Blog with HOPe

by: Leanne MacDonald

By Kathleen Nardi

By Paula Kavolius

     Do you remember your Sweet 16? In my house and where I was from (I am a Jersey girl!!) turning 16 was a major event in a girls life.  The party given to me by my parents was equal to a small wedding.  It was a day filled with friends, family, dancing, food, and so much fun.  The gift I was given by my mom was a gold ring with 2 pearls in it…a gift given to her by her parents on her Sweet 16.  I remember my mothers telling me that someday I would give my daughter that ring on her Sweet 16. 

By: Paula Kavolius 

It’s a Wonderful Life

By Paula Kavolius

         There is something bigger at work here at HOPe.   A few weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, I was sitting in my office when I got a call from our Best Buddies coordinator.  She tells me that she has three girls in her office that are traveling the country for Best Buddies and they want to come see HOPe because they had heard great things about it. The girls partnered with Best Buddies, an international non-profit dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in their efforts to travel across the country to promote social acceptance. The tour was called “Spread the word to end the word,”  - the word "retarded".  They traveled 35 states in 78 days.  I said, send them over.  I had no idea what was in store for HOPe that weekend!
            Sam, K and Sarah are three of the most amazing young ladies I have ever met.  The girls stopped by HOPe as planned and met everyone, explained their mission and interviewed some of our clients.   The girls were asking about the children’s program and I explained that the kids would be in the following Saturday so they  asked if they could come back and volunteer.  I was thrilled. Then Paula, the girls and myself were hanging out in Paula’s office chatting and somehow the wall of HOPe came up.  We were telling them how we always wanted a quote wall and how cool that would be to have all the kid’s sayings up on the wall.  Right before the girls left, one of the girls said, K loves to paint and she is really good.  I looked at K and she smiled and said, I would love to paint that quote wall for you, it is actually on my bucket list.  K had always wanted to paint a mural for a non-profit organization.  We printed the list of sayings and quotes that the clients and staff at HOPe say on a weekly basis. It was a good thing Paula kept a running list of great quotes on her computer, entitled HOPeisms.
      So our buddies, K, Sam & Sarah stayed at HOPe Saturday and Sunday creating the wall of HOPe. They painted, laughed, met some of HOPe’s coolest kids and had a blast.  The girls not only left their mark on the wall upstairs but they left an imprint on all of our hearts.  It is amazing to see God at work in the human heart.  We suddenly see the best in people and the good in the world. The girls’ journey was a mission, just like HOPe is a mission.  It is amazing how the God in you can touch the God in me.  It is things like this that open my eyes and show me what life is really all about.

Paula suggested that it is about time for a “Kathleen blog.” I commented that she and Amy are so great about sharing details about their everyday lives. I realized that I haven’t yet painted a picture of my life for readers. It’s not that I’m such a private person. I guess I think my life isn’t all that interesting. So, I’m pushing a boundary today and opening up just a little:

By Paula Kavolius
As I sit back in my comfy chair, recuperating from arthroscopic knee surgery, I began thinking about the setbacks in my life. There are too many to list and I wouldn’t want to depress anyone, so I will refrain from enumerating them all. However, I can honestly tell you that the setbacks of my life have altered my life in ways that I could not have envisioned before.