Accomplishments
2005
*In July, Helping Hands assembled to discuss Carol Hurley’s original mission for the organization.
*The August Street Dance was the first fundraising event, followed by the Labor Day rummage sale.
*We applied for non-profit status in October, and assembled a 5-member Board of Directors and a 3-member advisory board.
*In October, we joined forces with the Change the World Kids to host a Hurricane Katrina fundraising dinner and in December, sent gifts, generously given by local residents, to victims of Katrina.
2006
*The Meals Program began in January. It was an effort to provide meals for community members on an as-needed basis that continues today.
*In March, we raised funds with a Helping Hands benefit dance featuring the Strafford Blues Band and Automatic Slim.
*Six months after Katrina swept through, people in Kiln, Mississippi were still living in FEMA trailers and waiting for rebuilding that would return them to their normal lives. Helping Hands visited the small community to assess how we could best meet their needs, and discovered that they had lost their whole school, as well as a pavilion that served as an outdoor classroom. Helping Hands volunteers travelled to the site in July to help rebuild the pavilion.
*In June, Helping Hands sent out a mass mailing for the Katrina project.
*In December, Helping Hands teamed up with Bethel’s global exchange thrift store, Lukana’s Dream, to fill a 48-foot trailer with canned food, fall clothing, furniture, toys, appliances, holiday baskets, etc. for Katrina victims. The goods were sent to the Pearlington Recovery Center in Pearlington, Mississippi to be distributed during a December 16 celebration.
*Also in December, Helping Hands collected gifts and worked with a church in Kenner, Louisiana to distribute the gifts to devastated families.
2007
Ongoing: Meals Program, Street Dance, Gifts for Katrina victims
*The conflict in Iraq an Afghanistan prevented our local soldiers from coming home, so Helping Hands decided to support our local troops with boxes of food.
*Helping Hands began hosting Green-up Day in 2007, providing bags and enthusiasm for the state’s yearly effort to keep the roadsides green and clean.
2008
Ongoing: Meals Program, Street Dance, Green-up Day
*The big event this year was Firewood Fest. The inspiration for this event came from two local men who connected a need for firewood with a power-line cut that had left unclaimed wood by the side of the road. The landowner agreed to give the wood and on November 1st, a group of skilled volunteers assembled at 9 in the morning to cut and split the wood and help those in need pile in their trucks.
*As Thanksgiving and Christmas neared, Helping Hands began packing holiday food baskets for local families in need of extra cheer. This was the beginning of a yearly effort to help neighbors over the holiday season.
2009
Ongoing: Meals Program, Green- up Day, Firewood Fest, Holiday food and gifts
*Kim and Carolyn set up a food box this year, which was filled weekly by residents with food to go to the Bethel and Woodstock food shelves.
*Added Shaw’s gift cards to Holiday food and gift baskets.
2010
Ongoing: Meals Program, Green-up Day, Holiday food and gifts, Firewood Fest, Food Shelf collection box at the BGS
2011
Ongoing: Meals Program, Green-up Day, Holiday food and gifts and Shaw's Cards, Firewood Fest, Bread Delivery Program, Food Shelf Collection Box
*Helped Barnard residents with fuel assistance, rent, camp scholarships, a health insurance premium, CSA memberships and a paid companion.
*Gave numerous rides to doctors’ appointments
*Scheduled visits for an older housebound woman
*Provided outdoor maintenance help for several Barnard residents
2012
Come back to see how we’ve continued to grow.
2013
Ongoing: Green-up Day, Holiday food and gifts and Shaw's cards, Firewood Fest, Food Shelf collection
*Helped Barnard community members with phone and electric bills, car payments, and one-time mortgage/rent payments
*Paid for shoveling, one Fable Farm CSA share, medical expenses, grocery gift cards, and food bags
*Helped pay for bathroom renovations to make it wheelchair accessible and paid for a washing machine
Provided support for a disabled woman–rides, mail, and grocery deliveries
*Purchased and maintained two doggy bag dispensers at the school and lake area
*Made referrals to organizations for heating assistance
2014
Ongoing: Collection for the Woodstock and Bethel Food Shelves, Green-up Day, Holiday food and gifts and Shaw's cards, Firewood Fest, Pet station maintenance
*Helped purchase firewood, paid a month's rent, shoveled snow off a roof, purchased CSA shares, helped a woman whose house burned and husband passed away, paid an electric bill, paid for lawn mowing
*Paid for nursing care for an ill woman
* Helped with a memorial service
2015
Ongoing: Collection for the Woodstock and Bethel Food Shelves, Green-up Day, Holiday food and gifts and Shaw's cards, Firewood Fest, Pet station maintenance
*Helped pay for a plane ticket, electric and phone bills, a month's rent, car repair and gas, car insurance, firewood, a CSA membership and expenses after a fire.
*Helped two charity events receive money through our nonprofit
*Made referrals to organizations for heating assistance
2016
Ongoing: Collection for the Woodstock and Bethel Food Shelves, Green-up Day, Holiday food and gifts and Shaw's cards, Firewood Fest, Pet station maintenance
*Helped pay for moving expenses and a month's rent, car payments, tires for a car, a month's rent, repair of a car, a CSA membership, heating fuel, materials for home insulation.
*Referred community members to Capstone for fuel assistance
*Made and delivered meals for a family after surgery
