5 Things I am Most Proud of at HopeTree

1. Graduation.
   
   The vast majority of students that come to HopeTree Academy are at least a year behind their peers when they arrive. Through the small class sizes, personalized education plans, and year-round classes, students can catch up on their work and be exposed to a variety of opportunities through job placement, vocational training, and secondary education. At HopeTree Academy, these students, for the first time, have the opportunity to achieve.

2.  Baptism.

Most, if not all, of the residents in Residential Care come to us without any time at all spent in a church. Our Christian Education Director works hard to provide sermons and activities that present the Word of God to them in a way that is both accessible and invigorating. That is why, when a resident decides to make a profession of faith, it is quite an endearing experience. Despite their difficult background, they have grown comfortable in their environs at HopeTree and open to the Christian values we try to instill in them.

3. Work.

From the hands-on training in the vocational classes, to the required chores around the cottages, to the job placements in the community, HopeTree teaches students the value of work. Seeing a student who has trouble focusing in the classroom suddenly delight in sanding down and staining a bed frame with such enthusiasm lets me know that he has found his niche in the vocational classroom. Not every student will go to college and some won’t make it through high school, but it makes me proud to know that they have every opportunity to find their passion and guide it towards a career aided by the helpful staff at HopeTree Academy.

4. Community

Despite all the struggles with acclimating to a new home, the residents at HopeTree always seem to pull through when we need their help. The youth are always willing to volunteer for our Walk-A-Thon, alumni reunion, and other special events when we need them. They also become enamored with on-campus community challenges like decorating the cottages for Christmas or building our Salem Christmas Parade float.

I also am proud of the community outreach seen in our Developmental Disabilities Ministry. Whether it’s volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House or serving as the chaplain at the local Civitan, our DDM residents are committed to service.

5. Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . at HopeTree! (I’ll give you a minute to get the song out of your head.) Christmas truly is a great time to be working at HopeTree. Each resident fills out a wish list and the community, even in these tough economic times, always pulls through and ensures that each youth will have a pile of presents come Christmas morning. For many residents, this will be the most plentiful Christmas they’ve had.

Grouped together by area, our DDM homes put on several Christmas lunches throughout the month. Adorned with Santa hats and filled with the holiday spirit our DDM residents enjoy delicious finger food, Christmas music, and fellowship.

HopeTree in the Salem Christmas Parade

"This has been the longest ongoing project I have ever done, and the interest level has never dropped," stated an enthusiastic Wayne Perkins, Vocational Teacher at HopeTree Academy.

The project began two summers ago when students built a small rectangular deck. It ends when an Appalachian-themed cabin sits on top of that deck as it travels along in the Salem Christmas parade on December 3rd, 2010. 

 Perkins’ vocational class and Heather Leisch’s art class have kept students busy this semester putting together this intensive project. The reason it was so time consuming is that most of the work was done by hand: hammers, chisels, hand saws, and a draw knife. 

 "Appalachian Studies specifically has a lot to do with the summer program [at HopeTree Academy]. The history classes were about Appalachian Studies so the kids really got to learn about the region and the era." 

 "We did a lot of field trips to areas that were rich in Appalachian culture and the way things were back then. And we just thought it would be really neat if the kids were creating the same style of furniture to carry that [theme] on to the float," stated Behavioral Support Specialist Dawn Alfonso. 

 After the deck was built students began cutting the logs, stacking them to dry in the hot summer sun, skinning the bark off with the draw saw, cutting them to length and chiseling notches to fit one another; all tools and techniques used by our forefathers. 

 Recently students have been using power tools to get the project ready on time. Students are still building a roof and installing window panes as the final touches. 

 Perkins collaborated with Leisch’s art class on the project that had the students make decorations for the cabin. The art students drew Christmas trees, stars, and snowflakes to be cut out on drill saws by the vocational students. 

 This is the first so many students at HopeTree Academy have been involved in the same project.

"I think all of the students are really excited about working together on something really big. And I know that the students who have worked on the cabin are excited about finishing it and having it have a purpose, using it for something," stated Leisch. 

 "They can see something that they have created and see what they can do with their creativity and their artistry and see something that they’ve put themselves into come to a final product," Alfonso claimed.

Keeping Score

Bill Jones has probably run the floor of the HopeTree gym more than many of the residents who have lived here over the years. Jones referees recreational league basketball games in the gym during the winter, maintaining a relationship with HopeTree that began when he was 15 years old and discovered that two of his closest friends lived here.

"I was just amazed at the opportunities here for people who didn’t have parents," said Jones.

Recently, the gym’s original scoreboard, which had ticked off the seconds and tallied up points and fouls for 45 years ticked its last tock. Despite a diligent search, replacement parts simply were not to be found. Rather than see HopeTree incur the expense of a new scoreboard, Jones, who owns and operates a Fast Signs franchise in Salem, consulted his contacts in the sign industry and was able to locate a supplier who offered a discount on a new scoreboard. Jones covered the remaining cost out of his own pocket.

"I was lucky and had two parents who raised me. People up here sometimes don’t have that opportunity for one reason or another. I think anytime the community can help these kids get set in life, we need to help. The fortunate people need to help the unfortunate people. It’s a privilege to be able to donate something back."

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.

Motorvation

  Four years ago, WOODS Vocational Teacher Richard Dudding had an idea. Why not introduce his students to a lifetime hobby of his that he had enjoyed since he was even younger than they were? Finding no reason not to, Dudding initiated his students into the world of Demolition Derby.

  Perhaps not the most attractive or alluring of all the variations of motor racing in the world, but Demolition Derby racing gave Dudding the perfect opportunity to meld three important concepts into a single cohesive activity: teaching auto mechanics, recycling, and fun.

  Certainly, the auto mechanics teaching component would easily fit into the world of demolition derbies. But what about recycling?

  Dudding and his students build their race cars from donated automobiles that their former owners are ready to park on the junk heap. Essentially, having them demolished is almost an improvement for some of these ‘junkers’. Once an old clunker is dragged or pushed into Dudding’s shop, the first stage of recycling is over and the mechanics instruction kicks into high gear.

  "We bring in an old car and totally dismantle it. The only thing left inside is the steering wheel, the shifter, the brake and accelerator pedals. Then we install a safety cage which protects the driver," explained Dudding.

The body comes completely off the car and then the frame is inspected for rust damage and structural weakness. Designed weak spots, called crush points, are reworked to take away their flexibility and give the vehicle frame more strength and additional protection for the driver.

  Then work begins on the engines.

  "We completely tear down the engines and transmissions and make sure all the components are good. If not, we put in new rings, bearings, timing components, and rebuild carburetors. Transmissions get new clutches and new differentials; plus the gear ratio has to be changed," said Dudding.

  While Dudding could, and has, taught all these same skills in a more traditional vocational manner, he finds that since the students are working toward the definite goal watching their work driving around the race ring, not only does their motivation increase, so does their satisfaction in completing their work.

  "The main thing I try to stress to the kids is just have fun. Actually, they get a lot of hands on learning that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. When they tear a car down they get a complete knowledge of the internal components of a vehicle. Most people can’t even change the oil."

  Dudding’s students learn enough about automobiles and how they function to perform all the basic maintenance on their own vehicles someday. Furthermore, some students learn they have a great affinity for this type of work and plan to pursue auto mechanics as a career. At that point, they will need to enroll in a program with greater resources than WOODS offers. Vehicles today have many advanced computerized systems that WOODS is not equipped to teach. However, the basic overview Dudding provides does give his students a good head start.

  Students frequently recycle their attitudes during the course of the class. Many of the WOODS residents have anger management issues to contend with. Dudding has found that wrestling rusty fenders off old cars and freeing up frozen nuts and bolts provide healthy outlets for pent up anger and aggression.

 

  "After the car is finished and it accomplishes something, the kids feel better about themselves. They have the great experience of starting something and finishing it. This gives them a sense of pride. Some of our kids come in angry at the world. They’ve never done anything besides sit behind the remote on a television or a video game. Once they get into this program, some really shine. Some will go on to trade schools," said Dudding.

  Once the cars have been rebuilt, it’s time to race. Dudding, who has driven in demolition derbies for years, climbs behind the wheel while his students cheer from the sidelines. The class has built four cars in four years and each car has reached the finals multiple times over the course of their ‘season’.

  With trophies, photos, and memories to show for their time and effort, not to mention a far more detailed understanding of how an automobile functions, Dudding’s students are then ready for the next round of recycling. When the season is over and the car is finished, the students take out their tools once more and completely dismantle the vehicle and sell it for scrap. Any parts that are still in good enough condition to re-use go on a shelf to await new life in the next car. Everything else gets sold. Proceeds from each car help pay for any parts needed for the next vehicle the class revives for demolition. Students learn and practice new skills, vehicles destined for the junk heap are utilized far beyond what their previous owners would have imagined, an already respectable program gains a new way of improving the skills it teaches participants. Certainly, a combination worthy of a checkered flag.