40°, no snow, no rain & a crew that was small but mighty! A perfect day for an Off The Streets Move! Our Truck Captain, Keith, went along with the Blue Team (notice blue tape on his shirt 🧐!) & was joined by a friend, Paul to help with the heavy lifting. The single room they visited needed only a boxspring & frame to get the mattress off the floor. They also brought a chair & ottoman, dresser & nightstand. Light lifter Denise helped Previewer Laura with our single male Neighbor’s smaller needs, such as bed linens, towels, dishes & 2 lamps. Our gentleman hoped for an air fryer, a wish we were able to give him; he received an air fryer/toaster oven! Smiling, thanking all & shaking hands, the team left him in his cozy and now well furnished room. Meanwhile the Orange Team headed to a single mom’s apartment led by Ted & Brad with the help of lifters Alicia, Willy & Previewers Lynne & Bobbie. With nothing in her apartment, all our Neighbor wanted was a loveseat & lamps, a mattress, nightstand & dresser. We added an end table, chair & ottoman & a wire shelving unit

Gratitude abounded today. Our Volunteer VP for Advancement, Stephanie Howard, received a call from one of loyal church communities, LCBC Church City asking for a meeting today. There, Pastor Brad Steele, Kathi Burns (Kid Ministry and Adam Bixby (Student Ministry) presented Stephanie with a most generous donation. The monies will help fund security deposits for the families and individuals we are assisting into permanent housing. Thank you, LCBC members. Thank you for your continued support of our work with our Neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Our three Moves last Saturday week went off without a hitch. We were led by Brad B and assisted by lifters Ted, Tom and Anne. We could NOT have accomplished this without the help of an enthusiastic group of Franklin & Marshall College students volunteering their time on a Saturday morning. Shout out to Danny, Eddie, Kelvin, Rohan, Iris, Hildy, Ariel, Lisa, Casey and Mariam! You guys were awesome and your help so very much appreciated. Brenda C, your faithful support is valued and we thank you. We appreciate the work that Blessings of Hope does to enable Brenda to shop there. ​Our first Neighbor was a single man, T. When we went for our Preview visit, we were greeted by T’s mother who ran up to us and hugged us, saying that we (Previewers Joan and Cathy) moved her in to her apartment two years ago; she is still in the same place and still has all the furniture that was provided to her at the time! It was great to hear that the help she received from Off the Streets was a springboard to her success and stability. T had secured a nice apartment, but needed everything, having

Our Preview Team last Saturday consisted of Karen C, Jan Z, and Teresa H. Sherrie O’Q. joined us for the preview visits but was unable to make it for Moves. Our 1st Move was to D and his roommate. They needed living room furniture, dresser, table and chairs. He was only asking for “what we really need”, stating that he wants to save (things) for the next person. It’s a sentiment we hear often from our grateful Neighbors. We also provided curtains for their living room and bedroom. There were no curtains at the warehouse that fit our needs. Jen is in the process of moving and had extra curtains so Karen spent one afternoon making them fit the apartment’s windows. They were very grateful. Our second householdneeded a dresser and living room furniture. The son needed a twin bed. We were hsppy to have Spiderman sheets to go along with it. The family was very helpful bringing things up to the second floor. They were very thankful to having “a complete apartment.” The third Move needed everything! We provided 1 Full and 2 Twin beds as well as living room and dining room furniture. Parking on this street was

A Different Kind of Saturday! We were able to help 6 families on Valentine’s Day in many capacities! The day began with Neighbor and her husband who had been displaced by a fire. They met us at 8:30 am to pick up bedding and household items to replace that which had been destroyed by fire. Our Warehouse crew and the Previewers Team tagged everything for them. We had a large group of volunteers with some new faces that Saturday so we divided into two teams. Team 1 went to the following Moves: The first Move was to a single person in a boarding house room. We delivered a full bed complete with bedding and a matching throw. A nightstand and lamp was added to brighten the room that had only one wall light. A nice 30 inch square table and chair, plus a small lamp, will provide eating space and also serve as a desk. A dresser and a shelving unit will provide space for storage and organization. Miscellaneous items included a clothes basket, trash can, pail with cleaning items, a Patient First first aid kit, and a plastic bin filled with food and kitchen items. We completed the room

The people of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church - Lancaster, PA have partnered with us for many years. Their parishioners are among our cherished volunteers. The parish as a whole, and individual parish groups have been sources of support. They have together helped us lift formerly homeless men, women and children into permanent homes and donated furnishings to create comfortable homes. Last week, we were humbled by a donation presented to us by the Daughters of Penelope. These women worked diligently to earn the dollars donated to help our marginalized neighbors. Thank you❤️.

Shown here are Tina George, Renie Beidelman, Alexandra Schramm, Off The Streets President Jim Dornes, Off The Streets Senior Intake Coordinator Glenda Dornes, Jackie Fox*, Kim McDevitt and Denise Wahling.
Jackie and her husband Chris also serve as Off The Streets Truck Captains, and their children are essential Move Volunteers. Thank you too to RenieB Jewelry.

God Bless the 14 volunteers who braved -20℉ windchills, 50mph wind gusts and a 1/2” bit of snow that looked and felt like 6” for all of the ways it blew on roads and faces! Brad B, Truck Captain; Keith M van driver; Dave F; Tom C; Denise H; Ted B; William W; Adam S; Steve and Jen Y; and Ellen T who made this bitterly cold day her first move with OTS! Their fortitude was a blessing for a mom and her two daughters, and a dad and his two daughters… recently housed and beyond happy and thankful to have their own precious home! Our more rural Move was made easier! Despite the narrow shoveled walk and the 10℉ temps, our Team didn’t have to find parking on city streets, instead were greeted with a private driveway large enough for the van and the volunteers! Mom and her 2 daughters were working with Bridge of Hope Lancaster who supplied some furniture and food, and our OTS donors and volunteers supplied everything else they needed to complete their home. Some small appliances and a living needs box rounded out their kitchen. End table and lamp were all they needed for

Saturday, January 31st started out a frigid 2°. The weather forecast did not expect temperatures to get above 20°all day. Snow banks lined the streets of the location of the first of our 2 Moves. Despite these conditions, we had an enthusiastic group of young men from the Freshman Basketball team at Lancaster Catholic High School to help with our Moves. We were very grateful for their assistance. Many thanks too to our veteran Truck Captain Ed McD, Coach Mike Tafelski who coaches the Freshman LCHS team, and helps to pick up OTS furniture donations each week), Cecile & Steve F and Coach Tony Proctor for braving the cold and snow to help provide living needs to our Neighbors! Our single Mom in Manheim had a family of 3; 2 young children and an infant boy. Due to the snowstorm that took place over the weekend, we were unable to preview until Tuesday afternoon. With concern for the family and their lack of warm provisions, a member of our team managed to get to Walmart in the ice and snow to purchase and deliver blankets and comforters for the air beds they had. The warehouse lot was not passable. Their