Allison Park Church, Network for Hope partner to bring meals to those in need

Allison Park Church took full advantage of its first Serve Week by working with Network of Hope, and together, along with more than 500 volunteers at the Hampton campus, packaged 300,000 meals for needy residents in Haiti.

Serve Week began with yearly Children’s Vacation Bible School, held from July 11-15.

“Volunteers from all six campuses held fun camps and services each day for the community kids to experience God and make lasting memories,” event coordinator Melanie Godfrey said.

The church began in the 1950s by a small group of local women and has grown over time to include locations in Hampton, West Deer, Ohio Township, Pittsburgh’s North Side, Ambridge and Center Township, Butler County.

In its sixth year partnering with the organization Rise Against Hunger, the church reached the astounding number of 1 million meals total since beginning the yearly event in 2016, only missing 2020 due to the pandemic.

Dave Andrews is chairman of Hampton-based Network of Hope and a member of the executive board of Allison Park Church.

“Network of Hope is a nonprofit organization that exists to promote lasting change for individuals, families and communities by meeting personal, practical, emotional and spiritual needs,” said Andrews via email.

Rise Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organization with locations all over the world, with the goal of ending hunger “by empowering communities, nourishing lives and responding to emergencies.”

“It has been our greatest privilege to meet global food insecurity needs in this way for the past six years,” Godfrey said. “Knowing that my church family has taken such initiative to meet local and global needs brings me pride and inspiration to keep thinking and looking outwardly to make a lasting impact for the people of our world.”

For more information about the entities involved, visit www.allisonparkchurch.com, www.networkofhope.org and www.riseagainsthunger.org.