What summer memories are you creating?
July 6, 2018
I’m soon headed off for vacation with my family, my sister and her family, and my parents for a week in the mountains. I anticipate swimming in the lake, grilling and sitting at a long table on the back porch for meals filled with laughter, loud voices and lyrical stories.
What summer memories are you creating?
One of the things I love most about Bridge of Hope is that across 13 states, Bridge of Hope Neighboring Volunteers from a diverse representation of Christian faith communities are creating memories this summer by welcoming families facing homelessness to their backyard tables. For many families we serve in Bridge of Hope, their neighboring relationships are replenishing the emptiness and loneliness they have experienced. And that is what Neighboring Volunteers do – build hope! A single mother in Bridge of Hope recently told me, “Last year right before school started, I was isolating myself, feeling anxious and alone and then one of my Neighboring Volunteers threw a picnic. That’s where I remembered I was loved and felt included once again.”
Mother Teresa said, “So often the problem is simply this – that we make the circle we put around our family too small.” This summer – I hope we all remember to invite others into our family as we create memories around our tables!
And as Zac Brown sings, “Let’s make some memories round this nine foot pine.”
Here’s to expanding our tables,
Edith Yoder
Executive Director