A Great HOP Day 2025!

Saturday, Nov. 1, was our 6th HOP (Help Other People) Day. The church was definitely hopping as 98 people of all ages gathered for a morning of service!
Teams went out and helped these organizations:

• Idaho Youth Ranch on Broadway to sort donated items. Eight volunteers unloaded furniture donations and placed carts full of donated items and rolling racks of clothing onto the store floor for sale. Store staff were thankful for the help!
• Boise Rescue Mission’s Next Step facility on Curtis Road to make a lot of turkey, ham, bologna, and cheese sandwiches for the people living in its 58 transitional living apartments.
• Zoo Boise. Eight volunteers raked leaves as part of the Zoo’s fall clean-up, filling the large leaf bin! Then, Marty Kois led the group on a brief tour of the new small animal kingdom.

Here at the church, a variety of projects had the place humming with volunteers of all ages:

• The meeting room was full of people sewing drawstring bags for Faces of Hope to use in its Hope’s Closet where the people they serve can “shop” for clothing and other necessities. This project continues on as people on this team took home supplies to finish up some bags and meet their 40-bag goal. Thanks for your perseverance!
• Nathan from the Idaho Youth Ranch came and brought donated costume jewelry that we sorted and attached to cards, preparing two bins full to be sold in their thrift stores. And we were able to contribute to their supply with the amazing amount of costume jewelry you donated!
• We made 69 colorful friendship bracelets for Faces of Hope to share with its clients. A fun assortment of bracelets was made, including ones with uplifting messages like Courage, Love, Strong, Hope. It was great to see a table of young people focused on this project!
• Eighty bouquets were assembled and delivered to Brookdale Assisted Living for residents to choose from. The team had a great time letting the artistic magic flow! The flowers were donated by Trader Joe’s and valued at $700. A special thanks to Nikki Heinicke and Janelle Martin who sourced the flowers and brought their expertise and gusto! And, thanks for all the vases and jars that you donated.
• We met our goal of making 80 thank-you cards for residents of the State Veterans Home. Some of our youngest volunteers colored pictures, filled cards with stickers, and wrote fun messages! The cards will be delivered to veterans in time for Veterans Day.
• Yummy care packages were assembled and delivered to first responders serving our area – Fire Stations 3, 12, and 15. And a special cookie delivery was made to Barb Young. She was very happy with her treats! Thanks to everyone who made muffins and cookies and to the Sunday School kids for making cards that went along with the care packages.
• Boys Scout Troop 7 came and helped us out. They demolished and cleared out some old wooden benches and spools near the child care center and also assisted in clearing out a tree that had recently fallen. It was great working with the scouts and their families on these projects! This scout troop uses our church for their meetings and are glad to be able to contribute back to us.
• A highlight of this year’s HOP Day was having 12 youth and staff from JEMfriends join us. They participated in some of our projects, plus were able to make some gifts. Each of the youths made a drawstring bag – their first-ever sewing experience. There was a lot of laughter in the sewing room as they worked on their bags! We sent all the JEMfriends off with a small take-home bag of muffins and cookies. We’re already talking about how we can partner on HOP Day next year.

We closed the day back at the church with pizza and shared conversation about the projects. Thanks to everyone who came and volunteered, who donated supplies, and who prayed for our day. You made it possible to help a lot of people this year!

We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions for HOP Day and ideas for other community service projects we can take on as a church. Use a “How was HOP Day” form (on the counter in the entry area) or send your feedback and ideas to bslcboise@gmail.com.

Your HOP Day Team,
Wendy Zerza, Jenny Neurath, Sarah Schafer, Phyllis Royston