February 2018 Update

Henry Fork Service Center

February 2018

Henry Fork Center is excited to announce that we have enough funds to pay off the mortgage owed on the Pennel and Activity Buildings!  We received Christmas offerings from Redwood UMC, Fairview UMC, St. Luke’s UMC, Lynnhaven UMC, and individuals and families.  We thank all those who supported the building program over the years, and rejoice that we have adequate educational and play space for our 60 Afterschool students.

Henry Fork Center has been selected as one of the eight charities for the Smith Mountain Lake Home Tour 2018.  So what is the Charity Home Tour?  In 1991, Jeanne and Joe Wagner came up with a fundraising idea that would showcase area homes and raise money for Blue Ridge Multiple Sclerosis.  (Read more about the history of the Tour here) After several successful years, the Charity Home Tour (CHT) decided to expand the charities to which they would donate, and the eight houses/eight charities was born.  The SML CHT is the only home tour that allows visitors to come by either boat or land, and has raised over $4.4 million for charities. Over 1,600 guests visited the homes last year, and HFSC received $20,070 from the SML CHT.   The theme for 2018 is One Check- Eight Charities-Many Lives.

How can you help?  The charities, including Henry Fork Center, are responsible for the safety of the home and visitors, and sharing about the home.  There are hostesses in all or most rooms in the house, greeters, ticket takers, bootie distributors and collectors, traffic directors on both dock and land, and hospitality hostesses.  There are 5 shifts on the tour that is always held on Columbus Day weekend; Friday morning, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon.  Henry Fork Center will need people in each position for each shift of the tour.  If your unit could come together for a service project during a shift, members could work together to staff the house.  Our house this year is on Ventnor Avenue, on the way to the Smith Mountain Lake Franklin County Park, and the event is October 5-7, 2018.  Please contact Sherri Krauss or Lisa at Henry Fork Center for more details.

Henry Fork Center is working with the Bedrock Church, a new church started in Franklin County with Bedford County roots.  Bedrock hosted a carnival for our students and community families at the end of the summer, a Thanksgiving Dinner the week before Thanksgiving, and is hoping to have a parent and child event one evening each month. A Valentines Party was held on February 13th, and we are looking forward to an event centering on Easter in March.

Thank you for your continued support of the Henry Fork Center.  We are blessed with paper towels, toilet paper, copy paper, and bottled water.  We just received birthday gifts for our students, and will be installing the 180 LED bulbs for which funds were provided in the near future.  We are looking forward to spring with Easter and gardening season, and hoping our students can get outside when the weather gets warmer.  Thank you for making God’s love visible at Henry Fork Center through your prayers, gifts, financial resources, and volunteering.

Lisa Nichols,

Director

Lisa installs LED bulbs in classroom in the Pennel Building.

Members of Bedrock Church serve Thanksgiving Dinner.