The Eclipse Project: Helping Harrisburg's Homeless

01/06/2025

01/04/2025

Anyone willing to come to the church tomorrow at about 1:00 and haul some totes of clothes down to Tent City for us for an hour? We have a lot of clothes.

12/31/2024

My weekly post is a day late because we were focused on the fire yesterday. Today you get the long post and food pictures! This was our meal for our differently sheltered friends Sunday.
Ham
Mashed potatoes with ham gravy
Turkey and stuffing
Turkey pot pie
Turkey spaghetti
(We got a lot of turkeys for Thanksgiving and my friend Keith takes one every week and makes yummy stuff with it)
Southern corn casserole
Pineapple kugel
Sweet and spicy meatballs and weenies
Lasagna
Scalloped potatoes
Ham and cheese sandwiches and chicken club sandwiches
Amazing desserts
Drinks and snacks

Thank you to Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen, it's a Country Gourmet at the Market for your food donations, to Panera for your bread and pastries, and to those who brought food this week. Keith, Steve, Amy, and another gentleman whose name I didn't get. He swooped in like a ninja and dropped off some pasta. Our ovens were already full so we will serve that next week!

I'm going to try to remember everybody but holy moly. I had a lot of volunteers this week. Couldn't do this without Jerry, Erin, Abby, Emma, Bob, Carol, Jorgette, Tom, Jessica, Steve, Tyrell, Michelle, Felix, Sandy, Ash, Danielle... Someone please sound off and tell me if I forgot anyone! Sundays are a flurry of activity and I never want to miss showing gratitude for anyone.

We had three extra vehicles Sunday to help take out the surplus of clothing donations that we had.

Thank you to everyone who makes this possible every week!

12/31/2024

It was a good day. This is our pup from the fire getting all sorts of love at the veterinarian's office. He came home with his rabies tag, flea and tick chews, pain medicine, something to prevent infection and then a barrier for over top, a collar, a leash, some snacks, and a rather disconcerting and disturbing looking beef tendon to chew on. He has a couple small second degree burns on his paw and the luggage on his undercarriage... His danglies... There's just no nice way to say it. Poor guy had his sc***um burned in the fire. There was some concern over whether or not he had hearing loss due to explosions during the fire. I was told every time a cat meowed, he turned his head so his hearing is okay! He got a nice bath and still has some melted plastic stuck to his fur but it would be more painful to try to remove it than it would to just let it come off naturally. Thanks to you, those of you who donated, we had enough to cover the vet bill! Thank you to Danielle, our vet tech friend, who picked up the pup and took him to the vet. You are all awesome! I've had so many people reach out and offer items to the gentleman who lost everything in the fire. I was able to take him to Walmart today and get him a phone and then met with a couple ladies who filled the back of my Eclipse with donations for him, to the extent that I had to use a bungee cord to hold the hatch closed. He was given a brand new super quiet generator, some extension cords, cookware, cooking utensils, mugs and dishes, a cooler, canned food and meat, camp chairs and a camp table, a flashlight, a sleeping pad, an entire set of power tools, so many things I can't even list them all and these women have more items for him and will deliver over the next few days. Folks have offered items for the dog and dog food, firewood, building supplies, clothing, etc. A few of us are looking into a clean up day whenever he's ready to clear away the debris so that he can set up a new campsite. He's currently staying in a friend's tent temporarily. Now, you have all worn me out today with your generosity and so many messages and a flurry activity so I'm going to sleep! God bless all of you who have helped. Our friend was very touched at everyone's generosity.

12/30/2024

One of our friends experienced devastating loss early Friday morning. Fortunately, he was not at his camp at the time so he's physically okay. This fire could have spread to other camps and been much worse but it's still devastating. He's lost everything. I hugged him yesterday and he said "I built everything I had and now I have nothing again." His camp was like the welcome center. The newly homeless gravitated to his spot because he would take people in and give them a place to sleep and help them get the things they needed. He even had a donation bin near his dwelling for people to come by and take whatever they needed. He had built his camp from scratch with his own hands out of trees and tarps and a 10x 20 tent we passed on to him last year. He had furniture, a generator, a grill, tools, and in the matter of a few hours he was left with just the clothes on his back. I went to put eyes on the situation on Friday afternoon and cried the whole way home. It was very hard for me to eat or sleep after walking through what remained of the same camp we helped him clean up a few years ago after which he made us hamburgers and hot dogs. We were able to pass on a family size tent, some clothing, a brand new pair of boots, and some other items to him yesterday. A few people have made monetary donations, enough for me to take him today to get a phone so he can communicate with his family. A dog was in the tent when the fire started and one of my volunteers who is a vet tech picked him up this morning to have him seen by a veterinarian. He has some singed fur and some plastic melted to his fur and an injury to his front paw and ear. Regardless of his circumstances, the dog was in my car in the backseat and rested his chin on my shoulder, licking my ear. He's in good spirits, wagging his tail and interested in pats and scratches from everyone. I was contacted last evening by a woman who is going to donate a generator to him, some tools, some furnishings, and a cooler with some food in it. If anyone is interested in helping this gentleman who has helped many other people, I'm going to include our venmo and PayPal in the pictures. Please state if you wish the donation to go to the gentleman, to the dogs veterinary care, or to wherever it's most needed. If you prefer other methods of donating, please contact me via messenger. Thank you in advance.

People are asking so I'll put it here. He wears a size 32 or 33 waist jeans, at least 32 length. 10 1/2 or 11 shoes or boots. Large or extra large hoodies. Long johns would be awesome or coveralls. Other helpful items would be tools, building materials, rope, tarps. Anything donated at the church for him, please put fire somewhere on the bag or items. That way we know it's for him.

12/27/2024

Reminder for my new volunteers. Today is Friday! Friday is check-in day, to let me know who's available in 2 days. If you haven't already, please send me a message to let me know if you are joining us this weekend, times you are available, and which portion you are participating in. I've heard from a few so far. We have someone coming to the church at 1:00 to bring two vehicles to help us take out the surplus of items that we have. We currently have a lot of clothes, so please check with me before donating more. We have limited space for storage. As always, we do not accept dress clothes and we only accept seasonal clothing.

12/27/2024

Fire at Tent City. Waiting to hear what they need and if anyone was hurt.

12/27/2024

Remembering this sweet, beautiful girl on the second anniversary of the day she was taken from us. 2 years ago Christmas I hugged her and told her I loved her and then two days later, she was gone. Thinking of her family today and of everyone who knew her. I have never met a single person who had a bad thing to say about Chantel. Rest peacefully, sweet girl.

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas, everyone! Merry Christmas to my donors, to my volunteers, and to my friends (housed and unhoused). Hug the ones you love extra hard. Be kind to strangers. Always take the opportunity to do something nice for someone. I love all of you. ❤️

12/23/2024

Lots of pictures today! Our Christmas meal for our differently sheltered friends happened yesterday. This was our menu:
50 lb of chicken
Three hams
Two pans of turkey tetrazzini
Two pans of turkey with mashed potatoes and vegetables
Three pans of rotini with mushrooms, spinach, marinara, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan
Baked corn
Stuffing
Praline sweet potatoes
Macaroni and cheese
Green bean casserole
Nonna's spaghetti
Peach french toast casserole
Applesauce
PB&j sandwiches
Coffee, hot chocolate, iced tea, and bottled drinks
Cookies, muffins, cookies, bagels, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cookies, truffles, and then more cookies

Thank you to Bob and Kelly for picking up at the market, to Country Gourmet at the Market for your food donation, to Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen, and to Panera for your donation.

Many thanks to my wonderful volunteers and I feel like I'm going to forget somebody but I have a terrible memory so don't be mad. Send me a message and remind me who I forgot! Jerry, Beth, Erin, Abby, Reese, Emma, Carol, the two Sues, Amy, Glenn, Jorgette, Tom, Janine, Steve, and their son whose name escapes me but he gave one of our friends the belt from around his own waist! Michelle, and Thomas. Many thanks also to my elves, Eileen, Robin, Bob and Jill, and to those who came by to drop off gifts and donations. Deb, Amanda, Lexi, Jessica, Janna, Brenda, Craig, Julia, Bekah, Gwen, Steve, Keith, Candi, Mud Queen Pottery, FFA, Lee and Associates, and about a dozen other people. I really need to keep a sign in log if I'm to remember everyone because I have been so blessed with volunteers and donors. It is never my intention to forget to mention anyone and this past week was even tougher on my memory because so many people participated and donated. Please do not hesitate to tell me if I missed a name because I am so blown away by the big-hearted people I encounter doing this. Every one of them, even though they don't do it for recognition, deserves it.

We were allowed the use of the room across from our donation room to serve as the North Pole. Everyone at Tent City, and there were about 80 people, received a wrapped gift and two gift bags along with their meal and blankets, roll up mattresses, cots, toiletries, clothing, snacks, board games, cards, hand warmers, and hugs. There were even some children's items donated that were given to some of our differently sheltered friends who have kids. Sue brought her speaker and played Christmas music at the gift tables and Amy and Glenn were in charge of the pet department. They gave out Kong, dog toys and stockings and treats and pet food.

We knew yesterday was going to be too big for just old Bessie to handle. (Old Bessie is our van.) So I put the word out for some extra vehicles. We had five vehicles in addition to our van: a car, three SUVs, and a pickup truck. All of them were full. By the time we were done, the items we had left were so few that they fit in the side door section of the van! I am so happy we were able to distribute so many items yesterday. We had several big items donated recently and we needed the space in our donation room and we needed those things to be in people's hands. Much thanks to those who brought their vehicles to help and to one of my volunteers who left to buy coats for two girls.

Yesterday started out at 10:30 a.m. for me and ended at about 8:30. p.m. If anyone is available going forward to help with cleanup, sometimes it's just me and Jerry at the church at the end of the day. We could use a hand unloading the van, washing everything, loading the dishwasher and putting things away. That takes about an hour and a half if there are more than two of us. It's not glamorous but it's very necessary. Yesterday it was late because we spent 2 hours at Tent City to make sure everyone got gifts but it usually happens from about 5:00 to about 6:30.

Thank you to everyone who participated in making our Christmas distribution a great success. The hugs were long and warm and some of them came from the toughest people who don't usually let their emotions show.

If anyone who volunteers with me wishes to share your thoughts and feelings, I encourage you to comment!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. ❤️

12/22/2024

I've been catching up with one of our previously differently-sheltered friends who's been housed for almost 2 years now. He is looking for a car, doesn't have to be pretty or perfect and is willing to pay cash up to $1,000. If you have any leads, drop them below. Thanks in advance.

12/21/2024

Santa's elves showed up big time tonight! Thank you so much to everyone who came by and brought gifts for our differently sheltered friends! I had to choke back tears a few times. Now what we need is a few people with SUVs or vans on Sunday to help us take down all the donations that we have. If you are available to help in the kitchen with preparing food, that happens 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you are available to help take donations and gifts down to Tent City to hand out, please be at the church no later than 1:00 because we leave at 2:00. Our address is in our profile picture. We are located behind Stauffers of Kissel Hill on Linglestown Road at 1605 Parkway West. Please send me a message if you are available to help this Sunday with our Christmas meal and gift distribution. 🎁🎄
Update: I think we have enough vehicles now with everyone who's contacted me. Thank you!

12/19/2024

This is a photo of one part of the Christmas gift donations from last year. This year so far, we've received four gifts. Our gift distribution to our differently sheltered friends is this coming Sunday. My friend Deb is coming Friday night to the church to bring donations she has collected to make up gift bags for our friends. I plan to be at the church between 6:00 p.m. And 8:00 p.m. This Friday night if anyone wants to drop off donations while we are there. Stop in and say hello. There will be a meeting in the sanctuary until 7:00 p.m. Friday night. That's not us. Send me a message and let me know you're on your way and I'll make sure to watch for you.

12/16/2024

Yesterday's meal for our differently sheltered friends:
Cottage pie
Baked corn
Praline sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes with pecans, brown sugar, butter, and oats
Green bean casserole
Smoked ham
Chicken and stuffing with gravy
Collard greens with smoked ham hock
Fried chicken
French toast casserole with peaches
Fresh bread with sausage gravy
Coleslaw
Pasta salad
Salad
Confetti bean salad
Sandwiches
Cookies, brownies, muffins, bagels
Snacks and drinks

Thank you to my sidekick Jerry and to my volunteers Erin, Abby, Vince, Reese, Emma, Eileen, Michelle, Amy, and Danielle.

Thank you to Bob and Kelly for picking up donations at the market, to Country Gourmet at the Market for your food donations, to Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen, and to Panera. Also, thank you to Steve who brought two big pans of pasta salad and to the ladies who came by while we were serving to drop off food.

Donations this week filled half the vestibule. We have a large flat cart that we use to transport things. It took Jessica and me six trips to get everything into the room next to our donation room so that we could start sorting it and get it into our room.

Please remember when bringing donations, our friends are essentially camping year-round. If we have someone who is on deck for receiving housing, we will announce that and accept household items for them. Outside of that, we don't have room to store furniture, filing cabinets, small appliances, knick-knacks, etc. For those items would be New Digs Ministry or Off The Streets Middletown.

Please remember when making clothing donations that we only accept seasonal clothing, we do not have any use for dress clothes, and all of our friends are adults. We wouldn't have room for hoodies in July or shorts in December, no need for suits or evening gowns or high-heeled strappy sandals, and family shelters for domestic violence, for example, might be a better place to donate children's clothing.

I received a message a few weeks ago from Ms. Jessica: "Hi there! my name is Jessica. I am one of thr leaders for the 5th grade (AOL) scouts from Pack 368. We were wondering if anyone would be available on December 9th at 7 pm to come talk with our scouts about your program, what you do, why you do it and who it serves in the community. We could have the scouts make the fire starters for your organization at the meeting as well. Please let me know if you think this is something that we could work out."

So I spent last Monday evening with the Cub scouts. They were a captive audience as I talked about our friends and what we do and showed them photos of where we started 4 years ago in my little Mitsubishi Eclipse and how we've grown, our kitchen, Old Bessie, our donation room, and a few dozen photos of some of our friends living situations. They made firestarters out of cardboard egg cartons, dryer lint, and candle wax and also stood in line assembly line style to make baggies of hot cocoa, marshmallows, and candy canes. They also filled my van with donations. See photos.

We will be handing out Christmas gifts this coming Sunday, the Sunday before Christmas, so if anyone has any wrapped gifts or gift bags or stockings with goodies, please make sure we get them before Sunday at 2:00 p.m. I will be at the church Tuesday for a few hours after 5:30 p.m. and also Friday, same hours , if anyone wants us to bring donations by at those times.

It was an interesting day. Jerry got everything packed to the ceiling in the van and then the van wouldn't start. He jumped the battery and the van started but then it started to make a terrible noise. Last minute, we had to put everything from Old Bessie into Jerry's van and Eileen's car. I contacted my friends at Tent City to let them know we'd be late but we would be there. When we got back to the church, unloaded all the stuff to be washed, and put everything from Jerry's van back into Old Bessie like our tables and our totes of serving supplies, he started our van and p**f, no noise. Very thankful!

Please pray for our friends. It rained 3 days in a row last week and then yesterday it snowed and more rain is coming.

Thank you to everyone who makes this possible every week. ❤️

12/13/2024

Happy Friday! Friday is volunteer check-in day. For any of my new volunteers from the past month or two, please send me a message and let me know if you plan to join us this weekend! Kitchen duty is 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We serve from 2:30 to 4:00. Clean up duty is about 5:00 to about 6:30, depending on how many volunteers we have. If you're joining us, please tell me the times you're available. Thank you!