It’ll feature a Christmas gift bazaar, refreshments and an ornament tree
By Heather Ruenz
The Agape homes and schools for boys and girls in Walworth invite members of the greater community to stop in and celebrate the warmth and wonder of Christmas on Sunday.
An open house will be held 1 to 4 p.m., Dec. 8 at both locations. There will also be a Christmas gift bazaar offering a variety of gifts to purchase for the special people in guests’ lives.
In addition to seeing the homes decorated for the holidays there will be cookies, coffee and warm cider to share, songs to sing. There will also be an ornament tree, where people can take an ornament listing gift ideas to donate for the kids who live at the Agape homes.
The Agape girls’ home is at 215 S. Main St., Walworth, and the Agape boys’ home is at 119 Phillips Ave., Walworth.
While looking for a location for the new boys’ home, Full Gospel Church donated its building.
The boys home officially was granted occupancy a few weeks ago with the living quarters and school portion open and first residents moved in, a few months later than planned on.
“We were blessed with the building being donated but we went over budget due to having to meet fire codes and ADA handicapped codes,” Patterson said.
As a result, there is still a lot of work to do and they’re seeking money, supplies and volunteers to finish the main level, according to Patterson.
“The portion that needs to be finished will include a multi-purpose rec room and living quarters for house staff,” Patterson said, explaining that staff have two areas – one upstairs, which is actual living quarters, and one down, which is a small bedroom – as they’ll take turns sleeping downstairs.
The list of projects needing to be done includes: drywall – taping and mudding, plumbing – bath and kitchen areas; tiling – floor and shower walls; painters – several areas; and help cutting windows into cinder block walls.
Patterson requests anyone willing to donate supplies first contact Agape homes so staff can make sure the items meet the code requirements and to avoid an overload of items that won’t get used.
With the boys home expected to pick up in activity soon a variety of volunteers are needed: mentors – who spend one on one time with the boys; people to teach a class or skill once a week; activities – those who will come in and lead a game night or accompany the group when going out for an activity.
Patterson said Agape is registered at Kohl’s and Walmart for a variety of items they need including some things to help make the boys home more comfortable.
“It would be great if people helped fill those needs and bring items to the open house,” she said.
For more information about the Agape homes in Walworth, call 262-275-6466 or send an email to [email protected].
Read the rest of the story in this week’s Southern Lakes Newspapers’ publications, on stands now.
