Hopelink

Congregation Liaisons: Outreach and Servant Ministries Committee

The vision of Hopelink  is a community free of poverty, and it strives to accomplish this by promoting self-sufficiency for all members of our community, providing stability and helping people gain the skills and knowledge they need to exit poverty for good.

Hopelink’s programs and services focus on nine categories of assistance: adult education, emergency financial help, employment services, energy assistance, family development, financial literacy, food assistance, housing, and transportation. The agency’s service centers, housing and transportation programs help more than 60,000 people every year.

Saint Andrew’s supports Hopelink with budgeted funds, volunteering at Hopelink, monetary donations from congregation members, and through donations of food in the Corner of Blessing, the SOUPer Bowl of Caring, and the Mayors’ Day of Concern for the Hungry.

Corner of Blessing

All donations help feed those in our community who are hungry. Bring donations to the Corner of Blessing in the Narthex.

Always Welcome and Needed:  Paper Grocery Bags

April 2024:
Hopelink has asked us to collect items for people with dietary restrictions for April. They have many vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free and nut-free or peanut free clients. Suggested items include vegan and vegetarian soups (Amy’s brand for example), gluten-free pasta, sunflower butter, almond butter, canned salmon/fish, and any allergen-free product.

May 2024:

KidVantage 10th Annual Diaper Derby ~ May 3 – June 7, 2024

Sound the Bugle Call to Post!

Saint Andrew’s Lutheran is once again participating in the KidVantage 10th Annual Diaper Derby. The event runs from May 3 to June 7. This is our 5th year “racing.”

In 2023, 37 participating companies and organizations collected more than 127,000 diapers for kids living in our community. This kept babies dry and healthy while also removing a serious barrier to stability for families. However, the need has been greater than what donations brought in so every diaper counts!

How the Derby Works: 

• Diaper Derby starts May 3!!!
• Points are attached to each diaper donated and for packages of wipes. The larger sizes (size 4 and up and well as pull-ups) are most needed.
• Each “race horse” is in a race with like-sized organizations so we aren’t competing against Microsoft or other mega-stallions. We have a chance to be the best in our class!
• You can bring your diapers and wipes to the Corner of Blessing at Saint Andrew’s or donate financially through the KidVantage website: https://kidvantagenw.org/diaper-derby/ under our “horse” name DANDY ANDY or Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church.
• The last of the diapers will be delivered to KidVantage no later than June 7 by members of the Outreach and Servant Ministries Committee.

Let’s help our struggling young families to not have to choose between feeding the family or buying diapers!  For more information, contact Liz Rudolph.

Ongoing:
Other ways to support Hopelink include:
1) write a check to Saint Andrew’s with Hopelink on the memo line;
2) make a donation through Tithe.ly, Saint Andrew’s online giving platform.  Visit our Giving Options webpage; select “Tithe.ly Online Giving” and choose Hopelink Food Bank from the drop-down menu; or
3) go to Hopelink’s Amazon Wish List page and purchase one or more of the items for their Pre-Packed Food Boxes and at checkout select Hopelink as the delivery address.

Discipleship Hour Forum
On Sunday, February 20, 2022, Kenny Fox of Hopelink led our Discipleship Forum, informing us about Hopelink’s many programs to serve the community.

• SOUPer Bowl of Caring - February

  SOUPer Bowl of Caring

  THANK YOU Saint Andrew’s! What a great response for our hungry neighbors. You filled 14 crates with food on Super Bowl Sunday, February 11, 2024. Thank you all for such generosity. This provided 465 pounds of food and $1,001 to the HopeLink Food Bank. And thank you to our teammates who helped with the collection: The Johnson family and the Rindy family. It was quite a team effort!

  Each year, Saint Andrew’s participates in a national effort to help those who are hungry. It is called “SOUPer Bowl of Caring” and is held in connection with the Super Bowl.

  On Super Bowl Sunday each year, we have a special collection to address hunger in our community. Before and after the service on that day, fellow members of our church are in the Narthex, collecting food and donations for this effort.

  In 2024, these were the items that HopeLink needed most for the SOUPer Bowl of Caring.  The need is ongoing; please bring any of these items to the Corner fo Blessing at any time during the year:

  • Canned Hearty Soup (Of course soups – it is the SOUPer Bowl)
  • Canned Chili and other meals (Spaghetti-O’s, Ravioli, Pork and Beans, Beef Stew, etc.)
  • Canned Meat (tuna, chicken, salmon)
  • Canned Fruit (~ 15 ounce, preferably NOT in heavy syrup)
  • Canned Corn (~ 15 ounce)
  • Jars of Pasta Sauce (~24 ounces)
  • Boxes of Cereal (especially name brands)
  • Ramen, Cup of Noodles, Noodle Kits, etc.
  • Peanut Butter (~ 16 ounces)

  Cans with “pop top” lids are highly desirable.

  Printable Shopping List

  Hopelink provides a wide variety of food through their food bank. Everything collected went to the Hopelink Food Bank in Bellevue. All money donated is used by Hopelink to buy the food items required to provide needed nutrition to those who are hungry right in our neighborhoods.

  History of the SOUPer Bowl of Caring
  The Souper Bowl of Caring is a nation-wide effort to make a difference for those in our communities that are dealing with hunger. It transforms the time around the Super Bowl into one of the nation’s largest celebrations of giving and serving. Hunger is everywhere in our community, from the suburbs on the Eastside to South King County to the streets of Downtown Seattle. It affects everyone: working families, the elderly, young adults and especially children.

  This effort was started in 1990 by a youth group at a church thinking that Super Bowl Sunday could be more than people gathering, eating a bunch of junk food and watching a football game. They felt it could also include remembering their neighbors who didn’t have a bowl of soup to eat.

  Each year, on Super Bowl Sunday, Saint Andrew’s participates in this special collection to help provide needed nutrition to those who are hungry right in our neighborhoods.

  Thank you for your many years of donations (both food and dollars) for the SOUPer Bowl of Caring!  Let’s see how great a difference we can make for those neighbors who are hungry in 2023!

• Volunteer Events

  Congregation Volunteer Day for Hopelink Food Bank

  We schedule periodic volunteer days at Hopelink’s Bellevue food bank. The food bank has limited space, so we are limited to 10 people for these events.

  We often sort food, stock shelves and repackage bulk items, but could be asked to do other tasks.

  For more information contact Dick Szabo.

• Mayors' Day of Concern for the Hungry

  Mayors’ Day of Concern for the Hungry

  Date to be announced 
  10:00 am – 4:00 pm;  1 ½ hour shifts

  The Mayors’ Day of Concern for the Hungry is the most important and largest food drive of the year for many of the organizations fighting hunger.

  Saint Andrew’s puts together teams of volunteers to be at a local grocery store from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm to collect nonperishable food items from shoppers.  We collect food for the Hopelink Food Bank.

  Volunteering consists of handing out a “shopping list” flyer and thanking people for their donations. This is a fun event and it is inspiring to see the generosity of the people coming to do their grocery shopping.

  Shifts are 1 ½ hours long, and at least 4 volunteers are needed per shift (we can use up to 6).  All ages can participate and it is a wonderful family activity!  Together we can turn just a few hours of time into tons of food for hungry local families.

  One day. One day to help ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. One shift can make a big difference. Please consider volunteering!