The first education classes of 2012 began in January.  The Family Finances class (taught by the Collegiate Financial Organization of the College of Business at UMHB) was presented first.  On Monday the Child Safety (Crib, Car and Home) was taught by Safe Kids from Scott & White hospital.  Both classes gave clients of Helping Hands many useful tools to use in life.  The goal of these classes is to help those who attend to become more cognizant of the opportunities that they have to enhance their own lives and the lives of those in their family and neighborhoods.  Hopefully, the clients will not only graduate from the free education classes offered by Helping Hands Ministry, but will graduate to a life of independence in which they no longer need to come to Helping Hands for groceries and rental assistance as they move out of a life of poverty.

Other classes include, Energy Efficiency in the Home, Nutritious Cooking, Healthy Life Decisions, Child Obesity Prevention, Becoming a Love & Logic Parent and Homework Help for Parents.  All of the classes are taught by professionals from other organizations in the community who have partnered with Helping Hands Ministry.  Classes are offered in both English and Spanish.

Click to read the Fall Newsletter; stay up with all the happenings at Helping Hands Ministry!

By eating at Casa Ole (Temple Mall) this Thursday, you will contribute to Helping Hands Ministry.  20% of every bill (accompanied by the attache flyer) will be given to purchase food at Helping Hands!  REMEMBER TO PRINT THE FLYER AND PRESENT IT WITH YOUR BILL.

The first education class of the fall took place Thursday. Becoming a Love & Logic Parent, a class taught by STARRY Ministries, was the first parenting class available to the clients of Helping Hands Ministry.  Clients stayed an hour after the class had concluded to further discuss parental issues with the class presenter.  This class is a two-part class and will finish next week.

Additional classes to come during September and October are Healthy Cooking, Financial Literacy, Child passenger Safety, Life Nutrition, Energy Efficiency in the Home and Crib Safety.  All classes are free to clients of Helping Hands Ministry.  Each is presented by a professional from the field from which the curriculum stems.  All of the education classes are taught with biblical principles in mind.

Bodega Bean of Belton is giving 10% of its proceeds from Wednesdays to Helping Hands’ Project Apple Tree.  Just go by and order whatever you would like during any Wednesday in July and August and 10% will go towards the purchasing of school supplies, clothes and shoes for children of Helping Hands Ministry.  Learn more about Project Apple Tree.

The children gathered daily with the anticipation of finding out who would win the contribution competition.  Kids across Belton attended Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Church Belton last week and brought the loose change from their pockets, car seats, couch cushions and the sidewalk.  The boys were trying to bring more than the girls and the girls were doing likewise.  In the end, the clients of Helping Hands were the winners.  The children brought $3,050.28 in change!  Half of those coins are designated to help purchase clothes, shoes and school supplies for Helping Hands’ Apple Tree ministry.

A big thank you is in order to all of the children who gave to help those in need!  This, and every contribution, helps to share the Gospel of Jesus to those in our community by sharing His love and providing for the needy.

On June 9th, First Choice Power presented Helping Hands Ministry with a check for $2,000.  The “Reduce Your Use” funds were granted the with expectation that HHM would use the money to make energy efficient upgrades to the facility.  The clothing ministry received a wonderful addition with a new Energy Star washer and dryer.  Clothes given to the clients of  Helping Hands will not only be clean but will have used less electricity during the process!

A special thanks to the Belton Post Office’s letter carriers is due.  They helped the community by collecting 4,118 pounds food on Saturday, the 14th of May.  Cleta Baker, board member from First United Methodist Church, organized and oversaw the food as it arrived in the parking lot of the post office.  She and her husband Ken, along with other volunteers and four postal workers, sorted, boxed, weighed and loaded the food onto trucks to be taken to Helping Hands Ministry.  The food collected from the annual food drive will help the clients of Helping Hands during the next few weeks.

For the second time in the month of April, Helping Hands Ministry of Belton was awarded Agency of the Year.  Executive Director, Mike Bergman, gave thanks to United Way of Central Texas and everyone who was one hand at the annual awards banquet. This is the first time that Helping Hands has received the award from United Way.  ”We are all very humbled to receive this award…and are very grateful to you,” said Bergman.

If you have served by praying, volunteering or giving during the past year at Helping Hands of Belton, you will be happy to know that the community’s ministry received Capital Area Food Bank’s highest honor for 2011, Partner Agency of the Year.  Each spring the food bank of Austin receives nominations from volunteers and contributors in the community stating which organization should be considered for the annual award.  Capital Area Food Bank has 355 organizations in 21 counties from which to choose when considering the award.  “We have never had so many nominations for one agency in a single year,” said Karla Cantu, Senior Director of Agency Relations.  As Cantu read a couple of nominations, she stated that 2,038 different families were helped with food more than 26,000 times last year and that more than 1,300 students received school supplies and clothing during Apple Tree distribution.   Helping Hands had great strides in 2010 as it added the client choice aspect to its food pantry in 2010 and initiated the beginning of its educations classes available to clients.

One nomination advocated the following:

“Helping Hands is much more than a food pantry; it is a beacon of hope for so many families in Belton.   Many clients have told volunteers and staff that they feel a difference when they enter the building, that they sense a loving and caring environment.  Volunteers are able to share smiles and handshakes around town with clients because they know each other from Helping Hands.  The gap between the economic classes is being bridged in Belton because of the genuine interactions being made weekly at the pantry’s facility.  Each of the clients is treated with great dignity, love and respect.  When in the building, one can see volunteers from many diverse backgrounds, putting their differences aside and working together to serve the clients, as if each were Christ, Jesus, himself.  This is why hundreds from Belton and Temple support and volunteer with Helping Hands each week of the year.”

Director, Mike Bergman, gracefully accepted the award on behalf of all those who serve in any way in order to share the love and Gospel of Christ, Jesus to those in the Belton community.  Helping Hands Ministry is honored to be recognized in this way and believes that the blessings of God are upon it as it has the support of 25 different local churches, which collaborate to serve those in need.