A Note from Allison: Thriving at New Hope

28 Aug A Note from Allison: Thriving at New Hope

Happy hot summer!

I hope you are all surviving this August heat! New Hope continues to thrive, even with the thermometer at 90 degrees!

We are thrilled to announce our new program, AIM (Achieving Inclusion and Meaning), started this month. This program serves young adults who are leaving high school. Our first group started a couple of weeks ago and they are already volunteering and exploring our community! Thanks to Pearson Ford and to many of you who met their match at our Silver Cup Celebration, we have a new gently used Ford Flex in which they will experience Indy!

We are also excited because our food truck is being wrapped with its new “Cheese and Thank You” logo! The food truck will be ready for our 40th Anniversary Thank You Wine, Cheese and Art cocktail reception on September 27th. Come see the food truck, have a glass of wine and find your inner artist at New Hope! This reception is our way of thanking you, our donors and volunteers. We would not be able to provide these exciting services and opportunities without you!

However, we still need help with our food truck program! We have not been able to begin operating the food truck because we do not have access to a licensed, catering kitchen in which to prepare the food. We have been working with a wonderful church but have run in to some licensure snafus with the state. Do you know of a church or other building that has a catering kitchen that New Hope could rent for a reasonable price? The closer to New Hope the better! If you have any ideas, please contact Kathy Ballard at kballard@newhopeofindiana.org. We still want to get the food truck going this fall but cannot without the proper kitchen. Thank you in advance for any help in this area!

Finally, on a sad note, I want to lift up Lee Mehrlich who passed away peacefully on July 30. Lee was a New Hope of Indiana Board Member, and he chaired New Hope’s Client Communication Committee, a committee made up of individuals that New Hope serves who give direct feedback to the board. He was the brother-in-law to a team leader here at New Hope and a good friend to many of us. Lee and I had gone to church together for twenty years, long before I knew anything about New Hope. His ability, his grace, his warm spirit, sparkling eyes and impish grin drew people to him. He will be missed by all.

The individuals we serve become our friends and become part of us forever. As we continue to celebrate our 40th Anniversary, may we remember all of those who have enriched our lives at New Hope of Indiana.

Peace,
Allison