Helping Hands

05/07/2026

April 27, 2026 was a truly momentous day for Helping Hands! Thanks to the Wells County Chamber of Commerce for their help in putting on this event 🤗 Surrounded by close to 150 people, we officially broke ground on our future home and new family resource center. This day was the result of many, many answers to prayers and a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness, the generosity of our community, and the many people who have helped bring this vision to life.

We are truly in awe of every person who helped make this day possible. To date, our community has raised more than $1.6 million - helping secure a $1.25 million matching grant made possible through the partnership of the United Way of Wells County. This is what collaboration, generosity, and community look like in action, and we are incredibly grateful 💛 But beyond the dollars raised, this generosity reflects something even deeper: a shared belief that every family matters and that caring for one another matters.

We can’t wait to see this project come to life - knowing it is about so much more than a building (though it is an important piece, thanks to Meyer Building) It’s about families finding hope, support, healing, and connection. It’s about creating a space where men, women, and children can experience stability, encouragement, and lasting change for generations to come.

Helping Hands’ future home - coming beginning of 2027 🤗

We are so close to the fundraising finish line! Thanks to an incredible $2-for-$1 match, we now need just $22,400 from our community to cross the fundraising finish line! If you’d like to support the project, every gift is tripled! Donate online or by mail.

www.helpinghandscpcp.org
116 E Dustman Rd Suite B Bluffton, IN 46714

05/07/2026

Incredibly grateful for United Way of Wells County! Appreciate their partnership and collaboration in helping make big things happen for families in our community!

05/06/2026

Purposeful Play is our intentional way of helping children practice character through hands-on, meaningful experiences.

This month, our focus is growth and how we’re understanding that growth doesn’t just happen physically, but also in how we think, respond, and persevere through challenges. We want children to begin recognizing that just like living things grow over time with care and attention, so can they.

We are emphasizing:
• Growth takes time and doesn’t happen all at once.
• It’s okay when things feel hard, that’s often where growth begins.
• We can change our thinking and keep trying, even when we’re unsure.

Throughout the month, children will engage in experiences that help them see growth in tangible ways. One of our core activities will be planting and caring for their own flower seeds (planting in a little pot and the dirt from our groundbreaking!). As they water, observe, and take responsibility for keeping them alive, they will have a visual reminder that growth requires patience and consistency.

While we will focus on physical growth through these hands-on experiences, we are also creating conversations that introduce the idea of a growth mindset - helping children learn how to reframe challenges, push through difficulty, and understand that not knowing something yet doesn’t mean they won’t get there!

05/04/2026

What an incredibly refreshing day together 🤗 and God blessed us with great weather ☀️

We had the opportunity to step away for a staff retreat - starting the morning with breakfast and an encouraging message from Pastor Geoff, followed by a little friendly competition in an escape room (Team 2 for the win 🙌), lunch together, and a beautiful boat ride down the Fort Wayne river.

So grateful for this team and the opportunity to serve alongside one another 💛

05/03/2026

Pray with us through May!

05/01/2026

Garage sale success = amazing 🥳 but let’s be honest - there are always a few leftovers 😬

That’s where Helping Hands comes in 🤗 We would LOVE to take those items off your hands and put them to good use for local families!

Be sure to check the post for our most-needed items 👇

Drop-offs are welcome Monday - Thursday, 9 AM–5 PM. Our incredible inventory volunteers carefully sort through each donation and select the items that will best serve the families we walk alongside.

Thank you for being part of how we care for our community 💛

04/30/2026

Just a few hours left of our Bow Campaign and we have 14 bows left🎀🎀 have you grabbed yours yet?

thank you to:
The Ehrman family - bows 66, 71, 94 for Raylee, Ryker, and Romy 💗
The Dustman family - bows 72 and 78 🤗🤗
Larry and Linda - bows 90 & 91 ☺️
Kyle and Makinzi - bow 63!!

There’s still time to grab a bow! Just message us, stop on by, or call our office - 260-824-4263!

04/30/2026

We were so grateful to have our Founding Executive Director at our groundbreaking ceremony on Monday 🪏 Brandy cast the vision for Helping Hands over 13 years ago and faithfully guided and led the organization for 10 years 💗

And as many know, Helping Hands has experienced a growth that has stretched us beyond our own walls - outsourcing space for our evening programs.

At just the right time, God answered our prayers in a really big way, we received a land donation! And on Monday, we broke ground for our future facility.

We can’t wait!

Today’s local front page headlines:
• ‘More than a building’: Helping Hands breaks ground on new facility (pictured)

04/29/2026

Garage sailing or having a garage sale?!

We are in desperate need for a few specific clothing sizes!

GIRLS CLOTHES:
newborn - 3 mo
9 mo - 2T
3T - and up

BOYS CLOTHES:
3 mo - 9 mo

We will gladly take them off your hands 🤗

Garage Sale Weekend – What To Do With Leftovers?
As we plan ahead for Garage Sale Weekend, if you’ve still got items left, don’t toss them—our community has some great options to put them to good use! ♻️

Helping Hands
Helping Hands would love to take gently used boys’ and girls’ clothes and shoes off your hands! Be sure to check their FB post for their most-needed items.
📍 Drop-offs welcome Monday–Thursday, 9 AM–5 PM

Community Thrift - Bluffton, In
Community Thrift is a ministry of Community Care of Northeast Indiana. Proceeds help provide housing and recovery services for women and children—so your donations make a real impact.
📍 Drop-offs welcome Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM and Saturday 9AM-3PM.

The Closet
The Closet is a store that provides free clothing, diapers, and necessities for newborns to size 8.
📍 Drop-offs welcome Monday-Thursday, 9:00-4:30 and Friday from 9:00-12:00pm.

Bargain Hut
The Bargain Hut is a Non-for-profit thrift store that gives back to the community in Wells County Indiana. They are accepting a variety of items including clothes, household items, decor, toys, outdoor items, games, antiques, small appliances (microwaves, bread makers, mixers) and much more! They are not currently accepting donations for large pieces of furniture.
📍 Drop-offs welcome anytime at the back of the building.

Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity ReStore
A semi from ReStore will be in town:
📅 Monday, May 4
⏰ 5:30–7:30 PM
📍 City parking lot across from the post office
See their website here: https://habitatgfw.com/restore-donations/ of what they will and won't accept.

Forgotten Children Worldwide will also be there on Monday to accept donations of items that ReStore can’t take. Thank you!

Let’s keep the momentum going and give these items a second life while helping others in our community!

04/29/2026

We have just 24 hours left to reach our goal of selling every bow for Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month - and we’d love your help making it happen 🎀

Each bow represents a child we have the privilege of serving… and the dreams they carry:

🎀 63 – Malachi (Firefighter)
🎀 72 – Iona (Book Lover)
🎀 76 – Kynslie (Police Officer)
🎀 78 – Aine (Dinosaur Enthusiast)
🎀 79 – Wyatt (Chef)
🎀 80 – Sophia (Actress)
🎀 82 – Leilynne (Diaper Model)
🎀 84 – Blaynlee (Babysitter)
🎀 86 – Airy (Teacher)
🎀 89 – Kamari (Pro Football Wide Receiver)
🎀 91 – Zamari (Runner)
🎀 94 – Lennox (Doctor)
✨ 500 (Sparkly) – Xavier (Race Car Driver)
✨ 500 (Sparkly) – Braely (Sewist & Quilter)

These aren’t just bows - they represent real children, real stories, and the opportunity to surround them with the support they need to thrive. We are deeply honored to walk alongside them and their families each day.

As Bruce D. Perry shared: “The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely they will recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change, and the most powerful therapy is human love.”

04/29/2026

Two more bows gone 🎀🎀

Esti - bow 95 (and just look at how big her smile is 🥹)
Kinsey and family - a $500 sparkly bow!!! 🥳

We have just little over 24 hours to sell 22 bows and we’d love your help to fill up our bow wall!

To claim a bow:
Stop by - open until 5pm today and 9a-5p on Thursday
Call - 260-824-4263
Message - on Facebook or instagram
Email - kylie@helpinghandscpc.org