May Highlights

Brethren Housing Association

Because of the quarantine, Brethren Housing Association hosted the annual spring fundraiser, the Little Black Dress Soiree, as a virtual event this year. Their goal was to raise $15,000. Presentations for the event can be viewed on the BHA's Facebook page. The event was very successful, over $16,000 was raised to support the programs offered to homeless mothers and their children. Due to loss of jobs and daycare closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic, BHA is faced with providing additional support to the families in the Transitions Program. Thanks to the generosity of Trinity members designating offering to support BHA, a check for $1,000 was sent to the Brethren Housing Association. Housing was provided to three families since the pandemic began.
 

Trinity Day Care Center

In May, the Day Care Board of Trinity Lutheran Church had referred a vote to our Congregation Council regarding the future of Trinity Lutheran Day Care Center. With much sadness, the Council voted unanimously to close the Day Care Center. The staff was notified, and as of this writing, the process of officially and legally closing the Day Care is being carried out by the Day Care Board. The reasons for this are numerous, but as many know, enrollment had been down for quite some time. In addition, after months of searching and even conducting an interview, there was no candidate identified to take over the role of Day Care Director. This is a sad thing, but a necessary one. The Council had virtually no other choice than to take the action that was taken. Many of our council members voted to close hoping that at some point we could look at re-opening in the future. As a congregation, we would like to thank the Staff of Trinity Lutheran Day Care Center for their hard work. Many had been working there for a long, long time. In the time of its operation since the 1970s, we were able to provide care for many, many children in our community, many of whom still look with fondness at their time as children there. We celebrate that and give thanks that it was able to happen.

CommunityAid Bins

In mid April, CommunityAid was granted an exemption by the state of Pennsylvania to operate their offices only. At that time, we were sent correspondence with the following news: “As we make progress with our clean-up efforts, we will work with you to communicate our readiness to accept donations once again. For now, help us hold back the tide of donations and encourage donors to hold their donations until further notice.” As we now are moving into the Yellow Phase, and Snyder County will be Green this coming Friday, the Selinsgrove store has opened up. With that store opening, CommunityAid has once again restarted stocking that store with bins from our area, including ours. Please understand that while Collections are happening again, it is happening at a slower rate, so the bin may be full from time to time. If the bin is full, please do not just leave bags and boxes of donations at the bin location. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Agape Community Meals

All Agape Table free community meals are postponed until at least September. The Kitchen Committee will decide in late summer as to when exactly it would be safe to resume serving these meals.
location. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

A Thank You From Brethren Housing Association (BHA)

Dear Trinity Lutheran Church, Thank you for your generous contribution to BHA. We know what a challenging time so many are experiencing right now, our own participants included. Of the 14 families living at BHA, 10 are now unemployed and 12 have lost their childcare. But this is the best place for them to be during this time. Our families are safe and are continuing to work with their Family Advocates to get connected to resources and work on their goal plans in whatever way they are able. BHA is committed to supporting our families throughout this crisis which means using additional financial resources at a time when many of our revenue streams will also be struggling or diverting funding to help others affected by the COVID-19 crisis. We are thankful that you have chosen to support BHA. Your trust in the staff and belief in the work we are doing means so much to all of us here.

We know that we would not be able to fulfill our vision of building a future with hope for the families we serve without the support of people who believe in our mission of providing stable housing, supportive services, and loving relationships to all the families we serve. We are so grateful to you for making an investment in the lives of the extraordinary families at BHA.

Blessings, Jessica Johnson Vinton Director of Development

Miles to Mend

Miles to Mend had no disbursements in May 2020. Please remember- even though we are not having in person worship, the box is still in the entryway to nominate someone for assistance regarding medical travel. You can nominate anyone as long as they currently reside within the Tri-Valley School District.