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News and Musings:

Monday, May 06, 2013
Golf Tournament and Spring Thaw Bike Tour: THIS WEEKEND!
 
Text Graphic saying Honor thy mother and the homeless moms at Brethren Housing Association
BHA Golf Tournament Graphic Friday, May 10, 2013

Complete Details
registration brochure
(PDF 423k)
Click Here to Register for BHA Golf Tournament

BHA Spring Thaw Bike Tour Graphic Saturday, May 11, 2013

Complete Details
registration brochure
(PDF 497k)
Click Here to Register for BHA Golf Tournament

Posted by Chris Fitz   (5/6/2013 5:56:16 PM | link)


Monday, April 01, 2013
I'm Calling You Out, JT!
 
ON NOTICE: Justin Timberlake

If you are like me, from the moment you heard about Justin Timberlake's new album, you suspected something was up.

In case you haven't heard, JT's new album is called: The 20/20 Experience. It was released--conveniently with that title--shortly after we announced that our three-year mature $2.25 million organizational expansion effort called the 20/20 Vision Campaign passed the $2.0 million dollar mark. Are you catching on yet?

At first I thought: is Justin Timberlake trying to ride our coattails to multi-platinum success? Is he jumping on the 20/20 Vision bandwagon that we've worked so hard to establish?

Then I thought: maybe its all a coincidence. But THEN I saw the cover art. And read the lyrics.

First, here is our 20/20 Vision Campaign Logo:
 
Parody 20/20 Vision Campaign graphic

Now, look at JT's new album cover:
 
Justin Timberlakes 20/20 Experience Album Cover

I mean, his doesn't have the high quality production value of our logo, but that is what you get when you are limited to photoshopping other people's work.

More Proof Of JT's Plagiarism

Let's recap the main tenets of BHA's 20/20 Vision Campaign...
Goal: Raise $2.25 Million

To Allow Us To:

  1. Serve more families
  2. Restore our city block
  3. Invest in youth
BHA's Slogan: Building A Future With Hope
So I dropped $7 to pick up JT's new album and I'm halfway through the song Tunnel Vision when I hear this verse:
I got a million reasons for clingin' to hope
I got 2 and a quarter reasons, no need to cope
I wanna serve more families. Yo family! You got served
I'm fixin' up da block and won't let it reverse
The children are our future, we should teach them well
For a future with hope, a hope you can't quell
There were a lot of beats and stuff, but I'm pretty sure that is what I heard him say. I mean, I'm happy to have our work in Harrisburg celebrated like this. But there is no acknowledgement that he's speaking directly about us. No direct reference to our tireless work on Allison Hill. Not even a mention of our beautiful windowless basement offices.

Look, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. But when you see a random fact that can be stretched to fit something you believe to be true, it's hard to ignore.

So, Mr. Coattails, you are on notice. We know your game. And we're telling our friends about what you've been up to.

What do I want?

An apology would be nice. Sure, I'd love to join you on Jimmy Fallon to televise your apology nationwide.

But if that doesn't suit your schedule, Justin, maybe you could look at your budget and consider taking our 20/20 Challenge: giving $20/month for 20 months to help us complete our campaign. That would truly be a 20/20 Experience! Its spread out like that to make it doable for people like you...allowing time for your album sales to pick up.

Think about it. Your move.

Cordially,
Steve Schwartz
Executive Director
Brethren Housing Association

Posted by Steve Schwartz   (4/1/2013 12:31:23 PM | link)


Thursday, February 14, 2013
We're Launching a VS Program!
 
Brethren Housing Association is launching a full-time, residential Volunteer Service (VS) Program! Our VS House will be a hub of ministry in our community. The goal is to recruit 4-6 adult staff via Brethren Volunteer Service, Mennonite Voluntary Service, Americorps, Vista or other sources to live in and serve our neighborhood. Several of these VS staff would be dedicated to the ministry of BHA, but we hope to partner with other churches and ministries in our neighborhood by providing housing for VS staff, thereby opening this source of staffing to them as well.

To launch this vision, we are hiring a half-time Volunteer Coordinator to conduct the planning and coordination necessary in the coming year or so. This staff person will also help coordinate other volunteers including the management of work camps and day groups.

A full job description can be found on our Job Openings page. Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter by March 20, 2013.

Posted by Steve Schwartz   (2/14/2013 4:06:04 PM | link)


Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Faith and Finances Class Update
 
We just passed the halfway point of our inaugural Faith and Finances financial education curriculum. The curriculum was written specifically for low-income families by the team at the Chalmers Center for Economic Development, the same team that wrote the groundbreaking book When Helping Hurts.

Our Program Director Crystal Baxter and Case Manager Marilyn Bellesfield are members of the first class of trainers certified nationwide to be Faith and Finances educators. This past Monday night we covered lesson 6, Frugal Living. Below are some highlights from this week.

Picture of wall poster listing the 11 chapter titles of the Faith and Finances curriculum
We're heading into the home stretch of the Faith and Finances curriculum

Case Manager Marilyn Bellesfield leads the group through an exercise in thinking how they could reduce their expenses
Case Manager Marilyn Bellesfield leads the group through an exercise in thinking how they could reduce their expenses

BHA Program Participants along with several Bagwashi Circle mentors are taking part in the course
BHA Program Participants along with several Bagwashi Circle mentors are taking part in the course

The groups split into two sub-groups to brainstorm ways they could live more frugally
The groups split into two sub-groups to brainstorm ways they could live more frugally

Each group filled the Thrift Tree with a wide variety of practical ideas
Each group filled the "Thrift Tree" with a wide variety of practical ideas

Posted by Steve Schwartz   (2/12/2013 6:13:24 PM | link)


Friday, February 01, 2013
Business Community: Join Us!
 

BHA Business Breakfast Briefing Details
BHA Business Breakfast Briefing Hosts
 
Event free of charge, but RSVP by Thursday, February 21
to Chris Fitz at cfitz@bha-pa.org or (717) 233-6016.

Posted by Steve Schwartz   (2/1/2013 12:01:17 PM | link)


Sunday, January 27, 2013
Thanks For Honoring Dr. King!
 
Special thanks are in order to everyone who helped make the 2013 MLK Day of Service a great success! Over 100 volunteers joined us at BHA along with our neighborhood partners Danzante Community Arts Center, Brethren Community Ministries, Community Action Commission and Harrisburg First Church of the Brethren on neighborhood and facility beautification efforts.

We also want to thank WGAL TV for highlighting our work, as they also spotlighted several regional community projects on MLK National Day of Service. See below:

And pictures from the day are available on our Facebook page.

Posted by Steve Schwartz   (1/27/2013 11:54:37 PM | link)


News and Musings Archive
May 2013 (1 musing)
April 2013 (1 musing)
February 2013 (3 musings)
January 2013 (1 musing)
December 2012 (1 musing)
November 2012 (4 musings)
October 2012 (3 musings)
September 2012 (1 musing)
August 2012 (2 musings)
July 2012 (3 musings)
June 2012 (6 musings)
May 2012 (4 musings)
April 2012 (7 musings)
March 2012 (1 musing)
February 2012 (1 musing)
January 2012 (1 musing)
December 2011 (4 musings)
November 2011 (1 musing)
October 2011 (2 musings)
September 2011 (2 musings)
June 2011 (5 musings)
May 2011 (11 musings)
April 2011 (1 musing)
March 2011 (4 musings)
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December 2010 (6 musings)
November 2010 (2 musings)
October 2010 (3 musings)
August 2010 (4 musings)
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June 2010 (7 musings)
May 2010 (4 musings)
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June 2008 (3 musings)
May 2008 (2 musings)
April 2008 (6 musings)
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January 2008 (4 musings)
December 2007 (4 musings)
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August 2007 (2 musings)
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May 2007 (4 musings)
April 2007 (2 musings)
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December 2006 (3 musings)
November 2006 (3 musings)
October 2006 (3 musings)


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Work Day @ BHA
Sat., Apr. 13*
8:30am-3pm

11th Annual BHA Golf Tournament
Friday
May 10

Starting at 12:30pm;
Parline Golf Course
Get Details
8th Annual Spring Thaw Bike Tour
Saturday
May 11

Starting at 7:30am;
Mount Wilson Church of the Brethren
Get Details
8th Annual Ministry Celebration Event: Reception and Auction
Tuesday
Oct. 29

6pm
Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey

 
* Dates and times of workdays are subject to change. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Dennis Saylor, our Property Manager, at 717.233.6016 or dsaylor@bha-pa.org to confirm work day is continuing as planned.