"I am the Vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit."
Monday, October 28, 2013
RYO Indiefest 2013
Rochester Youth Outreach hosted its first collaborative TWISY (The World Is Still Young) all-ages music event at the Vineyard Community Space on South Clinton Avenue this past Saturday, October 25th, as part of the city-wide Indiefest. Our youth lined up and showcased 6 different young bands, including 2 of their own, and entertained over 85 participants through the evening. From organizing, to setting up, to performing and taking down, the whole event was a great success!
RYO hosted another wonderfully successful youth-led and run all-ages TWISY music Event this Friday night at their space on Warwick Ave. The weather was perfect and all the preparations were in place when the first guests started arriving at 4. By suppertime, the space was packed with people, young and old, enjoying the live music, refreshments, and wholesome social atmosphere. By 8 pm as the sun was going down, it all wrapped up. Thanks to all who poured themselves into creating such a great evening for all of us! Let's hope and pray that this is just the start of what will prove to be a very encouraging year ahead. Yes, TWISY - The World Is Still Young!
There are only 3 days left in the RYO Indiegogo Campaign! Check out the video here to find out what we’re about, and then please help if you can. Any money we raise will go a long way towards our mission of empowering Rochester's young people through music and the arts. Thank you to all those who have invested so far!
For our Rochester friends, be sure to check out our next event, No Clouds Included, this Friday, August 23rd, at 265 Warwick Ave from 4pm - 8pm. Come enjoy music from BC Likes You, The Tarrants, and Disharmony. Our youth leaders have been hard at work preparing and it should be a great community gathering!
Remember to check out out Indiegogo site before the weekend, and join us this Friday night!
Rochester Youth Outreach will be participating in a community garage sale at the Public Market (280 N. Union St.) on Sunday, June 30th from 8 am to 2 pm. All profits made from sales will go toward supporting RYO programming. We are in need of donations of any goods which could be sold including clothes, books, appliances, furniture, etc. Please bring any of these items to His Branches by June 29th, and the RYO youth and adult team will transport and sell them at the Market. Thanks!
R Community Bikes
(RBC) and the Arnett Block Association held a neighborhood Bike Clinic in our parking lot at 350 Arnett
Blvd today, May 4th, from 1-4 pm. RBC's expert volunteer crew of bike mechanics, including some new neighborhood helpers, was on site with parts and
tools to repair all the broken bikes that showed up. We had a great turnout of over 40 kids, many with their parents, and not only repaired flat tires, broken chains, and other damage to the bikes that they brought but gave away 16 reconditioned bikes in a
free raffle to kids without bikes of their own who came in eager anticipation. Certificates to get a bike at the RCB warehouse were also available for winners who didn't match the sizes of free bikes available
and some sad losers.
R Community Bikes a non-profit organization that recycles bikes in Rochester. RCB gives away over 1000 bikes to the Rochester community every year.
Thanks to a grant, they have a trailer for bringing bikes, tools, and parts to off-site events. Their shop/warehouse is at 226 Hudson Avenue, and volunteers are welcome!
Our next community event will be on Saturday, August 4th, from noon until 4 pm
when we're hoping that RCB will be able join us again for our annual Block Party. Be sure to come
and bring your neighbors and friends!
Last night our own Rochester Youth Outreach (RYO) team hosted their first major event, TWISY. What on earth is TWISY? Well, it's a reminder that The World Is Still Young, a celebration of young talent in the arts, music, and good planning and teamwork, a testimony that creative youth with good hearts and a little encouragement can go a long way. The future is brighter because you all care!
Over 50 people of all ages came, including classmates at Wilson High School, friends, visitors from out of town, parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, volunteers and staff. A tasty grilled dinner and salad prepared by the youth was available as part of the entrance fee, along with lots of music, spoken word, and wholesome entertainment. There were even homemade cupcakes and TWISY tee shirts for sale at a modest price to raise funds for RYO. Watch the video below for to catch an impromptu drum circle.
We had a wonderful evening at our Banquet of Blessing last Thursday! The atmosphere was alive with 270 guests filling our warmly decorated hall at the RIT Inn & Conference Center. From Karen Webster's greeting music, through a delicious dinner and time of fellowship, to engaging ministry reports, gifted music, and an anointed message given by our guest speaker, Melinda Delahoyde (see bio below with player link to hear her message), the evening was covered with prayer and blessing. Special thanks go out to all who have served and supported His Branches over the past year!
For a taste of the evening, click on John Allison's arrow above to start a sample of the music John and his band shared with us. Then, while the music is playing, click on the slideshow arrow to see an overview of our ministries. You can let the inner geek in you show by making it full screen and then, if you have a very fast Internet connection, going to the gear in the bottom margin and selecting an even better screen resolution. Enjoy!
Nine Rochester Police Department officers assigned to the Westside were able to join us this morning for a Police Appreciation Breakfast hosted by the Arnett Block Association. Not only was the food varied and tasty, but the whole event was filled with gratitude for the men and women who serve our community so faithfully. After a time of feasting and sharing, several officers were dispatched to a call while the others were able to linger long enough to visit the Rochester Youth Outreach mural project down the hall. God bless you all!
Our 4 branch ministries - Arnett Block Association, Embracing Options, His Branches Health Services, and Rochester Youth outreach - have been actively touching lives, thanks to the generous support of so many of you. From patient care to much needed activity for neighborhood youth and critical counseling in the area of life decisions, the staff and volunteers of HBI have been pouring their God-given passions into the work they do for their community. For a full report click here to read our Spring Newsletter, being sent to our local mailing list in print form this week.
ROCthe Day on 12/12/12, doubled by our generous matching partners, has enabled us to completely update our aging computer network. Now we're looking forward to building our youth program, renovating out facility, partnering with others to make our neighborhood a safer place to live, and providing more medical and counseling services to people in need. Please consider supporting our upcoming Banquet of Blessing on April 25th at the RIT Inn and Conference Center. See post below for more information.
The weather was wonderful for our annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Arnett Bird & Butterfly Garden on March 30. Hosted by the Arnett Block Association and organized by our own Rora Rice, the Hunt was a great success! Rora starts buying up discounted plastic eggs right after Easter each year, then gathers over two dozen Easter baskets at garage sales throughout the summer. As winter starts to break up, she find bargains on all varieties of kid-friendly wholesome treats to pack the plastic egg cases with. It all comes together at the annual Gardener's Potluck the week before Easter when neighbors meet over dinner and dessert to plan for spring and summer community gardening and load goodies into the eggs. The Saturday before Easter, volunteers "hide" the eggs in the Park, a crowd of eager kids gathers (this year over 35!), and at 1 pm the hunt is on! Within 5 minutes all the eggs have been found, filling each kid's basket and heart to overflowing. This year, many of the children stayed afterwards to enjoy the sun and hear Arnett Library volunteer Barbara read stories to them in the Park. What a delightful community-building event!
We have another wonderful Christmas tree for our neighborhood park beside the Arnett Branch Library again this year. Many friends and neighbors contributed to getting it, setting it up, decorating with the School 29 kids, being Library story readers, and coming out to sing Christmas carols with us. Thanks to all for making our tree project such a success!
We’ve been very busy here at His Branches over the past year serving the families of Rochester in a variety of ways. From patient care to much needed activity for neighborhood youth and critical counseling in the area of life decisions, the staff and volunteers of HBI have been pouring their God-given passions into the work they do for their community. For a full report click here to read our Fall Newsletter, being sent to our local mailing list in print form.
As our services to the community grow, we’re challenged with the reality of “doing more with less.” In order to maintain our level of quality patient care, we must be proactive in finding ways to increase our revenue in order to continue serving the families of our community. Would you partner with us? We’re humbled by those who have already come alongside us in the past, and would be sincerely thankful for any who would join us in our mission.
Want to make a special one-time donation now? Take advantage of ROCthe Day on 12/12/12 (see below) to double your gift through our generous matching partners!
This year's banquet program at Mario's Restaurant on May 24th was educational and inspiring from beginning to end. Thankfully Justin Ortiz, Executive Director and Producer at Generation News, graciously volunteered to document the event. Here are some clips from his video for you to be able enjoy the evening again if you attended or view for the first time to share our experience if you weren't able to be with us this year.
We start with Steve Hogan, Master of Ceremonies, introducing Dee Skelton who presented the ministry of Embracing Options and Doug Smith who presented Rochester Youth Outreach.
Doug and Cynthia Smith inspired us with special music, less than two weeks after getting married!
Dr. Morehouse presented an overview of how the ministries of His Branches work together with churches and other ministries to build God's Kingdom in Rochester, then introduced the evening's guest speaker, Rev. James. L. Cherry, Sr, Pastor of Aenon Baptist Church in Rochester.
Our evening reached its peak when Dr. Cherry inspired us with a personal testimony about how the ministries of His Branches had influenced his life and then exhorted us all to be wholeheartedly "on assignment" in God's Kingdom.
John Gramlich wrapped our banquet up with an engaging appeal, followed by an impassioned benediction by Pastor Sandra Felder.
Thanks to all who helped make our entire evening such a wonderful experience! We can hardly wait for next year's Banquet to come!
Watch the slideshow above for an overview of our ministries shared at last night's wonderful Banquet of Blessing. Click the arrow in the player below while you're watching the slides to hear the anointed message Rev. Cherry brought to our gathering:
Congratulate them the next time you see them! Our good friends Douglas Smith and Cynthia Hobbs were married on May 12 in a lovely ceremony at the Adams Street Church of God by Faith, surrounded by family and friends. A rousing reception was held afterwards at The Diplomat Party House, and then they disappeared from sight!
Doug counsels young men about the risks of STDs through our Embracing Options ministry and has recently become the leader of our Rochester Youth Outreach (RYO) program. Cynthia is becoming more active in our neighborhood planning and helps Doug on Sunday afternoons when Grace Community Mission holds open services in the RYO suite on Warwick Avenue.
Doug and Cynthia will be inspiring us with music and song again at our annual "Banquet of Blessing" on May 24th, this time as Mr. and Mrs. Smith!
On May 9th our good friend, Pat Donohue, known throughout the northeast as Mr. Beau the Clown, suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead at
3:55 pm at Rochester General Hospital. Pat Donohue entertained children
and adults of all ages for nearly 36 years. His talent for encouraging
laughter was only matched by his ardent attempt to make clowning "not scary." He was a faithful supporter of our ministry, known to many in our neighborhood for his delightful performances at our annual Block Party.
As
part of his 36 year reign, Pat Donohue transformed into Mr. Beau the
Clown before the eyes of his audiences. It was through this
transformation that Pat Donohue captured peoples' hearts and encouraged
them to laugh inside and out.
Pat Donohue is succeeded by his beautiful wife of 32 years, Kathy, and his five proud sons, Michael, Andrew, Patrick, Brian, and Chris. Family and friends are invited to sign his Legacy Guest Book or attend his Funeral Mass on Saturday, May19th at 9:30 AM at St. Stanislaus Church.
We will miss you, "Mr. Beau"!
Dr. Morehouse and Mr. Beau at the 2010 Block Party
R Community Bikes
(RBC) and the Arnett Block Association will be holding a neighborhood Bike Clinic in our parking lot at 350 Arnett
Blvd this Saturday, May 12th, from 1-4 pm. We're expecting a
great turnout and will be giving away 15 reconditioned bikes in a
free lottery to kids who come in eager anticipation. We'll have 10 kids bikes and 5 teens bikes. Certificates will be available in case winners do not match sizes available. RBC's
expert volunteer crew of bike mechanics will also be on site with parts and
tools to repair any bikes that show up that day.
R
Community Bikes a non-profit organization that recycles bikes in
Rochester. RCB gives away over 1000 bikes to the Rochester community every year. Thanks to a grant, they have a trailer for bringing bikes,
tools, and parts to off-site events. Their shop/warehouse is at 226
Hudson Avenue, and volunteers are welcome!
Our next
collaborative event will be on Saturday, August 4th, from noon until 4 pm
when RCB will join us again for our annual Block Party. Be sure to come
and bring your neighbors and friends!
This past year has been a challenging time of growth in our ministries, expanding on our base and reaching out into the community. Last summer we obtained our long-sought Operating Certificate from the New York State Department of Health, enabling to establish our medical ministry as a full-fledged Community Health Center, and this year we’re working diligently to strengthen these vital services.
Embracing Options, our outreach to women facing a possible crisis pregnancy has expanded to include STD screening and counseling services for men as well as women. We’re also excited to announce the development of a renewed initiative to reach young people in our community through Rochester Youth Outreach, one of our active ministries a few years ago. And the Arnett Block Association has been growing in influence and has been investing time and energy into revitalizing our neighborhood library.
To sustain our growth, we’ve re-energized our Development Committee, composed of Board members, staff and community volunteers, to reach out to the wider community to provide needed support for our services. Our upcoming “Banquet of Blessing” on May 24th is one of our first projects. Want to be on our mailing list or help in any way? Just call (585) 235-9000.
Click here to read the full details in our March Newsletter, being sent to our full mailing list in print form.
The Arnett Block Association found a wonderful Christmas tree this year for the Arnett Bird and Butterfly Park on the corner of Arnett and Wellington beside the Library! Once it was up they collaborated with School #29 and the Arnett Branch Library to host a festive day of decorating, in which 350 kids came with home-made ornaments, followed by story reading in the Arnett. A great time was had by all!
Name: His Branches, Inc. Location: Rochester, NY His Branches is a nonsectarian Christian community outreach that seeks to bring hope, healing and restoration to individuals, families, and entire neighborhoods. We are dedicated to the promotion and delivery of high quality medical, counseling, and collaborative services that bear witness to the real presence of the Kingdom of God and the transforming power of Jesus Christ by providing tangible solutions to the pervasive issues of social injustice and physical, spiritual, and social poverty in the Greater Rochester area.
Rochester Youth Outreach hosted its first collaborative TWISY (The World Is Still Young) all-ages music event at the Vineyard Community Space on South Clinton Avenue this past Saturday, October 25th, as part of the city-wide Indiefest. Our youth lined up and showcased 6 different young bands, including 2 of their own, and entertained over 85 participants through the evening. From organizing, to setting up, to performing and taking down, the whole event was a great success!
