Shalom House
Written by admin on April 15th, 2009
Shalom House provides temporary shelter for women and children who have no where else to go, and provides for their basic needs: a bed, food, clothing, health and hygiene supplies, and a temporary address and telephone number.
Help Shalom House Win a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Project Award
Written by mp@dmin on December 6th, 2010
Vote for Shalom House Rehab for our Residence at www.refresheverything.com
The Shalom House, a longtime Harrisburg shelter for homeless women and children, needs your help today, and everyday for the rest of the month of December!
All you have to do is go online to the Pepsi Refresh Project Web site at www.refresheverything.com and vote for the “Shalom House Rehab for our Residence” campaign under the “Neighborhoods” category. The shelter must be among the top ten vote getters in that division to win big money!
The 21-bed emergency shelter in Harrisburg’s Allison Hill neighborhood is competing against 999 other charities for a $50,000 award that it wants to use for renovations and safety upgrades in its 100-year old home.
“To make a real difference in changing the course of someone’s life is a powerful gift,” said Corinna Vecsey Wilson, chairman of the board of directors for the shelter. “But we can’t do it alone. Our public funds are diminishing but the cost of operating our 24-hour shelter only just keeps going up. And it is in that spirit that we ask for your help – VOTE FOR US ON www.refresheverything.com!”
Voters can one vote each day for any one charity on the Pepsi Refresh contest site. Shalom House is asking you to vote for its “Shalom House Rehab for our Residence” entry, every day between now and December 31st!
Voters have nine other votes each day, as well. It is most helpful for Shalom House’s entry that you NOT vote for any other entrant in the “Neighborhoods” category!
Lori Hoffmaster, Shalom House’s executive director, said that Shalom House’s clients are worth voting for. “The shelter is a place of restoration and hope, a place where you can rebuild your life and start over, a place to call home,” she said.
If it gets the votes to win, Shalom House plans multiple renovation and repair projects, including the purchase and installation of bullet proof windows throughout the house due to the increasing crime in the neighborhood, bathroom remodels on the second and third floors, ceiling tile repairs, new carpeting, new flooring in the kitchen and dining areas, rec room furniture for the kids, exterior painting, kitchen renovation to update cabinets and install energy efficient appliances, and the installation of a new, insulated roof.
Hoffmaster shared a story about a recent resident to illustrate why Shalom House is worthy of the Pepsi Refresh grant.
“Jane is 20 years old,” Hoffmaster said. “Her mother is incarcerated, she doesn’t know her father, and she spent most of her childhood in foster care. She arrived at Shalom House with her toddler son — guarded, defensive, untrusting, and exhibiting little emotion. At Shalom House, we focus on each woman as an individual, and we believe that every woman has all the potential in the world!” Hoffmaster said. “So we started to get to know Jane.”
“After a few days, and with some intensive work with our professional social workers and counselors, Jane began to share her life story, and to trust us. We could even see that she started to believe that she could provide a better life for her son than the one she had,” Hoffmaster continued.
Hoffmaster said that Shalom House was able to place Jane in a permanent housing program after her month-long stay at the shelter. “When Jane saw her new apartment, she turned to us, crying and said the most grateful and heartfelt “thank you” I’ve ever heard.”
“Most of our clients leave Shalom House telling us that we saved their lives,” said Hoffmaster. “And their lives are worth saving – and you can help by voting for us in “Neighborhoods” category of the Pepsi Refresh contest at www.refresheverything.com.”
Get Crafty and Help the Homeless with Wreaths for a Reason
Written by mp@dmin on November 7th, 2010
Visit Strawberry Square during lunch hour on November 16, 17, and 18 to bid on a holiday or seasonal wreath and help homeless women and their children get back on there feet.
“Most of us live in our own homes and have doors where we can hang a wreath to mark the holiday season, said Lori Hoffmaster, executive director of Shalom House, a 21-bed shelter located in Harrisburg’s Allison Hill neighborhood. “The homeless aren’t so lucky. But every year, hundreds of homeless women can call Shalom House home as they work hard to resolve the causes of their homelessness.”
This holiday season, hundreds of volunteers – scouts, seniors, church groups, civic organizations and individuals – have gotten crafty to help these homeless women and their children.
Wreaths for a Reason is a fundraiser and community awareness event that offers groups and individuals the opportunity to create their own one-of-a-kind holiday wreath in support of ending homelessness in the greater Harrisburg area.
Shalom House will auction off all completed wreaths, and all proceeds raised will go directly to supporting the women and children at the shelter, which has helped thousands of women and kids since it opened 25 years ago. The women can stay for up to 28-days, and the shelter’s goal is to restore the clients to self sufficiency through a variety of social and vocational services.
Thanks to the generous support of Harristown Development Corporation, the wreaths will be displayed on the first floor lobby of Strawberry Square in Harrisburg and the public will have an opportunity to bid on individual wreaths in a silent auction. Wreaths will be on display and bids will be taken from November 16 through November 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Shalom House is special – it is a place of restoration and hope, a place where you can rebuild your life and start over, a place to call home,” said Hoffmaster. “Not having a home – for whatever reason – is so traumatic, and there are so many ways it can happen, some totally unexpected. The cause of homelessness, especially for women, is complicated but at Shalom House, we are successful in helping our clients start back on the path to self sufficiency. We believe that every person is worth saving and that everyone deserves a chance.”
“Most of our clients leave Shalom House telling us that we saved their lives,” said Hoffmaster. “Help us with this critical work and stop by Strawberry Square on November 16, 17 and 18 to bid on a wreath. Hang it on your door as a sign of your faith in these women and your hope for their children!”
Shalom House Featured in Patriot News Story - Doing More with Less
Written by mp@dmin on October 24th, 2010
DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-News
Michael Macchioni, of Derry Twp., collects spare cash and donations, then goes to farmers’ markets and other sources to buy and/or pick up donated produce. He then drops off the produce at various soup kitchens and shelters. Shalom House executive director Lori Hoffmaster hugs Macchioni after he dropped off produce. Shalom House provides temporary shelter for women and children. 09/24/2010 DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-News
http://photos.pennlive.com/patriot-news/2010/10/more_with_less_4.html
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/10/shelters_food_banks_and_other.html
Shalom House Announces Wreaths For A Reason
Written by mp@dmin on October 13th, 2010
This November, the Shalom House is announcing our first annual Wreaths For A Reason event.
All of us are fortunate we live in a house or apartment with a door where we hang wreaths to mark the holidays and passing seasons. But those who are homeless do not have a house or a door or a wreath. For many women and their children in Harrisburg, Shalom House is the place they call home and where they begin the hard work to resolve the causes of their homelessness.
“Wreaths for a Reason” is a fundraiser/community awareness event offering an opportunity to groups and individuals to create a holiday wreath, and at the same time, help end homelessness.
Shalom House will supply a 12” wire wreath form, and you supply the creativity and your own materials. Participants are invited to exercise their imaginations and have fun!
Finished wreaths are donated to Shalom House and picked up in mid-November by a Shalom House volunteer for display at Strawberry Square for a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit Shalom House.
If your school, business, religious organization, senior citizen center, scout troop, individuals – all are welcome – would like to help Shalom House by creating your own “Wreath for a Reason”, contact Shalom House volunteer Janet McNally by phone at (717) 805-6935 or by email at [email protected].
“If you are interested in Wreaths for a Reason, you might also be interested in becoming a volunteer or donor to Shalom House. Please leave us your contact information and we’ll add you to our mailing list.”
From Our Home to Yours - Fall 2010 Newsletter
Written by mp@dmin on September 2nd, 2010
Shalom House Fall Newsletter Newsletter August 2010 final
