The Pancake Breakfast and Family Safety Day, which comes to the Firehouse at 137 Mt. Vernon St. on Sunday, Sept.
Hill House’s headquarters – the Firehouse at 127 Mt. Vernon St.
23, is just one example of the free, community events that Hill House Outreach Program sponsors to unite families throughout the neighborhood.
Co-chaired by Hill House board members
Lindley Melfa and Lisa Taffe, the “HHOP” is a volunteer committee consisting of Hill House staff and board members that hosts family events and collection drives, as well as serving meals to area seniors and coordinating year-round outreach efforts in partnerships with other local, nonprofits.
Upcoming holiday-themed events include a Halloween costume party at the Firehouse on Wednesday, Oct. 31; the Christmas tree sale on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2; and a visit from Santa on Thursday, Dec. 6.
“Particularly with our holiday-centered events, we make an effort to ask attendees to contribute something small to a charitable cause (books, pajamas, canned goods, etc.),” Melfa wrote.
In addition, HHOP donate gifts to Project Hope Giving Tree for the tree sale, which grants the holiday wishes of 100 children each year, while the Halloween event provides play-space, wish-list donations for the nonprofit Horizons for Homeless Children.
HHOP also collaborates with Jasmine Punzalan, a Hill resident and the owner of Kodomo children’s clothing store, to sponsor two events each year for new mothers. At these events, Punzalan donates a percentage of her sales to Hill House.
“This is a cool example of how Hill House also serves to connect our neighborhood and shows a way in which local small businesses can share a role in giving Hill House that true community feel,” Melfa wrote.
Besides Hill House staff, Melfa said the HHOP is fortunate to receive support from Summer Sitters, the Junior League and “local, collegiate Greek-life communities.”
“Another element of HHOP is reaching out to those in the community who wish to offer their time to volunteer on behalf of Hill House, enabling these events to be well staffed and run seamlessly,” she said.
To learn more about HHOP-sponsored events and volunteer opportunities, contact Meredith Adamczyk, Hill House’s director of development and marketing, at [email protected].