P. O. Box 427
Centre Hall, PA  16828
pennsvalleyhopefund@gmail.com

Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass

The HOPE Fund of Penns Valley would like to say THANK YOU to Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass for their generosity in donating all merchandise sales from their show on Saturday, March 11, 2023 at the Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks to the HOPE Fund of Penns Valley. We were able to raise $400 Saturday evening and we so much appreciate everyone who came out in support of this fundraiser! A big thanks also to the Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks and all their wonderful staff for their help and for bringing this great band to our valley.

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Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass

If you are looking for something fun to do this Saturday, 3/11, please join us for an evening of great music by Lisa Bodnar and Whistlegrass at the Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks in Millheim, PA starting at 8:00 p.m.  Tickets may be purchased in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/.../lisa-bodnar-and... or by contacting the Elk Creek at 814-349-8850.  If space allows, walk ups will also be accepted.  All merchandise sales for this eve

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Christmas Blessings in a Box 2022
UPDATE: Boxes will now arrive on Dec. 22 starting at 11:00 @ PV’s YMCA. A shipment of pies is coming that will be included with the meal. The Hope Fund has placed an order for the PV community. If you are in need of this box for a holiday meal, please contact the Hope Fund @ (814) 574-4132. Happy Holidays!

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Hoops for HOPE 12-6-22

Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Penns Valley Lady Rams for Hoops for HOPE on December 6, 2022.  All proceeds from this event benefit your neighbors in need through the HOPE Fund of Penns Valley!  

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We would like to thank everyone who donated their time, talents and treasures to Christmas of HOPE 2022!  Our many wonderful sponsors and volunteers were very busy elves and we would have been lost without them. We would also like to recognize and thank The Old Gregg School Community Center for kindly donating space for us to work in this year and to all the lovely quilt and blanket makers for donating such beautiful warmth to our children in need!  

Thanks to the generosity of all of you, we were able to provide gifts for 95 Penns Valley children.

 

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APPLICATIONS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR CHRISTMAS 2022 BEING ACCEPTED UNTIL OCTOBER 20, 2022

Hello Penns Valley Community.  Christmas of HOPE is now accepting applications for our 2022 Christmas program.  If you live in the Penns Valley Area School District and need help providing Christmas for your children this year (infants through seniors in high school only), please complete our application form and return it to Christmas of HOPE, P. O. Box 427, Centre Hall, PA  16828 or scan and email your signed and completed form to hopefundchristmas@gmail.com no later than October 20, 2022.  (NO PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOUR APPLICATON FROM YOUR CELL PHONE WILL BE ACCEPTED DUE TO LEGIBILITY ISSUES)

If you participated in our program last year, you will receive an email alerting you that a 2022 application has been mailed to your home address.    If you have moved to a different address within Penns Valley, please email us your new address as soon as possible so we can update our records.  If you or your children have moved out of the Penns Valley Area School District, we are sorry but you are no longer eligible to be in our program. 

If you did not participate in our program last year and would like to be considered this year, please print off an application form from our website.  If you are not able to print your own application form, please email us your complete name and address at hopefundchristmas@gmail.com and request a form be mailed to you as soon as possible or you can stop in and pick up an application at:

Grace United Methodist Church 
127 S. Pennsylvania Avenue
Centre Hall, PA  16828
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Penns Valley Youth Center                  
106 School Street
Spring Mills, PA  16875
2:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Monday
2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
2:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Friday

All application forms must be completed and postmarked by October 20, 2022 to participate in our program.  Late applications will not be accepted!!

We can assure you that Christmas of HOPE will keep all information provided on the application form strictly confidential!  If your application is approved, we look forward to serving you and your family to make your Christmas a blessed one!  If you have any questions, please contact us at hopefundchristmas@gmail.com. 
  

New Application Form

 

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We would like to thank everyone who donated their time, talents and treasures to Christmas of HOPE 2021!  Our many wonderful sponsors and volunteers were very busy elves and we would have been lost without them. We would also like to recognize and thank The Old Gregg School Community Center for kindly donating space for us to work in this year and Thrivent for their grant of $250 toward our Toiletry Project.

Thanks to the generosity of all of you, we were able to provide gifts for 86 Penns Valley children.

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Christmas of HOPE is an off-shoot of the charity the HOPE Fund of Penns Valley.  The HOPE Fund was started because we saw a great need in our community to help residents faced with medical or personal disasters.

At Christmas time, we wanted to be able to help the families assisted by the HOPE Fund even more by providing Christmas for their children. Because the HOPE Fund is funded completely through donations, and because those donations are designated for families in need facing dire health situations or other tragedies, there needed to be a very definite separation between the HOPE Fund and Christmas of HOPE. Therefore, Christmas of HOPE is recognized as its own entity.

Christmas of HOPE implemented a new process in October of 2019 and is no longer taking referrals from guidance counselors at our local schools.  We are, however, accepting applications from families in the Penns Valley Area School District who are in need of assistance in providing Christmas to their children and will be happy to help you!  If you are struggling financially and need our assistance, please click here for instructions 2021 coming soon! Businesses and community members have generously stepped forward to sponsor children by donating money, gifts, and their time to provide Christmas for local children. In 2020, we served over 70 children of limited means through Christmas of HOPE.   

This program has grown tremendously since its inception.  This is our eleventh year now and it is only been possible because of the support of the entire community!! 

These certainly have been unprecedented times lately and many things have changed due to COVID 19!  Christmas of HOPE wants to keep our sponsors, volunteers and participating families safe this Christmas season and because of this we have decided to change our process somewhat by limiting personal contact and practicing social distancing.  We do anticipate more families needing help this year, however, and would greatly appreciate your support in helping us make this Christmas special for those in need! 

All children that we serve are residents of the Penns Valley Area School District.  We are so blessed to be part of this community and to have so many generous people, businesses and churches help support this cause.  If you would like to consider sponsoring a child this year for Christmas or would like more information, you can email hopefundchristmas@gmail.com.  If you would like to make a monetary donation, checks can be made out to Christmas of HOPE and mailed to The HOPE Fund of Penns Valley, PO Box 427, Centre Hall, PA 16828.

Thank you for helping to brighten Christmas for our Penns Valley youth!  

 

There are no words to describe what our world has been through during this pandemic.  The coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered and impacted our communities.  Our hearts are with each and every one of you and recognize that many of you have had to take a collective pause from day-to-day activities, celebrating milestones, visiting loved ones, and may be facing financial challenges due to job loss, reduced work schedules, and/or additional child care expenses.  While life seems like it is temporarily on hold, things will hopefully return to normal soon where we are able to leave our homes without fear!  Now more than ever, we must work together to provide support to those impacted by this public health crisis!

At times like these, we are humbled by the generosity of others where neighbors are helping neighbors get through these challenges and we see this happening right here in our valley for which we are blessed to be a part of!  The YMCA and the Penns Valley Area School District have been working tirelessly to ensure meals are being provided for youth in need. The YMCA will be providing meals Monday through Friday through the end of the school year at the Centre Hall, Millheim, and Miles Township Fire Companies and three trailer parks and food deliveries are being made to student's homes by PVASD.  The HOPE Fund is proud to be working along with many other donors by providing needed resources to keep this program funded and fully operational through the YMCA.  

Also, the Progress Grange partnered with the YMCA and the HOPE Fund to provide weekend food bags at no cost every Friday through May 29, 2020 from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Progress Grange, 217 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, Centre Hall, PA for local families in need as well as soup and sandwiches for seniors and veterans!  This was done on a drive through basis so noone had to exit their vehicle. 

Starting June 8, 2020, a Summer Lunch program will begin in Penns Valley.       

The HOPE Fund is also providing facemasks and bandanna masks to anyone in the Penns Valley area who is in need and also to life-sustaining businesses who are putting their lives at risk to help others on a daily basis.   If you are in need of a facemask, please email us at pennsvalleyhopefund@gmail.com with your name, address, phone number, number of masks needed, size of masks (adult or child) and sex (male or female).  Someone from the HOPE Fund will be in contact with you about how to obtain your masks as soon as they are available. 

A COVID-19 Food Assistance Application is now available on our website.  Penns Valley residents who are facing financial difficulty should complete this application to obtain short term assistance for groceries.  This assistance program is being made available to residents through a partnership of the Hope Fund of Penns Valley and Burkholders Country Market.  As soon as your application has been received, someone from the HOPE Fund will contact you with more information.  

Due to social distancing measures currently in place, we will be making some immediate changes to our current operating plan.  Our Outreach Volunteers may not be able to perform in-home visits.  Any regular applications received will be reviewed and a phone interview may be conducted instead of a face to face meeting.  

We ask for your patience during this trying time and we thank everyone in advance for Helping Other People Every Day!  

   

The HOPE Fund is a Christian based, non-denominational, non-profit organization dedicated to helping other people everyday.

1. The purpose of the HOPE fund is to financially assist residents of the Penns Valley Area School District with a medical crisis or a personal disaster

2. The HOPE Fund started in response to the caring and generous support of people in the valley

3. Tragedies unfortunately happen everyday. The HOPE Fund wants to have contingency funds available so we can act swiftly when these situations arise.

We are a 100% volunteer run 501c3 Corporation.  With the administrative, fundraising, customer service and event related activities within a year's time, it takes over 200 volunteers to make the HOPE Fund run efficiently.  ALL of the money that we raise STAYS in Penns Valley to help those in need.  It is the belief of THE HOPE FUND that people are likely to recover faster when not faced with financial burden.  We have assisted stroke victims, cancer patients, heart attack victims, accident victims and those displaced by house fires.  Some more specific examples of residents we have helped are noted in our Mission   

Learn More About The Mission