March 25, 2012
It always amazes and inspires us when college students – or anyone really – agrees to give up a week of their time to help someone they don’t know, in another country, through Hand in Hand. Last week, a group from the University of Texas University Catholic Center went to Nicaragua, and came back with wonderful stories and photos from their trip.
We’ve collected some of the photos and a link to a blog produced by Corina Goytia, one of the students who went on the trip. There are lots of photos and reflections posted there, and you can find that blog here: http://corinanicaragua.blogspot.com/
The photos below are from Zach McKenzie. Thanks for sharing these, Zach! An album of many more photos is posted on our Facebook page.
Building a home in Nicaragua
Hard at work in Nicaragua
March 3, 2012
St. Luke’s Church in Salyersville, not far from the Hand in Hand office in Auxier, was leveled by a tornado yesterday.
St. Luke's Church
Hand in Hand volunteers had painted this church a few years ago. The program for mothers and infants operated from this church is one that Hand in Hand has donated items to for years. Many homes in the area were also destroyed or severely damaged.
Hand in Hand in Auxier will provide coffee, food and a place to rest for victims of the tornadoes, today and tomorrow. We will make further plans as we see what is needed and share this information with you on this blog and on the Hand in Hand facebook page. You can safely donate online using the “donate now” button on any page.
February 17, 2012
Editor’s note: We are fortunate to have a committed staff at Hand in Hand that is dedicated to the cause of serving others. As Co-Founder Wayne Fowler continues to focus on his health (as we posted about previously), two others have stepped forward in our organization to take on leadership roles. We wanted to introduce you to them here.
Libbey Smith, left, in Belize
The Board of Directors of Hand in Hand would like to welcome Marla Cautilli and Libbey Smith in their new roles within our organization.
Marla, who served as our Development Director for the past three years has been promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Libbey, who has served as Associate Director for ten years, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
Marla Cautilli, right, on a trip to Belize
They both share a tremendous passion for the work of Hand in Hand and welcome the opportunity to move our organization forward. It is with the utmost confidence and excitement that these appointments have been made. Marla and Libbey have excelled in their roles at Hand in Hand. Their dedication to our mission, along with their ability to inspire others, is well established. We are so very fortunate to have such capable, compassionate and enthusiastic people at the helm as we continue to grow as an effective, powerful organization.
Fully supporting this transition and looking forward to continued growth for Hand in Hand, founder Wayne Fowler will continue to be an important resource. We all wish Wayne and his family much love, support and encouragement as he focuses on the health issues he is now facing.
Thank you for your interest and continued support in Hand in Hand.
Board Co-Chairs
Harry Borders
Fr. Joe Fowler
January 18, 2012
Our newly reorganized food pantry
One of the most valuable services we provide in Auxier, Ky., which is in the heart of Appalachia, is a food pantry. We serve an average of 60 families a month in the pantry.
The pantry is open twice each month for regular service and we do emergency services on an as needed basis. While we are recipients of food from God’s Pantry and the Feeding America program, the majority of our food and hygiene products come from donations, mainly our immersion trip volunteers.
We also make our community library available to food pantry participants when they come in for food assistance.
Kentucky Colonels logo
We are increasing our food assistance services to provide a bigger variety of nutritious fresh and/or frozen items each month. We applied for a grant from
Kentucky Colonels to purchase an upright freezer to increase our usable floor space and to increase our frozen food storage. The photo shows our new freezer, thanks to the Colonels and the recent renovations that include more shelving and more available space.
We’re extremely grateful to the Kentucky Colonels for the grant funding to help us meet this need and to our many volunteers and donors who donate food. Thank you to all of you for your work.
January 11, 2012
We are thrilled and honored to announce that our Bologna for Belize fundraiser has far exceeded our expectations. So far, we have raised more than $6,000 for a trip to Belize that begins next week. The goal was $4,000. These generous gifts will allow us to build an even better house for our next family, which is really exciting.
The actual event was Saturday evening, with 50 in attendance, which was great all on its own. What’s really topped it are the incredibly generous donations from the friends and family of the fundraisers. We’re accepting donations through the end of January, and you can donate safely online on our web site here: donate.
Kevin and Kristy Greenwood, who are leaving for Belize on Sunday, started with a small idea. Working with their friends, Rich and Natalie Tinsley, they watched as their friends enthusiasm grew with their own. They held the party Saturday evening at the Tinsley’s and everyone had a great time. Our deep thanks to the Greenwoods and Tinsleys for going above and beyond to not only go on the trip to Belize but to raise the funds for the house as well. We are inspired and honored!
The Greenwoods will be building house #174 for Hadiya Bevans. She is 34 and a single mother of eight children. Her elderly mother also lives with her. The house they’re presently in leaks terribly and is near collapse. She is living on the equivalent of $25 per week and her oldest daughter is helping when she can. Hand in Hand’s selection committee chose Hadiya because of the urgent need to get her and family into a safe environment. Hand in Hand’s Building for Change program also provides life’s skills classes which will help her in her personal development.
The Bologna for Belize fundraiser has raised more than $6,000 to date. This additional amount will allow plumbing and more to be added to the home. These funds also help support Hand in Hand Ministries other programs in Belize including the Scholarship program, Lunch Program and Outreach Center for children afflicted with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
To all of you who have donated, THANK YOU. We are thrilled!
January 9, 2012
A team from Boston College left for Belize on Sunday. We were delighted to see this update from Grace Regan on their team today, and look forward to more updates as they go forward. Thanks for letting us know!
Boston College arrived on Sunday and joined the community at St. Martin de Porres for Mass. We had an amazing tour with James from Hand in Hand Ministries and began our work this morning with prayer building a house for Miss Alice. Miss Alice and her son, Lesley, met us with Beto and Alfonso from Hand in Hand. We prayed together as we began the building project and worked together to complete the foundation and floor. We have a great team and we feel honored to work with Hand in Hand. Mr. Panton and Christin from Hand in Hand joined us with Dalila a house recipient from Hand in Hand whose New Year’s resolution is to give back and volunteer with the little she has! An amazing lesson and day! We are tired but look forward to tomorrow.
January 6, 2012
The first “Bologna for Belize” fund raiser is set for Saturday – just about 24 hours away from when we’re writing this. We’ve raised $950 online towards the cause. Our goal is to raise $4,000 before the trip to Belize begins in another week.
ALL – 100 percent – of your donations will be directly impact the Building for Change program and Outreach Center in Belize. The funds donated will help build a new home in Belize and fund the programs of Hand in Hand. Kevin and Kristy Greenwood and their friends invite you to join them, Saturday, January 7, from 7 to 10 p.m., for smoked bologna, your favorite lager and friends.
We hope to see you there! Details below. You can give online by visiting this link: http://www.myhandinhand.org/Bologna-for-Belize.html
Date: Saturday, January 7, 2012
Time: 7:00 to 10:00 PM
Place: Home of Rich and Natalie Tinsley
2108 Highland Springs Place
Louisville, KY 40245
December 21, 2011
Clare Blim with some of the gifts gathered for Auxier
We get help from lots of people who want to support our mission. We want to tell a story here of a young person who decided to assist Hand in Hand.
Clare Blim, 8th grader at Sacred Heart Model School, invited her friends to join in spreading Christmas wishes to teens and pre-teens in Eastern Kentucky. She recently learned that, as people plan their Christmas giving, the focus is often on little children. Teens and pre-teens are not thought of as often, so together Clare, her friends and members of the school faculty filled shoe boxes with items the teens would enjoy. The items have been delivered to the Hand in Hand Auxier Center in Auxier, KY.
Thanks, Clare and Friends, for sharing your Christmas Spirit.
December 12, 2011
This photo illustrates beautifully what we do in Belize.
has long had a partnership with Hand in Hand. The university has sent several groups to Belize to build homes and work with people in Belize. Another group just got back from a trip there. We asked Katie D’Alexander to be a Social Media Captain for us during the trip, keeping us updated with the group’s activities. We give her an A+ and some extra credit for the amazing photos and information she sent back to us. We used a service called
Dropbox that we love for transferring large files. It’s free. She used her Twitter account (@
kayteedeeaye) to update us every evening.
First, we’ll show you the tweets she posted about her trip. If you aren’t familiar with Twitter, users can post 140 character or less updates on the site. We have a Twitter account, too: @myhandinhand. The tweets run from most recent to oldest.
And then there are the photos. Katie captured the moments that really tell the story of the work we do in Belize. She sent us a few photos every day showing the home under construction, natives there, and some small moments of compassion, caring and love. What we noticed in all of the photos was the infectious laughter and smiles that everyone seemed to display. We’ve been told many times that people can’t help but be happy in Belize, and these photos show exactly what that looks like. We’ve posted a few of the best photos here, but you can find many more on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/myhandinhand.
The Rush University team works diligently on the new house.
Last: Katie tweeted out this link to News 5 in Belize, which did a story on our home building project there. Thanks for letting us know, Katie!
http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/64335
