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SHARING FELLOWSHIP, RAISING FUNDS FOR HOPE HALL FAMILIES
The 150 men who gathered recently in Oaklyn, NJ to celebrate sobriety were also helping families of our Hope Hall clients celebrate Christmas.The December 3 dinner at Vitarelli’s Catering raised funds and collected presents for children whose fathers are completing state prison sentences at Hope Hall. The gifts will be distributed at the facility’s holiday party for the families later this month.
“This is a big event for us,” said Al Bosher, director of the 175-bed South Camden, NJ. facility. Volunteers of America Delaware Valley opened Hope Hall in 1999.
Jack, a recovering alcoholic and the longtime organizer of the festivities, said it originated among a small group of friends 11 years ago. “It started as a celebration of sobriety and Christmas, and it just grew,” he said. “Now we can actually take the funds we raise and do something we all feel will benefit other men in recovery, and their families. It’s nice to see the men’s children be able to sit on Santa’s lap.”
Research shows that abuse of alcohol, drugs or both is a factor in a large percentage of crimes that lead to incarceration, and this is reflected in the Hope Hall population. So the crowd at Vitarelli’s - a mix of professional and blue-collar men of all ages and ethnicities – had a kinship with those whose alcoholism or addiction helped land them in prison.
“Even though I didn’t go through Hope Hall, I was incarcerated,” said Jack, who has been clean and sober for 19 years. “My brother was incarcerated, and the VOA was there for my brother when he came back to the community. And I’ve had the opportunity to change my life and turn it around.”
Jim, Jack’s sponsor in a “12-Step” recovery program, observed that “a lot of us have been in places” like Hope Hall. “And even if we haven’t, we have been in a place we didn’t want to be” due to alcohol, drugs or both, said Jim, who’s been sober for 29 years.
Men in Hope Hall “may not have gotten the breaks that we’ve gotten…but their kids are going to enjoy a day they might not otherwise have. It’s a great cause,” Jim added.
Bosher was one of several speakers who addressed the crowd.
“I stand up here humbled and honored to be among such a group of caring and giving men,” he said. “Again, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I say all the time that gratitude is the language of the heart. That language is sometimes best communicated not by what one says, but by what one does. Every year, you guys show up.
“To see a little kid’s face light up and his tears run down when he gets a bicycle - I can’t put a price tag on that. To see the kids’ excitement and energy - I can’t put a price tag on that. None of that would be possible if not for what you guys do…
“A lot of the guys in Hope Hall come from the same places we came from. They come in with a tough exterior, but inside they hurt just the way we hurt. You can’t put a price tag on watching their faces light up when they interact with their children as a result of what you men do here. I hope that you can appreciate yourselves as much as I appreciate what you do.”
Said Daniel L. Lombardo, President and CEO of Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, “what you have done and continue to do is truly unique…there are a lot of folks in society who talk about second chances. Guys, you’re giving them, because you know what it’s like. You’ve been there, and when you go through that, you’re more inclined to give someone else a second chance.”
A Hope Hall client named Larry also addressed the crowd.
“I’m one of those guys with a rough exterior Mr.Bosher told you about,” Larry said. “I’ve been in prison 28 years…but Hope Hall changed my life. It changed it a whole lot. I never thought I would have a chance to intermingle with people such as you.”
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