HopeFest, October 2006
This outreach to the 52 and 23 zip code areas of east Austin was held on a beautiful Saturday at Reagan High School. 3,000 local residents showed up with over 60 organizations participating. It was a great example of how all of the good people serving in this area can come together in a day of empowering people to live changed lives with God’s help.
Our desire is that Partners in Hope will extend the cooperation at HopeFest into every day of the year. (By the way, the next HopeFest celebration will be on October 13, 2007).
Praise in the Park, April 2006
Enjoy this video about Praise in the Park, an event put on in the St.John neighborhood by our friends from PIP Start ministries. Around 2,000 people came out for a day of gosel music, food and fun. One of our desires is to encourage a spirit of community and celebration in the St. John neighborhood, and, as you can see from this video, Praise in the Park did just that.
Look for Praise in the Park 2007 at the YMCA (6315 Ed Bluestein and 183) on April 14. There is also a possible St. John Praise in the Park in May. Look for details!
Unity March, St. John Neighborhood, April 2006
In August, 2005, we stuck our necks out and asked people to come together for a community anti-crime march as part of National Night Out. We were afraid just a handful might come out, but 250 brave souls marched up St. John Avenue carrying signs made by local kids. A pastor’s rally followed and you could just feel the barriers between African-American, hispanic and white residents coming down.
A local pastor suggested that we come together again last April for another “Unity March,” this time including the local schools. This video captures the spirit of that day as we carried bilingual signs stating that “Together We Can Do More”.
National Night Out, St. John Neighborhood, August 2005
This video shows our first neighborhood march, along with National Night Out parties around St. John. From 2 parties in 2004, we grew to 6 in 2006 with 450 people taking part. These are becoming a wonderful tradition and a statement by the neighborhood that crime is no longer welcome here!
National Night Out is sponsored by police departments all across the country as a way to get people to stand up for safe neighborhoods. With crime the #1 concern in St. John, NNO has been a great way of getting people galvanized. Our local police have been great partners and welcome neighborhood participation in fighting crime.
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