HOP Day 2024 in the Books!

Saturday, Nov. 2, was our 5th HOP (Help Other People) Day! Seventy-four people of all ages gathered to work on a variety of projects to help others.

The church was a hive of activity and projects:

• Creativity was high at the tables where cards were made for residents of the Idaho State Veterans Home, and for our friends at home and in care centers. Kids and adults decorated blank cards with stickers, colored pictures, and added personal messages. The cards for veterans had patriotic themes and thanked them for their service. Girl Scout Troop 115 (who meets at BSLC) joined us for this project! 61 cards will be delivered in time for Veteran’s Day.
• Busy volunteers assembled 190 craft kits for St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital. Their young patients will be able to make ladybugs, jellyfish, and rainbow clouds from paper plates, cheerful clothespin caterpillars, and string and clothespin hangers to decorate their rooms with cards and photos.
• A team set out with funds from Thrivent to fill some of the requests on Ronald McDonald House’s November wish list. They used their best shopping skills to buy 26 of the most fun infant and toddler toys and 7 warm and cuddly coats for the families staying at RMH. The Ronald McDonald House staff was very excited when we dropped off these donations!
• The meeting room was filled with people sewing colorful bumblebee and carrot print bibs for the new infant classroom at Beginning Years Child Care Center. Great progress was made on our goal of 30 bibs. This project will continue at the Nov. 16 Meet & Make. Come help finish them!
• Delicious scents filled the church from muffins baked for seven friends at home and in care centers. Volunteers dropped off the cards and muffin care packages on their way home. The goodies, cards, and visitors “warmed their hearts.”
• Ahead of HOP Day, we shopped for and wrapped gifts for the Christmas wish list for one youth at JEMfriends.
• Our outdoors teams weren’t daunted by iffy weather and chilly temps. Instead, they headed out with enthusiasm to get the job done! And luckily the rain held off for most of the morning.
• A team of 10 youths and parents went to Zoo Boise to tackle some fall yardwork. After a morning of leaf raking around the zoo grounds, they got a short tour from our own Marty Kois, who works at the zoo, on areas that will undergo renovation.
• Three different teams went out to fall clean-up projects in Middleton, Nampa, and West Boise. These hearty folks took on big jobs, some even requiring chainsaws! Great progress was made at the Heil’s, Brubaker’s, and Volkert’s, who were all very grateful for the work done. And the working teams were all pleased they could help out!
• Here at the church, Boy Scout Troop 7 (who meets at BSLC) joined us to take on some projects. This very industrious group installed new ADA signs in the parking lot, spread gravel at the daycare modular, and cleared brush around the edge of our property.

At the end of our busy morning, we shared our morning experiences over a light lunch.

Many, many thanks to everyone who made HOP Day so successful! We appreciate all of the people who gave their time and talents on Saturday, all who helped ahead of HOP Day with planning and set-up, who helped with clean-up and distributing items out to recipient organizations, and to everyone who donated project supplies. We also want to acknowledge Thrivent for its monetary donations.

HOP Day is just one day we come together to help other people. We’re blessed to know that helping other people is something that happens throughout the year because of your generous spirits!

We’d love to hear your feedback about HOP Day and suggestions 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) to share feedback and suggestions or send comments to the church office email at bslcboise@gmail.com.

Check out the bulletin board in the meeting room for pictures and more from all our activities.