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

GALA FOR HOPE POSTPONED - NEW DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED
A ROARING 20s CELEBRATION OF 10th Annual GALA FOR HOPE Event Date Pending   To Our Gala Guests, Again, our Committee must announce that given current State and Federal guidelines for social restrictions, the Gala for HOPE will be postponed. A new event date will be determined as we continue to navigate the safety orders in place to protect
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Centre Gives May 12 - May 13, 2020

Dear HOPE Fund Supporters,

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Progress Grange - Food for Families in Need, Seniors and Veterans
PROGRESS GRANGE in conjunction with YMCA AND the PENNS VALLEY HOPE FUND   FRIDAYS FROM 12 TO 2 PM   Progress Grange has partnered with YMCA and Penns Valley Hope Fund to offer weekend food bags at no cost to families in need!  
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Food Give-a-Way April 15 at Spring Mills YMCA

There will be a Food Give-a-Way at the YMCA in Spring Mills on Wednesday 4/15 at 1:00 pm. for those in the local area.  If you are in need of food or know of anyone who is, please share this information and go to the YMCA to pick up your bag of food. There will be items such as pork loins, chicken patties, fish sticks, produce, fruit and snacks. The bags may not all have the same items in them but there will be a good variety. Thank you for helping to spread the word!

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EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2019  - NEW APPLICATION PROCESS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR CHRISTMAS 2019  EXTENDED UNTIL OCTOBER 22, 2019

New Application Form

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 has a new process in place as of October 1, 2019 and is no longer taking referrals from guidance counselors at our local schools.  We are, however, accepting applications this year from those 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.  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 2018, we served over 90 children of limited means through Christmas of HOPE.   

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

We are about providing for the needs of the children sponsored as well as some of the "wants".  What we ask of our sponsors is very simple, but immensely rewarding. We give you information on a child. This will include the age, sex, sizes, needs and interest of the child. The form will not tell you a name, but for confidentiality sake, it will have a code. You and your family, team or co-workers will have time to shop for items on your list. If you volunteer to sponsor a child, the information you need for shopping will be given to you immediately along with other information and directions on what to do next.

Each child we serve also receives a new pillow case filled with miscellaneous supplies such as pencils, crayons, markers, school supplies, shampoo, body wash, tooth paste and tooth brush as well as a Faith based Christmas present.

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 next 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 over the last several months.  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.  More details will be announced in the near future.     

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 will no longer be able to perform in-home visits.  Any regular applications received will be reviewed and a phone interview will 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 240 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