2019 Annual Report

Thanks to the help of more than 30 volunteers and other partner organizations, Hope Full Life Center blessed thousands of people in 2019 through its various programs.

What is Hope Full Life Center?

• Hope Full Life Center (HFLC) is the hands-on ministry of Abounding Love Christian Fellowship.

• The organization assists the needy in Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk and throughout southern Albany County and the surrounding region using programs that encourage self-sufficiency.

• HFLC is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit corporation founded in 2012.

• HFLC oversees Helping Harvest, Gracefully Chic Boutique, Peace of Home and the Linda Civill Community Garden.

• Mission Statement: Hope Full Life Center empowers people. Activated by compassion, our multi-faceted outreach provides a helping hand, not a hand-out, to improve life for our neighbors.

2019 Program Achievements

Helping Harvest

• Helping Harvest sent home an estimated $250,000 worth of groceries with low-income families in the area.

• The food assistance program served nearly 1,000 people in the region. Many members are from Ravena, Coeymans and Selkirk, but we have people travel from as far away as Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady.

• When we had an over-abundance of food we shared it with the Ravena Senior Projects, Teen Challenge, the Capital City Rescue Mission and area food pantry programs.

• We support Capital Roots, a Troy-based not-for-profit, through the purchase of produce in the winter and spring. We also support local farmer Jon Audietis who purchased produce on our behalf at auctions this summer and fall.

Gracefully Chic Boutique and Peace of Home

• Provided the community with a convenient way to recycle unwanted clothing, furniture, housewares and other gently used items.

• Sold 30,000 items with proceeds benefiting the charity’s food assistance program, Helping Harvest.

• Administered Cartwheels for Kids, which provides free clothing, footwear and fills other needs for foster kids in the Capital Region.

• Sowed into the Salvation Army, Capital City Rescue Mission, Grace United Methodist’s Book Nook, and Jezreel with its overflow.

At the end of 2019, Hope Full Life Center’s Board of Directors made the difficult decision to close Gracefully Chic Boutique and Peace of Home. The strong economy and competition from other brick-and-mortar discount retailers and ecommerce made it impossible for our charity to keep the thrift stores open. For more information please refer to the blog post on our website (www.HopeFullLifeCenter.org) dated January 21, 2020.

Other 2019 Accomplishments

Events & Special Projects

• During the Christmas season we gave away 95 Blessing Boxes to families in need. The boxes were full of kitchen staples such as pasta and sauce, tuna fish, peanut butter, canned fruit and other foods that offered a variety of flavors and nutrition. Generous donors, including TCI of New York LLC and New Scotland Paving and Excavating, made the project possible. The Ravena Branch of the Bank of Greene County helped us promote the Blessing Boxes and accepted donations for the cause. The food pantries at Trinity Methodist Church in Coeymans Hollow, First Reformed Church in South Bethlehem and St. Patrick’s Church in Ravena helped us distribute the Blessing Boxes.

• We welcomed students and several senior citizens from STARS Intergen Corp. for community service days in March and November. Every program was bustling with volunteer activity.

• We celebrated our volunteers and their contributions at a special dinner in March.

Volunteers

• Albany Adult and Teen Challenge provided us with help two days a week and at other times as needed. We depend on their student’s strong backs and energy to help us with labor intensive projects.

• Albany Adult & Teen Challenge’s Women’s Program sent volunteers two days a week as well.

• The Special Education Department at RCS sent student and adult volunteers to assist us each week.

• The Albany County Community Justice Outreach Center consistently sent us defendants for community service hours.

• More than 30 volunteers worked in various capacities in all programs

and events to help us achieve success last year.

Grants and Donations

HFLC generates the bulk of its operating income from individual donations. However, the charity was grateful to receive grant money from The Bank of Greene County and Stewart’s Shops. We also received donations from the Port of Coeymans, P&M Brick,

Curaleaf of New York LLC and many other businesses in the community. Trader Joes donated groceries to us throughout the year. Ferguson Enterprises in Coxsackie generously donated scratch and dent appliances and fixtures, which we were able to resell as a fundraiser for the Center. Gould Erectors, Flach Industries and the Port of Coeymans worked on our aging commercial delivery truck throughout the year. We are grateful to each of these organizations who believe in our work and who help us walk out our mission.

Impact

Hope Full Life Center is proud to lend a helping hand to improve life for our neighbors. In addition to giving access to low-cost food, clothing, furniture, housewares and decor to low-income families in the RCS community, we supply a benefit far less tangible - dignity.

At Helping Harvest, Gracefully Chic Boutique and Peace of Home, our staff and volunteers strive to offer clean, friendly, professionally operated programs where customers can make selections to suit their individual tastes and needs. Through modest donations, customers contribute to their well-being and ensure the survival of the programs for others.

We are inspired by the people we serve and lean on Matthew 25:35-40 for direction: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”