These folks didn't wait to see if anyone needed help

Helping the needy never goes out of style, and Hope Day — started in 2012 — has spread throughout the region.

Hope Day was held June 3 at dozens of locations, including in Hempstead. For the past 14 years, Hempstead Assembly of God, under the pastoring of Rev. Christopher Delmadge, has partnered with the Hope Day Network in a one-day community outreach event.

The day included guest speakers, free groceries, health and community services, haircuts, live entertainment and much more.

The sound of laughter and children running around filled the field next to Bowling Green Elementary School in Westbury on Saturday as other guests were seen listening to music, shopping, enjoying some food, and spending time together as a family. What made it all better, was that everything was free.

That’s just what Hope Day is all about — reaching communities and providing them with whatever they need.

Hope Day started in 2012, after a Valley Stream pastor named Steven Milazzo, of Bethlehem Assembly of God, joined the nonprofit humanitarian and disaster-relief organization, Convoy of Hope, for an event that provided food to Nassau County’s needy. The idea has since spread to the rest of the county and the entire Tristate area, and this year there was 35 different sites.

Hope Day at Bowling Green was started in 2015 by New Hope Church in Westbury. Over the years other churches have joined along, and now the event is a collaboration between New Hope Church, Iglesias Genesis in Westbury, Edge City Church in Mineola, and Shelter Rock Church in Old Westbury. 

“It's wonderful values as a church,” Corey Johnson, campus pastor from Shelter Rock, said. “One of the things that we want to do is to form Kingdom partnerships with other churches in the community, and also other organizations in the community that is doing work like this to meet people’s needs.”

Throughout the field, tents were set up with different purposes. There were areas that had new clothes for anyone who needed, and another one with new shoes. The shoes were so popular that they ran out about an hour into the event.

Prior to the event, people from New Hope buy as many shoes at the most affordable prices as possible based on how many much donation money they have. This year they purchased about 350 shoes.

There was a section where people could pick up bags of groceries, donated by Convoy of Hope, and a free pizza lunch was sponsored by East Meadow Kiwanis. Other treats included popcorn and snow cones which could be enjoyed in front of a live band made up of parishioners of New Hope.

“I like that we’re able to serve people who really, really just don’t have,” Christabelle Jeanty, a volunteer from New Hope, said. “There was a man that I met today and his shoes were broken and ripped and we were able to get him a brand new pair of shoes with no holes, and no feet showing — that’s what we really want.”

A whole section of the field was dedicated to kids. Blow up slides, games and more were there for parents to let their children enjoy for free.

A photo backdrop was set up for families to take family portraits in front of. Health care officials were on site to answer questions, and a community services station was set up to provide people with homeless ministries, help with healthcare, and mentoring programs.

“This is our way of giving back to community and it’s our way of showing that we love our community,” Mike Muntzenberger, a volunteer who goes to New Hope Church, said. “It’s fun to see everybody having fun and having their needs met.”

Next year, the churches want to bring cardiologists and other doctors to check for skin cancer and other conditions, Pastor Dan Olson from New Hope Church said.

Volunteers from each church were there ready to help anyone who needed it, and Olson said that that’s one of his favorite parts of the event.

“I love to see all of my volunteers just relating with our guests as they’re working hard and serving, and it’s all with a smile,” Olson said. “I like to see people coming back and I get to recognize their faces and connect with them.”