e-News                                                          Spring 2016 
               

Welcome to Foundation of HOPE's Spring 2016 issue of "e-News." In each issue, you'll learn about recent happenings at HOPE, as well as current and upcoming news and events.  For more information, if you have a suggestion or if you'd like to be added to the HOPE e-news mailing list, please contact Executive Director Susan Orr at sorr@foundationofhope.org. To learn more about Foundation of HOPE, please visit our website.
 
In This Issue
"Healing Communities" coming to PTS
Rev. Dr. Harold Dean Trulear
Rev. Dr. Harold Dean Trulear

Rev. Dr. Harold Trulear, Director of Healing Communities, will conduct Healing Communities training for members of Pittsburgh's faith community, on Sunday, June 5,1:30 to 5 p.m., at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (Room 215, Long Hall), 616 N Highland Ave., East Liberty.

Rev Dr. Trulear has been conducting this training around the country as a way to work in our faith congregations and in the community to help those who have been incarcerated.

The one-day Healing Communities training will equip and empower congregations with resources, information and support, while each congregation decides on its own action plan and approach to work toward being a healing community, based on its own culture, beliefs and demographics.

The event is sponsored by Christian Associates of Southwest PA, Foundation of HOPE, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and National Religious Campaign Against Torture. 

Registration is $20, but no one will be turned away. For more information or to register, please contact Scilla Wahrhaftig at 412-361-1581 Scillahw@gmail.com.


"Trigger" to focus on impact of gun violence

Please join Foundation of HOPE to view "Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence," on Tuesday, June 14, 7-9 p.m., at HOPE's Aftercare office, 114 West North Ave., North Side. 
For information, email Caitlin.Werth@AlleghenyCounty.US

Welcome, new board member, officers
Jackie Keiner-Szwarc, Ph.D.
Daniel W. Kunz, Esq.
The Rev. Dr. Ronald Peters
Carol Popp

The following Foundation of HOPE board member and officers were recently voted into office:

Jackie Keiner-Szwarc, Ph.D., is now a HOPE board member. Her experience includes being Director of Product Sales for Girl Scouts-Trillium Council in Pittsburgh and Program Director-Tactics Information Systems in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as Mortgage Loan Office/Public Relations Manager for Heartland Mortgage & Bank and Director/Administrator of Volunteers-Mayor's staff in Columbus, OH. She is a former board member of Sojourner House. Keiner-Szwarc is a graduate of Capital University and Ohio State University.
Daniel W. Kunz, Esq.  is now HOPE's board president. He has served on the board for six years.  Kunz   currently is practicing law at his private practice in Pittsburgh. He  sits on numerous boards and committees throughout Western Pennsylvania. Kunz received his Bachelor of Science in Management from Saint Vincent College, his Masters of Business Administration at Duquesne University's John F. Donahue Graduate School of Business and his Juris Doctor Degree from Duquesne University School of Law.

The Rev. Dr. Ronald Peters is now Vice President of HOPE's board. He has served on the board for three years. Peters,  an internationally known preacher, educator, and advisor on social witness policy and urban theological education, serves on the Association of Theological Schools Board of Directors. He served as president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA. Prior to ITC, Dr. Peters was Henry L. Hillman Professor of Urban Ministry at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, as well as founding Director of its Metro-Urban Institute. Before joining the seminary faculty, he served as founding pastor at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, MA, and later as pastor of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church of Miami, FL. Peters received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern University (Baton Rouge, LA), Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Hamilton, MA) and Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Carol Popp  is now board secretary.  Popp, who is Executive Director of Allen Place Community Services, Inc., joined the Foundation of HOPE board in September. She has held leadership roles at such area non-profits as Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale, South Hills Interfaith Ministries, Holy Family Institute, the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region and Girl Scouts Western PA. Popp is a graduate of University of Pittsburgh.


Recent Chaplaincy happenings...
Late Winter and early Spring proved to be a busy, productive and inspirational time for Foundation of HOPE's Chaplaincy Program.  In addition to hosting programs during Black History Month and Mother's Day Weekend, Chaplaincy offers several events during Correctional Employees' Week, as well as Holy Week. 
Chaplain Vernetta Byrd, above, front row, center, oversaw planning events for Black History Month and for Mother's Day.

With the help of the "Glorious Overcomers Dancers," the Black History program was filled with the celebration of past and present innovators.  Thanks to the combined efforts of the Chaplaincy staff and performers, male inmates received an opportunity to learn, or be reminded of pivotal events, music, etc., that has impacted black history.The above and below photos display the  Glorious Overcomers Dancers. Also in the above photo, front row, far right is intern Anais Hussian.

To plan a Mother's Day event for inmates, Byrd received the help of several volunteers from Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, making Mothers' Day at Allegheny County Jail unlike any other day. The Friday evening before Mother's Day, female inmates shared poems, songs and dance that reminded them of the importance of mothers, including themselves. 





Bishop David Zubik visted ACJ to celebrate Holy/Maundy Thursday with inmates. During his visit, he also performed a foot washing that included inmates and staff.

During Correctional Employees' Week, the Chaplaincy Staff held the 20 th  Annual Memorial Service remembering deceased jail employees, captured in photos below, hosted an ice cream social for staff, and prayed by name for all jail staff.

 
Save the date: 2016 "Evening of HOPE"



Interested in becoming a mentor?
The Foundation of HOPE continually has a strong need for male mentors. 
 
HOPE's mentoring component matches inmates and ex-offenders with mentors who can assist them on a one-on-one basis. Mentors maintain professional relationships with their mentees by visiting them in jail at least three times a month and maintaining the match for at least a year. Upon release, mentors and mentees are expected to meet weekly.
 
Continuing education classes on topics, such as eco-maps, criminal and addictive thinking patterns, and healthy boundaries, provide mentors with the tools necessary to maximize their effectiveness. On the outside, HOPE's weekly support groups provide a forum for ex-offenders and their supporters to share resources, network, and address social, intellectual, vocational, spiritual, emotional, environmental, and physical needs.
 
Male inmates are waiting for male mentors, so please help HOPE put the MEN back into MENTORS. Spread the word that this is an opportunity for you, your friends and family (men and women) who have been asking questions about mentoring and looking for ways to serve to make a difference in someone's life.  For information, please contact jraeford@foundationofhope.org

Shop at Amazon Smiles, support HOPE 
Next time you shop at Amazon, please keep in mind that a percentage of your spending could go to "Foundation of H.O.P.E."  Sign up for "Amazon Smile" and support HOPE with each and every purchase that you make.