Chicken barbecue will benefit Mt. Hope

BY CATHY MOLITORIS

Spring is a busy season for many of us, so take a load off your plate and make plans to pick up dinner on Friday, May 5. Mt. Hope Nazarene Retirement Community will host a drive-through chicken barbecue dinner in the parking lot of LCBC, 2392 Mount Joy Road, Manheim, from 4 to 6 p.m. The meal will include Peters’ Barbecue fire-grilled chicken, gourmet cheesy potatoes, savory baked beans with bacon, a dinner roll with butter, Mt. Hope’s famous coleslaw and a dessert. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit Mt. Hope, a 50-bed skilled nursing facility and rehabilitation center providing care for seniors and people with disabilities regardless of their ability to pay.

BY CATHY MOLITORIS

Foralmost half a century, Manheim Christian Day School has welcomed the community to an annual auction and weekend of festivities for the whole family. The 47th annual Benefit Auction and Family Fun Days will be held on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, at the school, 686 Lebanon Road, Manheim.

The event will begin on Friday with a pork barbecue dinner available for dine-in or drive-through pickup from 3:15 to 6:30 p.m. The meal will include Peters’ Barbecue pulled pork, a baked potato, applesauce, a pickle, a homemade roll, a dessert and a drink. Advance tickets may be purchased by calling the school at 717-665-4300. Limited meals will be available on the day of the event.

At 4 p.m. on April 28, a silent auction will begin. It will run through noon on Saturday, April 29. An official welcome ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Gummy Bear Challenge, which will pit teams of students and staff members against each other.

At 7 p.m. on Friday, class projects and special experiences will be featured. Each grade will have a project that will be auctioned off, explained Jen Kosydar, events coordinator. These will include the fourth-grade Seed to Sow project, where each student is given money to use toward creating and selling a product in the month leading up to the auction. The product is then auctioned off at the event. Other class projects to be auctioned include a picnic table, fire pits with custom trays, a handmade quilt, photo books and yard games, all personalized by individual classes. Saturday’s events will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with doughnuts, coffee and juice available for purchase. The live auction will begin at 9 a.m., with a variety of items up for grabs. Tools and outdoor items, including hunting, camping and fishing gear as well as lawn and garden equipment, will be featured at 10 a.m. General merchandise and gift certificates will be spotlighted at 11 a.m. Children’s activities, including inflatables, a petting zoo, barrel train rides, a giant slide, face painting and games, will run from 9 to 11 a.m., with the inflatables available until 3 p.m. At 11:15 a.m., a candy launch will be held, and at 12:30 p.m., live entertainment by character juggler Chris Ivey will be featured. Also at 12:30 p.m., Mrs. Shelly will lead sports games.

A variety of food will be available for purchase all weekend, including Gene Wenger’s hamloaf sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken corn soup, french fries, milkshakes, soft-serve ice cream and homemade baked goods.

Last year’s event raised $215,000, Kosydar noted, and organizers hope to exceed that amount this year. Proceeds are used to make Christian education affordable to more families, she said, as well as to purchase new technology and fund essential building projects.

“Come out for great merchandise, experiences, fun kids’ activities and food,” Kosydar remarked. “There’s something for everyone.”

Times for the auctions are subject to change. For more information on the event, visit www.manheim christian.org.

“Most residents at Mt. Hope do not have financial resources to cover the cost of their care, and a growing gap of about $150 a day exists between what a resident is able to pay and the cost of daily care,” explained Kris Wilson, director of advancement. “That’s why these fundraisers are so very important for Mt. Hope and the care we provide. Any gift to Mt. Hope is appreciated and makes a huge difference.”

Wilson noted that a new opportunity has been created to support Mt. Hope on an ongoing basis. “This spring is the perfect time to join in a monthly partnership with Mt. Hope,” she stated. “We’re kicking off our monthly giving opportunities and welcoming new growth, which brings exciting energy and life to Mt. Hope. Our monthly giving program enables Mt. Hope to finance our day-to-day activities and cover daily operating expenses.”

See Mt. Hope pg 8

Fulton Bank, a subsidiary of Fulton Financial Corporation, recently announced that it has donated more than $195,000 to Lancaster and Lebanon area nonprofit organizations.

Beneficiaries receiving at least $10,000 included the Cocalico Education Foundation, Lancaster County Career & Technology FoundationEIO, Lancaster Education Foundation, Manheim Central Foundation for Educational Enrichment, Manheim Township Educational Foundation, Southern Lancaster County Foundation for Education, and the Warwick Education Foundation. The $195,000 in total donations was divided among 35 local organizations as part of the Pennsylvania Educational

Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.

Fulton Bank’s Fulton Forward initiative is focused on building vibrant communities with programs, products and services focused on four key areas: affordable housing and home ownership; job training and workforce development; financial education and economic empowerment; and diversity, equity and inclusion.

As part of the Pennsylvania EITC initiative, Fulton Bank donated more than $725,000 to educational organizations across the state in December 2022.

Organizations seeking funding from Fulton Bank may visit www.FultonBank.com/Fulton Forward for more information, including gift criteria.

The Governor Dick Environmental Center, located at 3283 Pinch Road, Mount Gretna, will present a Wildflower Walk on Saturday,

April 22, at 1:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about the early spring bloomers of the forest.

The program is free, but preregistration is required. For more information and to register, email governor dick@hotmail.com or call 717-964-3808. Those who register will be notified in the event that the program is canceled.