Food, carnival entertainment, free backpacks, school supplies and more highlighted the second annual MyHopeFest on Saturday, August 18 at Greenbelt Middle School. Hope Center, a nondenominational church that meets at Greenbelt Middle School, put on this free event. More than 800 people came out to the event, more than doubling last year’s attendance. It was catered toward families, with kids’ activities such as a bounce house and a petting zoo, health screenings for all ages and live music and entertainment appealing to parents. Hope Center was founded in November 2016 and started My Hope Fest last year as a way to grow its presence in Greenbelt while giving back to the community.
“We wanted to let the community know – Greenbelt Police Department, Franklin Square Apartments – that we are here to serve them,” said Sergio Chavez, the lead pastor at Hope Center. “It just came about with a group from the church saying ‘How can we partner with the community to just have a day for them?’” Last year, more than 400 people came to the event, and the church gave out 500 free meals and 250 backpacks. However, the church was just nine months old at the time and not very well known, Chavez said, so they hoped that their second year would be even more successful. Chavez and other members of Hope Center’s congregation began intensively planning and prepping for this year’s My Hope Fest six months ago. The goal was to create the same type of event as in 2017, but get the word out earlier and offer more activities and incentives for people to attend.
“This year, we said we wanted to be more intentional about letting the community know that we are offering these services,” Chavez said. “Pretty much everything we did last year, we’ve just brought it to a whole other level this year. We didn’t have the barbers last year, so it’s little elements like that. The petting zoo we have out there is a new element.” Planning was a team effort, and staff members would often meet to bounce ideas off each other on how to best bring the event together, said Heidy Marquez, the Hope Kids Ministry Coordinator in charge of planning and overseeing the Kids’ Zone at My Hope Fest. The church raised money throughout the year to fund the event and partnered with organizations in the community that contributed toward the goal as well. The end result was a bustling carnival in the parking lot of Greenbelt Middle School, but with a practical side.
Fortis College provided health screenings for all ages, Fresh Fades gave more than 60 haircuts, and 280 children picked up backpacks full of school supplies, all free of charge. “It’s free and fun for kids, it’s a great idea,” said Inmar Blanco, attending My Hope Fest for the first time. He emphasized that it was a good way for parents to take the family out without having to spend any money. Marquez felt it was a success, and said that it was a fun and impactful event for both staff and attendees. “Everyone is happy,” she said. “We all have smiles on our faces.”