With Autumn upon us Hope & A Future is in a season of change. In tune with the eternal clock, we have said good-bye to loved ones. We are getting to know people joining our family of friends. And Fall vegetables are coming in from the garden as leaves turn color and begin to fall. On August 20th, with the help of Edgewood High School volunteers we picked two and a half wheelbarrows full of sauce tomatoes and in the days following we cooked up huge batches of spaghetti sauce for our first garden to table fundraising dinner. On August 22nd, It felt so good to have people in the house for an evening of food, drink and music! The meal was put together with many hands. The sauce turned out great–some said it was the best they had ever had! We had beautiful flowers from Bea’s family and Janet Nebel. The salad was a lovely combination of fresh ingredients arranged by Jarek and Rob. Nancy and her husband made delicious focaccia bread. Chris Shannahan set up the wine pull and made amazing individual cheesecakes for the silent auction. Sandra Hall made gorgeous themed baskets featuring her beautiful pottery, wine and gift cards among other fun and wonderful treats for the silent auction. During this genuinely delicious meal I briefly shared the vision for our expansion–including the capital campaign goal, life lease condos and the intergenerational programs and services that will be part of it. And we topped off the evening with the fun and amazing music of Mary Gaines and Chris Wagoner. Chris Wagoner was Ruthie’s fiddle teacher from age 8 to 14. It was very special to have Chris and Mary with us. (Ruthie recently released an album of original music. Sales in September included a donation to Hope & A Future.) Many hands were involved in this lovely Garden to Table evening. Just as many have been involved in the making of Hope & A Future! When people join forces to work on a goal, creative and beautiful things happen!
At Hope & A Future, we are excited to have the zoning approval needed to move forward with our next and biggest expansion phase. The process has begun for obtaining a building permit–but our timeline will be determined by attaining our fundraising goal. Because we are living in a time of volatile financial change, we regularly update the cost of construction and operations. We have a $10 Million project with a fundraising goal of $4 Million. We are in the early phases of fundraising and are excited to be making our way to the first $400,000. We look to the community as we move forward. Our goal is to fight loneliness by building a replicable intentional intergenerational neighborhood with a creative, welcoming culture where younger and older neighbors become more resilient because of each other.
Development plan: view from backyard.
We are grateful to all of the people working to help us move forward. Grassroots fundraising is where we have started. For example, Michelle Heindell and Lisa Lasecki both had mothers who happily spent the last years of their lives in our adult family home. Michelle and Lisa and their friends have been hosting garage sales to benefit and share information about Hope & A Future over the past two summers. Sandra Hall’s Mother lived with us during the last seven years of her life. Sandra helped create and continues to help maintain our memory garden where her Mother, Margaret requested her ashes be spread. Hope & A Future became Margaret’s favorite home. Sandra has donated pottery and helped with fundraising events over the years. She is giving 10% of the sales from her pottery at a sale this weekend to Hope & A Future.
The fact is that many families continue to support us after their loved ones are gone–through volunteer work, donations and serving on committees. The way we work and play together at Hope & A Future creates meaningful relationships that last. Our next phase will welcome the generations in a bigger way with expanded housing options, programs and services. We are excited!
If you are interested in learning more, or in having more fun, please join us. On October 13th we will be hosting Hope & A Future’s Oktoberfest! We will have an adult scavenger hunt at 5:30 PM! Oktoberfest sampling, snacks, a 50/50 raffle, and live music by accordion band The Big Squeezey will follow the scavenger hunt. Suggested donation of $10. Lederhosen welcome!
We will briefly share more about our expansion at the event. If you are interested in learning more please plan to attend! We will be happy to answer questions and share more!
