OLNEY HELP

Food insecurity is a rising problem in our society. Every community in our nation is home to families who lack the financial resources to meet their basic needs for food. The pandemic has increased food insecurity among many families. At New Hope we are blessed that we can share with others. We are committed to helping families who are experiencing food insecurity. We regularly collect food and funds for Olney Help, the local food pantry that provides food and financial assistance to local families. Our collection of food is ongoing throughout the year. One or our biggest focused food collection activities is our Advent Food Collection where each family provides a needed food item during each day of the four week Advent season.

WOMEN’S SHELTER

As partners with Interfaith Works of Montgomery County, we provide donations and monetary contributions to women and their families who are experiencing homelessness. We provide cleaning supplies, paper goods, socks, underwear, hats, gloves, snack bars, feminine hygiene products, and water bottles. We also host an annual cookout for the residents of the shelter.

Tree of Stars

Our annual Tree of Stars project is another way that every member of our congregation participates. Each Christmas season we gather names of residents of the Dwelling Place, a transitional program to help homeless families with their pursuit of permanent housing. We decorate our Christmas tree with stars, each listing a gift for someone on our list of recipients. The gifts are purchased by members of our congregation, wrapped and brought to the church on the Sunday before Christmas. At the end of the worship service we offer a prayer of thanksgiving for each gift as well as a prayer for each recipient. This generosity of giving is a true testament to the meaning and power of the Advent season as we remember God’s greatest gift to the world, Jesus Christ.

MEN’s SHELTER

We are blessed to be partners with the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH). MCCH operates two emergency shelters to meet the urgent needs of men experiencing homelessness. During the winter we provide socks, hats, gloves, and coats. Throughout the year we provide toiletry items and food items for the shelter.  We also host a cookout for the men living in the shelter each year.

BACKPACKS

Each year prior to the start of a new school year, we partner with the Montgomery County Child Welfare Services to provide backpacks to elementary, middle schoolers, and high schoolers returning to school. We provide backpacks filled with school supplies for each child according to the list of suggested supplies as provided on the Montgomery County Public Schools’ website. We also provided a mask for each child as well as a personal letter of encouragement written to each student by the pastor. At the end of our worship on the Sunday prior to delivery of the backpacks, we pray over each backpack and we pray for each student who will be wearing the backpacks. It is a blessing that God allows us to be a part of the school year of each student who receives a backpack from us.

FIRST FRUITS

First Fruits Farm is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to providing fresh, nutritious produce to those experiencing hunger in the Mid-Atlantic region. The food that is harvested and packed by volunteers is shipped and provided to local food banks, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other food providers. Several times a year we travel to Freeland, MD to volunteer to harvest and pack fresh vegetables that will eventually reach thousands of families who are experiencing food insecurity. This is one our most enjoyable mission projects as we get to experience the love of God through fellowship and working together with other volunteers from many different places and organizations. As generous as we are with our volunteer work, First Fruits Farm also encourages us to bring back some of the food that we have harvested and packed to provide to our own community food bank and homeless shelters.

Other Local Projects

• Mother’s Day gifts and restaurant gift cards to mothers in the Dwelling Place
• Father’s day gifts to veterans residing in the VA shelter
• Food drive with snacks for children during their summer break from school
• Books collected for client children of Olney Help
• Thanksgiving meals/restaurant gift cards to families in the Dwelling Place