionforHope.org Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 Only this time, we’re talking about a former crack house, now an immaculate restoration about to welcome two for- merly homeless families. On September 10, the Diener Family along with friends, family, supporters, volunteers and participants gathered to cut the ribbon on this multi- year effort. (See page 1.) Celebrate these and other achievements of the completed 20/20 Vision Campaign on Tuesday, October 29 (see enclosed flyer). BRETHREN HOUSING ASSOCIATION FOUNDATIONS for success = Share love, give hope, change lives. FALL 2013 BEFORE AFTER
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Page 1: BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

B R E T H R E N H O U S I N G A S S O C I A T I O N

219 Hummel Street Harrisburg, Pa. 17104

www.2020VisionforHope.org

“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for indue season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

— Galatians 6:9Only this time, we’re talking about a former crack house,now an immaculate restoration about to welcome two for-merly homeless families. On September 10, the DienerFamily along with friends, family, supporters, volunteersand participants gathered to cut the ribbon on this multi-year effort. (See page 1.) Celebrate these and otherachievements of the completed 20/20 Vision Campaign onTuesday, October 29 (see enclosed flyer).

B R E T H R E N H O U S I N G A S S O C I A T I O N

FOUNDATIONSfor success =Share love,

give hope,

change

lives.

FALL 2013

BEFORE

AFTER

Page 2: BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

B R E T H R E N H O U S I N G A S S O C I A T I O N

FOUNDATIONSfor success =

Foundations for Success is the

newsletter of BrethrenHousing Association

at 219 Hummel StreetHarrisburg, PA 17104

Phone: (717) 233-6016E-mail: [email protected]: www.bha-pa.org

Editor: Christopher FitzDesign: Geoff Isley

FALL 2013

IT STARTED AS A BEACON OF BLIGHTon Hummel Street, a $3,000 “fixer upper”purchased by Brethren Housing Association

(BHA) complete with boarded windows, crumbling walls, stripped piping, mounds ofgarbage and graffiti. The picture is differentnow. After many filled dumpsters, rebuilt wallsand foundations, hundreds of volunteer hoursand more than $175,000 invested in labor andmaterials (much donated or discounted), 203½Hummel Street is complete. September 10th marked the mo-mentous occasion as supporters,officials, volunteers and partici-pants gathered to cut the ribbonand tour the newest home onHummel Street.

“I can hardly believe it,” exclaimedEugenia Smith, Harrisburg city coun-cilwoman. She ought to know. Shespent her youth in this very house. Itwas livable if modest then. Now it’sbeen transformed into a new century.As she stepped inside the two newly reno-vated apartments, she couldn’t help but blurtout her amazement.

As his friend Don Kraybill stated at the Ribbon Cutting, Ray Diener believed in helpingothers get on their own feet—a hand up. Thehouse that bears his name will give thatchance to families recovering from homeless-ness. When one family gains financial footing,they will make way for another. The DienerHouse also gives a new chance to HummelStreet and its neighborhood. Newly pointed

brick, insulated windows and a re-landscapedyard will now welcome families to a block wherethey can be proud. Beyond its impact in Harris-burg, the Diener House has been a rallying pointfor volunteers and churches from near and far, atestament to what the church and communitycan do with faithful dedication and diligent or-ganizing.

We are thankful that others also share Ray’s vision of that hand-up to make this daunting

project succeed—for its coming families, for ourneighborhood and for our community of faithfulsupport.

For more photos of the miraculous work ofthis project, see: www.bha-pa.org. n

in thisissue:

2. 20/20 VisionFulfilled

3. Many HandsMake LightWork

4. Moms Honored,Fun Had,$30,000Raised

5. Hawley’sStory: aChampionFinds HerVoice

Funding and labor donated byBarbara Diener and FamilyThe Josiah W. and Bessie H. Kline Foundation The M&T Bank Charitable Foundation The S. Dale High Family FoundationKettering Concrete & MasonryOakmont Enterprises Elizabethtown Church of the BrethrenGrantham Brethren in Christ ChurchHanoverdale Church of the BrethrenIndian Creek Church of the BrethrenMechanic Grove Churches of the BrethrenUnited Way of the Capital RegionFedEx Groundand many more

Ribbon Cut on Ray Diener House

Above: Barb Diener (right),daughter Sharon (left) andgrandson were amongmany who had a hand incutting the ribbon. Left: Eugenia Smith

Page 3: BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

C A M P A I G N U P D A T E

Our vision for Hummel Streetand our work has becomeclearer through the 20/20 Vi-

sion Campaign. When we conceivedthis campaign in 2009, we had nineavailable apartments. That has ex-panded to sixteen, and we serve morefamilies beyond our block as well. Injust the past few months we have:

n Brought the rehabilitation of the RayDiener House to completion.

n Completed the redevelopmentof our back yard space, joiningfour properties together withnew landscaping, fencing andsidewalks.

n Launched our first Jobs for Lifejob training course and con-cluded our first Faith and Fi-nances financial literacycourse, all with exciting in-volvement by local community,church and business partners.

n Hired Chris Epp as VolunteerCoordinator to develop our visionfor a community house on ourblock for full-time live-in Volun-teer Service staff.

n Acquired two larger properties onour block to provide for future expansion.

Please join us October 29 atthe Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey forour Campaign Celebration! Join us tocelebrate the campaign end and for asneak peek of some exciting upcomingprojects. See the enclosed flyer for details. n

GOAL SURPASSED!$2.25 million20/20Vision Fulfilled!

BEFORE

AFTER2

Left: The Diener House’s back half is unrecognizable two years later. Right:Chris Epp, BHA’s new Volunteer Coordinatoris already blazing a trail to develop a newlong-term residential program in Harrisburg.Below: The Church of the Brethren JuniorHigh workcamp and an Eagle Scout projectof Shane Hagen were among the crucial volunteers putting the final touches on the20/20 Vision and BHA’s new back yard.

Total raised will be announced October 29 at our Campaign

Celebration.

?

Page 4: BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

3

M A N Y H A N D S M A K E L I G H T W O R K

Above: From left to right, volunteer groups from TE Connectivity, UnitedWay, Messiah College, and Hershey Company were instrumental in severalapartment renovations and major outdoor cleanup projects. Thanks foryour enthusiasm and to the United Way of the Capital Region for your coordination!

Prayer&Praise

Thank God with us for the success of the 20/20 VisionCampaign. With His guidance

we have expanded housing and mentoring programs, brightened ourneighborhood and are able to servemore families.

Praise God for the completion ofthe Diener House and the faithfulwork of so many volunteers, donorsand contractors who made the renewalof this former crack house a reality.

Lift up the women taking our first

Jobs for Life class. Through this jobtraining and discipleship course, ourprayer is that these women canstrengthen their workplace skills and opportunities.

Praise God for a new Volunteer Program at BHA with the hiring ofChris Epp and support of the UnitedService Foundation.

Pray for peace in our neighbor-hood. There have been several recentgun incidents in or near our neighbor-hood.

Gratitude for Hershey Company,TJX Foundation and the HarrisburgCatholic Diocese for their grant support this season.

We are celebrating the completion ofour newly re-landscaped back yard.Thank God with us for all the volunteersand donors who have helped developthis oasis of peace and beauty.

Pray for our leadership as we enter anew strategic planning process tolook beyond the 20/20 Vision that hasguided us for several years. n

Long-time volunteer Ed Good restoring the Diener House entrance.

Tia Frances (left) andNatalie Douglas (Messiah College) areinterning with BHAthis summer and fall,Tia with developmentand special events,Natalie in the Transitions Program.

Page 5: BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

4

M O M S H O N O R E D . F U N H A D . $ 3 0 , 0 0 0 R A I S E D .

A few of the riders and volunteers who came out for the Spring Thaw Bike Toursponsored by ASK Foods. Above: Steve and John-Luis Schwartz donned helmetsfor the first-ever scooter division. Above Right: Riders, big and small, gatheredfrom as near as Elizabethtown and Grantville and as far away as Delaware andNew York City for a soggy ride on roads and the Lebanon Rail Trail: GeorgeSnavely, Abbey King and daughter, Tim Earnshaw, Steve Walker, Chad Shelly,David Palmer, Susannah Bortner and daughter, Melissa Rice and Chris Fitz.Right: A youth team from the Mt Wilson Church of the Brethren, our gracioushosts, injected extra enthusiasm, led by Joan Huston and Charlene Stokes (rear).

Record turnout (127 golfers) and fundraising was matched by perfect weather at the 11th AnnualBHA Golf Tournament. Above: Larry Lanni makes his put while Woodrow Ziegler, himself a putting contest winner, looks on. Above right: the winning team of Dave Reist, Ethan Gibbel, Jim MacKenzie and Fran Strouse. Right: BHA Board Chairman had his hands full, includingJavonte who is in BHA’s youth program.

Page 6: BHA Newsletter Fall 2013

5

M I N I S T RY M O M E N T S

On a night of sports, Haw-ley was the perfect cham-pion. She doesn’t consider

herself a “sports type.” But shewent out of her way to make thenight special for someone else’schild.

It was BHA’s “Night Out at theSenators” baseball game. Hawleycame with other BHA mothers andtheir children along with BHA’sstaff and volunteers. Javon, theson of another BHA mom, waschosen to throw the game’s firstpitch for BHA, but his mothercouldn’t attend the game. Hawleydecided to look out for Javon thatnight. But even after the big mo-ment, his new Senators baseballhadn’t been signed.

“Excuse me, sir! Excuse me!”Hawley yelled from above the 3rdbase dugout, trying to get the 3rdbaseman’s attention. The game wasgetting started. The player didn’t seemto notice. She was getting hoarse, continuing to yell to get his attention.Finally, he looked up and took notice.

“Can you sign this boy’s ball? He justthrew it out!” Hawley pleaded. Hejogged off the field and signed the ballfor Hawley’s temporarily “adopted”son.

“That was a proud day,” Hawley recounts beaming.

Several years ago, Hawley wasn’tnearly as proud. “Rock bottom,” is howshe put it, living in a homeless shelterwith her son, unable to find safety inany other “home.” Faced with utterpowerlessness, she found a new faith inGod and a new strength in herself.

“My experience of God growing upwas that he was mean, judgmental. Ittore down my self esteem. But sincehitting rock bottom, I’ve been okay,”she relates. “Road blocks are strong-holds.”

The shelter staff told her about BHA,and she set her sights on higher goals.Working odd shifts, she held tworestaurant jobs, receiving an employeeaward while starting to attend commu-nity college. But her housing status be-came shakier, and she came to BHA a

year ago ready to makeuse of the stability here.

In her ten months atBHA, Hawley has been a“star,” beams MarilynBellesfield, her case man-ager. She eagerly partici-pates in BHA’s intensivefinancial literacy and jobreadiness classes whilealso studying for her col-lege classes. But it’s thelittle things that bringpride: organizing a birth-day party for her son forthe first time at age four,being a listening ear toother women in BHA’sprogram, and yes, suc-cessfully yelling at a Sena-tor’s third baseman to getJavon’s baseball signed.

Hawley talks eagerly aboutthe progress she’s made.

“My cousin used to say, ‘once you getsomething, you learn to keep it,’” sheremembers with a grin. If her accom-plishments at BHA and college are anyindication, it appears that the championin her—for causes big and small— ishere to stay. n

Hawley’s Story: A Champion Finds Her Voice

With two new apartments opening,the need is greater than ever for do-nations of new or gently used itemsto assist families in their transition outof homelessness. The following itemsare regularly needed by our families:

Essentials:Cleaners (Windex, Lysol, or multi-purpose cleaners)Kitchen Items (pots & pans, dishes, silverware, etc.)Garbage cans (for kitchen & bath)Bed Linens and BlanketsTowels (kitchen & bath)

Feminine Products (pads, tampons)Shampoo & ConditionerToilet PaperPaper towels Laundry SoapDish SoapShower Curtains

Niceties:Vacuum CleanersThrow RugsCoffee Maker, Mixer, Blender, etc.Storage Bins LampsDrapes

Hawley and Kuami enjoying the start of the Harrisburg Senators game on BHA’s Night Out in August.

Items Regularly Needed at BHA


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