Green and Burgandy Hearts All Across Virginia

  One of our most valuable constituents do not receive enough attention for the hard work they do on behalf of HopeTree. They coordinate Walks, generate mailing addresses, recruit and train volunteers, speak on our behalf, and disseminate HopeTree publications to their congregation. These volunteers are passionate, active, and inspiring. They are our Church Representative Network.

  The HopeTree Development staff work very hard to spread the good news of the wonderful ministries at HopeTree. However, with so many Baptist Churches on our mailing list we do not know if our message is reaching everyone. Thus, the CRN was created to act as a liaison between HopeTree and the Baptist community.

  While our CRN volunteers are active and enthusiastic, there simply aren't enough of them to effectively spread HopeTree's message across the great state of Virginia. Volunteering as a CRN is an incredibly emotionally satisfying experience. It makes you an active participator in enhancing the lives of the at-risk youth and adults with intellectual disabilities in our care. Rather than being a passive observer, why not indulge yourself in HopeTree's great ministries and see for yourself the difference you can make in the lives of others?

  So to all of our CRN volunteers: thank you. You truly effect the lives of the residents at HopeTree in a tremendous way. To everyone else—active supporters, passive readers, or people just learning about HopeTree—consider joining the CRN. It won't cost you any money or extensive travel. It isn't very time consuming either. All it takes is a big heart.


If you are interested and live in the western half of the state, contact:
David Wilson
(540) 389-2112
davidw@hopetreefs.org


or in the eastern half of the state:


Donna Lohr Wilbourne
(804) 545-1202
donnaw@hopetreefs.org

We Hope She's Always Here

Patti works carefully, cheerfully. Her brilliant smile and her bubbling laughter leave their unmistakable traces along her designated aisles of the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. Patti has volunteered here for over a decade. In those years she has made an impression on everyone around her. Truly, everyone.

"Patti will brighten [the clients’] day with the comments she makes and the conversations she will start with them. The other volunteers look for her on a regular basis and she brings them little gifts. She brings joy to all of our hearts. She really inspires the other volunteers and the employees with all the things she can do and how hard she works," said Food Bank Volunteer Coordinator Julie Kishpaugh.

Each month, the Food Bank provides food to roughly 300 people and agencies from five surrounding counties: King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Caroline, and Fredericksburg. Patti, a resident of the Kelly Home for adults with intellectual disabilities in Fredericksburg, spends one day a week stocking shelves at the food bank with dry goods, cereal, and other non-perishables. While some may consider the task tedious, Patti believes its important. Furthermore, Kishpaugh and the other Food Bank staff members know the task is important.

"Organization of the shelves is very important. The people who come in here are intimidated enough. The nicer and straighter and the better quality of food we keep on the shelves, the better they’re going to feel about their visit here. Patti makes sure everything on the shelves is neat and clean. Most of the products’ use dates are checked, but if she sees something she’s not sure about, she’ll let us know," explained Kishpaugh.

Patty began her time at the Food Bank when she once worked at a local fast food restaurant and had some extra time on her hands. Staff took her by the Food Bank to see if she might have an opportunity to volunteer or even work there. Soon after, Patti found a job that required more of her time, but she did not want to surrender her time at the Food Bank.

"She really enjoys helping others, so this is great for her. It has to do with Patty’s compassion for others. Even at home, she is always wanting to help," explained DDM Area Coordinator Gail Hylton. 

A true ‘go-getter’, Patti also holds a part-time job elsewhere in the area where she works three days a week. She is also active in her church. Like many of HopeTree’s Developmental Disabilities Ministry residents, Patti enjoys participating fully in the life she sees going on around her. The work she does at the food bank is just one of the ways she contributes to the overall quality of life in the Fredericksburg community. In doing so, Kishpaugh says, she becomes a shining example for others to follow.

 
"When you are giving yourself to volunteer, you do it whole-heartedly to your best ability and let people know that you are actually enjoying yourself. We’ve had younger kids come in here, either court-ordered or probated and they look at her and say ‘Wow, she comes here every week and she likes it and nobody makes her?’ Patti is the perfect example to hold up to the younger generations and say this is what it means to volunteer and help someone who truly needs it," said Kishpaugh.

A Special Class for Special Friends

Aww, he’s a handsome dude," Patty commented on the picture of a young man in military attire, standing in front of a fighter plane. 

The young man is the son-in-law of Fredericksburg Area Coordinator Gail Hylton and the subject of the Special Friends Sunday School Class topic on Psalm 91. For many years, verses from Psalm 91 have been sent to soldiers overseas, offering them protection and encouragement. 

The framed picture of the young pilot, Gabe, was passed around among each DDM resident. The picture is important for adults with intellectual disabilities, Gail notes, because the residents benefit from having physical objects in their hands. 

"We do a lot of object lessons. We do things that are visual for them," Gail said of the DDM residents. "We do role playing. We’ve done the manger scene and Joseph and his coat of many colors." 

The DDM residents at HopeTree represent a wide spectrum of functioning, making it difficult to teach a class that will reach everyone. That’s why Gail’s picture of her son-in-law works as a visual learning tool for most residents’ cognitive abilities but also addresses the needs of a blind resident like Mark. 

"Mark is very attentive to everything he hears, and he’ll ask you something if he doesn’t quite get it," Gail noted.

Having something to hold is a normal part of Mark’s learning process and it makes him feel like he’s a part of the group. 

The residents’ interest, spirit, and understanding came as a bit of a surprise to Gail when she started the Special Friends Class in 1979. Fresh out of college with a degree in Special Education, Gail was the only person at Fredericksburg Baptist Church with any experience working with disabled individuals. The mother of a future DDM resident needed a place for her daughter while she attended Sunday school class and the Sunday School Director thought Gail would be the perfect person to start up the program. 

"At first, we thought it would be like a babysitting service," Gail stated. "Our goal changed very quickly. We found out they have a wonderful spiritual life. They taught us a lot about simple things. All those things we take for granted, or forget about as adults, they remember those things." 

The residents became very involved in the class and the numbers began to grow. Through the strong spiritual foundation of the class, several residents were baptized. 

"I’ve been in the baptismal pool with one lady. I’ll never forget, she was clapping her hands the whole time saying ‘Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me,’" Gail remembered with a smile. "Well, you can’t get anymore profound than that." 

That energy is just as strong in the residents today—where a class can field up to 35 total people—as it was 31 years ago. The residents enjoy starting the morning off with several songs led by a volunteer duo that play piano and sing. 

What’s remarkable is not just each resident’s familiarity with every word of every song, but the fact that they all know the signs for each word as well. This way, the several residents that have audio and visual impairments do not feel left out and are often the most enthusiastic of the group. 

To reflect the day’s message of supporting our troops overseas, the songs shift to patriotic themes. After the last verse of "My Country ‘tis of Thee", Gail asks for prayer requests. DDM resident Barbara is the first to respond with a request for our troops. Her appeal is not solely topical. She makes the request every week. At home in the Kelly Home, Barbara frequently watches the news and will often bring questions to Gail about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"She’s very well-aware and she’s very spiritual," Gail said of Barbara. "Their spirituality is so awesome because they have compassion for so many people." 

Barbara was a member of Fredericksburg Baptist Church for many years and, in many ways, was the catalyst behind the foundation of the Kelly and Cates Homes. Her parents began to wonder who would care for her after they had passed. Because the Special Friends were so embraced and supported by the church, its members set out to find them a home. Soon after, a local community member donated the homes and church members donated their time and resources to fixing it up. 

"The church owns the property and takes care of the maintenance, while HopeTree runs the program," Gail stated. "It’s really a wonderful relationship." 

Now the class consists of nearly all of the Kelly and Cates Home residents as well as other members of the community with intellectual disabilities. It has turned into a program that fosters community, fellowship, and the Word of God.