New Hope for Families

We have moved so many families out of shelter and into new permanent housing in the past month that our supply of full-size bath towels is completely depleted! We rely on donations to provide bedding and bath linens to our families and you can help us out a lot right now by cleaning out your closets of gently used towels and other items that are still in good condition. We accept donations of bath towels and other items any time our office is open (Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm). Please call our office at 812-334-9840 for more information or to arrange delivery.

We are so thankful for our partnership with Old National Bank. ONB Regional President Scott Shishman is a great friend to New Hope and a wonderful advocate for our mission. With their support, New Hope continues to provide emergency shelter and high-quality child care to keep families together and lift them into a promising future.

Recently, employees of Duke Energy Corporation came to New Hope to work side-by-side with our team as part of their company volunteer day. Their volunteers brought their "Duke energy" to a variety of indoor and outdoor tasks. While here, Duke representatives, joined by Indiana State Senator Shelli Yoder, presented New Hope with a check for $5,000 to support the creation of a pollinator garden on our property. Thank you to everyone at Duke Energy! We are fortunate to be part of such a generous community, where friends like these help our most vulnerable families by supporting the work we do here at New Hope. With your help, our community is working to keep families together and lift every child into a promising future! #endhomelessness

So far in April, shoppers at Bloomingfoods Co-Op Market have raised more than $5,500 for New Hope! And there are two more weeks left for you to participate. Reminder: You can make a difference for local families in crisis all this month when you "round up" through the Positive Change program at Bloomingfoods. Thank you to our friends at Bloomingfoods for making this possible! And thank you, shoppers, for making a positive change in our community!

A past eviction on a family's record can be the single biggest obstacle to them when trying to find a new home. Removing the burden of eviction -- in cases that were overturned or have been paid off -- from a family's history is a powerful tool our case managers use to get families into housing.

We are so grateful to have Smithville as the presenting sponsor of our Spring for Hope 2024 gala fundraising event, which took place April 12, and as a dedicated community partner. Thank you, Smithville! Our annual gala event is critical to funding the many important services that New Hope for Families provides throughout the entire year to children and families affected by homelessness in our community. The support of our corporate partners and generous donors allows New Hope to provide vulnerable families with help for today and new hope for tomorrow.

April 6–12 is the Week of The Young Child, an annual celebration of early learning and its positive impact on young children, and today is Family Friday! Family is at the root of everything we do at New Hope. Last month, the children in the pre-K classroom at New Hope Early Learning Center recorded their own album of music. The album features one solo instrumental performance by each child and it ends with all the children signing "The ABCs" together. Families of each child got to attend an album release party on Friday, March 22, to celebrate the work of these young musicians. After the assembled families got their first listen to this special album, the party ended with a cooperative game led by the kids that inspired big smiles on the faces of the little ones and their loved ones. At each step from the classroom to the home, New Hope works with families to lift every child into a promising future. #WOYC24 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

April 6–12 is the Week of The Young Child, an annual celebration of early learning and its positive impact on young children, and today is Artsy Thursday! Art is a cornerstone of early learning. It helps children develop fundamental skills that support creative expression throughout their life. For young children, art is mostly a sensory exploration that involves fine and gross motor movement. Using different materials such as crayons, paints, glitter, tearing up paper or tissue, and sticking these on to various surfaces, all provide many opportunities to develop fine motor skills. At this stage, the process of creation and experimentation with different media is more important and exciting than the finished product itself. Letting children have agency with how they use materials teaches them that there is no "right way" to do art. With guidance from adults, art is an engaging way to explore other concepts like math and counting. This guided engagement also helps foster social bonds between children and teachers. Similarly, collaborative art provides an opportunity for kids to work together and forge strong emotional connections. Creating art also boosts a child’s self-esteem and feeling of autonomy. The process of making art, looking at art, and playing with art encourages creativity and crosses over physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains of development. Art is a truly all-encompassing way to learn. #WOYC24 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

April 6–12 is the Week of the Young Child, an annual celebration of early learning and its positive impact on young children, and today is Work Together Wednesday! Children at New Hope Early Learning Center are constantly working together to create, resolve conflict, and make interpersonal connections. From building towers to collaborating on artwork to helping each other overcome obstacles on the playground, there are many opportunities for kids to develop the complex social, cognitive, and emotional skills that turn a classroom into a community. #WOYC24 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

April 6–12 is the Week of The Young Child, an annual celebration of early learning and its positive impact on young children, and today is Tasty Tuesday. As part of New Hope's "Plot to Tot" program, the children enrolled in New Hope Early Learning Center take an active role in planting, growing, and harvesting the food they eat in their classroom. Click the link to learn more about this hands-on garden experience for kids from our in-house nutritional coordinator Holly Waldkoetter. #WOYC24 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)