Dear Friend of Hand inHandMinistries,

When Hand in Hand Ministries began in 1999, I neverimagined us offering more than 40 immersion tripopportunities annually. I couldn’t dream of building168 homes in Belize, or envision children from thepoorest neighborhoods in Nicaragua attending mid-dle class schools. Yet, all these dreams are real be-cause of people like you who selflessly andgenerously give your time, treasure and talent, yearafter year, after year.

As part of a strategic planning process, we inter-viewed hundreds of Hand in Hand supporters. Manyfelt we were one of the best-kept secrets in Louisville.They suggested we increase our exposure in the com-munity. We agreed, but we needed a plan.

Then, glorious news arrived from Doe-Anderson, aLouisville advertising and public relations firm with anational reputation. They offered to examine ourmarketing materials and develop a public awarenesscampaign for us – FOR FREE!

They gave us a fresh new look and have helped usturn a special gift into an ad campaign that includesradio, bus shelter ads and bulletin board ads on majorhighways.

We are ramping up our social media presence withFacebook and have recently started aTwitter account.Our website has been updated and can be accessedthrough the new address:www.myhandinhand.org.We are thrilled with the campaign and look forwardto reaching into the hearts and homes of new familiesin and around the world.

The new image was officially launched at this year’sStarfish Stroll in Louisville. The excitement generatedhelped push the proceeds of the Starfish Stroll tonearly double that of last year’s event.

Everyone at Hand in Hand wishes to thank Doe-An-derson for their creativity, hard work and generosityin making this dream come true.

Peace,

Wayne FowlerExecutive Director

T-shirts with the new HHM image are available for $10each. Contact the HHM office to order yours today.

NEWSFall 2011 • Volume XII • No. 3

Lend a hand . . . change a life!

One of the outdoor bulletins with animmersion trip message

When Doe-Anderson approached us with theirtremendous offer to update our image and prepare apublic awareness campaign, one of their first sugges-tions was to use a new web-address. Since most non-profit organizations use a “.org” address they felt achange would strengthen our image. The new webaddress has been changed to

www.myhandinhand.org

The old address, www.hhministries.com will still leadto the updated website, but will eventually be dis-continued.

When the creativeteam at Doe-Andersonlooked to develop ourawareness campaign,they recommendedfocusing on the im-mersion trip experi-ence as a way tohighlight our strengthas an organization.They then set out toleverage the buyingpower of a special giftto Hand in Hand to tar-get nearly 700,000households in a 29-county area aroundLouisville.

In late September, outdoor advertising in the form ofbus shelter ads in high-traffic areas and large outdoorbulletins on major interstates were placed. Radiospots on AM, public radio and The Kentucky Networkstarted airing the first of October.

Digital ads on Facebook and Google began at thesame time.

Additional exposure through scheduled press releaseshas made PR efforts even more effective.

Along with the awareness and advertising campaign,Hand in Hand has moved to make social media a partof maintaining contact with volunteers, immersiontrip participants and donors. Facebook and YouTubewill be used to keep “friends” up-to-date on what ishappening and will also provide a way for supportersto share their experiences with Hand in Hand.

The Hand in Hand website has also been redesignedfor easier navigation. The event calendar on the homepage lists all upcoming events and includes onlineregistration. Our new website will also let any sup-porter of Hand in Hand create their own Ambassadorweb page for fundraising, trip sponsorship or specialevents. Visit www.myhandinhand.org for more infor-mation.

We’re always looking for ways to improve our commu-nication. Please let us know if you have any thoughts, orwould like to help with any of these efforts.

You can help spread the word about Hand in Hand. Usethe following links, or simply go to www.myhandin-hand.org and click on the links to our social networkpages.

Follow us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/myhandinhand

Follow us on twitter atwww.twitter.com/myhandinhand

Visit us onYouTube atwww.youtube.com/handinhandministries

myhandinhand.org

2

STARFISH STROLL

A letter from Woody Woodruff:The inspiration behind the Starfish Stroll.

The Third annual Starfish Stroll took place on Sunday,September 25th on a BEAUTIFUL autumn day in E.P. “Tom”Sawyer Park. The weatherman called for rain . . . but somethings are bigger than the weatherman! It was like a se-ries of Norman Rockwell paintings.

Uncle Smiley cookinghis World Famous Bar-B-Que (And Veggie Burg-ers) beneath a staunchold sycamore tree: atable of wonderfullyfresh SARA LEE BUNSbeside the sizzling grill;teens throwing Frisbeesin a grassy field.; mybrother Ron ice-packingcoolers filled with re-freshing COCA COLA,and setting cases of delicious FRITO LAY chips on the rus-tic picnic tables.

An AWESOMEfour-piece bandnamed MOON-DANCE openedwith an EltonJohn cover - lookfor them playingat Check’s andother Louisvillevenues.

WLKY station showed upand gave us some freecoverage on the eveningnews.

So, how about donations? We had set a bit of an un-real-istic goal due to AN OVER THE TOP GENEROUS DONATIONBY SAVE-A-LOT to match anything we'd raise up to$10,000.00! We REALLY wanted to claim that match.Team Nicaragua, Team Belize and Team Appalachia allworked their email connections relentlessly. Until finallywe did it . . . With all teams in . . . all pockets emptied . . .including the full $10,000 match, we collected over$26,000! That is AMAZING!

You cannot imagine the number of lives that can be pro-foundly changed with that kind of money and NOBODYhas better experience to take it straight to those childrenand families than my awesome friends at Hand In HandMinistries.

This, my friends, is agood day! Do somethingspecial and celebratelife. We are WAYBLESSED!

INCREDIBLY AWESOME!

Peace and Love,Woody

3

APPALACHIA

Late last year, Hand in Hand’s office in Appalachia beganefforts to reach out to the communities it serves by holding“Chow and Chat”evenings, sharing dinner and ideas to en-courage the local community to become more involvedwith Hand in Hand.

The library and computer lab, along with spring and fallclasses, summer camp for children and other events havemade the Auxier Center a valuable resource in Eastern Ken-tucky.

With 24 immersion trips planned for 2012, the center willcontinue to be an important hub of activity in the area.

Immersion trip volunteers completed several major proj-ects, emergency home repairs and donated thousands ofman-hours in 2011. Shown here are a few of the 2011 vol-unteers in action.

Hand in Hand Appalachiaexpands community outreach

4

LEARNMORE ABOUT HAND IN HAND

Whywe dowhat we do

I would like to share the story of Shelmadine Lynch, one of ourBuilding for Change house recipients in Belize. A single mother of 5children and a dedicated sanitation worker for over 11 years, Shel-madine had been living in conditions that no human being shouldendure. What she once called home was a small, abandoned housewhich was rotting, leaking and had no indoor plumbing.

In spite of all these living condi-tions, She still smiles as she contin-ues to struggle in life. Trying tomake ends meet, Shelmadinebakes and sells pastries on week-ends.

Shelmadine’s story, as many that Hand in Hand comes across, is reallyheartbreaking. We try to assist as many as we can, with the little wehave and on a“real need” basis. Shelmadine was one of those“realneed”cases. Hand in Hand has provided her with a basic, humblehome. She is now empowered to continue to help her family, and al-though her struggles continue, her home now allows her to keep herfamily together. One in which family love and togetherness give themthe will-power to succeed in life and one in which God is present.

Since Shelmadine Lynch re-ceived her house, she hasadded a bathroom. Withthis assistance, not one lifebut six lives have been pos-itively affected. Shelma-dine has been blessedbecause her family cansleep well at night. Her chil-dren no longer wander the neighborhood, but would rather stay attheir home.

Most of the people we serve, like Shelmadine, need only a helpinghand. This is what we do at Hand In Hand. This would not have beenpossible without you and your willingness to assist others. The donors,volunteers and those who take part in immersion trips provide hopemaking someone’s dream a reality. God bless you all abundantly!

Magnolia VargasDevelopment CoordinatorBelize

2012 Immersion TripsOpenings for Hand in Hand immersiontrips to Belize and Nicaragua are still avail-able. Not only will you change the lives ofthose served, but you will be rewardedwith memories and experiences like noother trip you've ever taken.

BELIZEJANUARY 15-22, 2012FEBRUARY 12-18, 2012JUNE 17-24, 2012

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2012** SPECIAL THANKSGIVING TRIP

NICARAGUAMARCH 4-11, 2012JUNE 10-17. 2012

OCTOBER 21-27, 2012

APPALACHIAAPRIL 25-28, 2012JUNE 27-30, 2012AUGUST 1-4, 2012

OCTOBER 10-14, 2012OCTOBER 24-27, 2012

For more information, or to sign up, callthe Hand in Hand office at 502-459-9930or email maryhelen@myhandinhand.org

Learnmore about the work ofHand in HandMinistries by attending

a “Make a Difference”event on

Thursday December 1 6:30 pmat the HHM office,

2225 Steier Lane, in Louisville.502-459-9930

Make reservations online on the eventcalendar at www.myhandinhand.org.

5

BELIZE

The education component of the Building for Change pro-gram now offers home recipients the opportunity to sharetheir skills with one another. In each workshop, a house re-cipient is invited to teach others a certain skill: fixing a leakypipe, building a cabinet, sewing, cooking a meal, or anyother area in which they have expertise. Not only will thoseleading the sessions get the opportunity to share theirskills with others, but those in attendance benefit by ac-quiring new skills and knowledge.

Recipients can make connections and build confidence asthey share skills with one another. The skills workshopshave been received with enthusiasm and we will continueworkshops throughout the fall.

With the challenges that marginalized families encounterproviding the basic needs to children, such as food, water,clothing, shelter, education and medical care, Hand in HandOutreach Center is happy to celebrate another year of suc-cess as it holds its annual graduation ceremonies for 2011.

As a concerned member of the Belizean community, BelizeTelemedia has recognized the need for partnering with HandIn Hand providing financial assistance and helping Hand inHand to provide life’s essential to the least of our brothers andsisters. Shown below, Magnolia Vargas, Development Coor-dinator in Belize with BTL’s Tamara Cole.

James Muschamp recentlystarted working at Hand inHand’s Belize office as im-mersion trip coordinator.

With 24 Belizean immersiontrips tentatively scheduledfor 2012, James will be busycoordinating transporta-tion, meals, cultural activi-ties and working as a liaison

between immersion trip participants and the rest of the Handin Hand staff in Belize.

Hand in Hand also thanks Roxanne Jones, a Hand in Handscholarship winner, for her service to Hand in Hand andwishes her well in her new position as a social worker.

Building for Change homerecipients learn new skills

Hand in Hand Belize announcesnew immersion trip coordinator

6

NICARAGUA

Halfway through the 2011 school year, the overall resultscontinue to improve for the 64 students currently in theprogram.

Here are the overall mid-year results for our 64 students• 95% + - 13 students• 90-94% – 20 students• 85-89% - 16 students• 80-84% - 10 students• ≤ 79% - 5 students• 5 students hold down 1st place in their class–

Noelia, Scarleth, Sharon, Blanca Luz and Kerstin• 42 of the 64 (65 %) are in the top 10 in their class• 33 of 64 (51%) hold an average of 90% or better• The average class placement of our 64 students is

9.9 out of an average class size of 34.6

We continue to give out prizes to the best-performing stu-dents from Loyola and Divino Pastor at our regular monthlyfamily meetings. It continues to be quite a motivator.

Winter CampWe completed the winter camp with 10 kids from the Cen-tral Baptist School. We had 3 sections: arts and crafts withTina, Barbara’s cousin, a teacher from Halifax, Nova Scotia;baking class with doña Bárbara; and carpentry class withdon Eduardo. Jimmy, our intern from Kansas City returnedhome after a successful sojourn here and continues to stayin touch. Tina also worked in the afternoons teaching PedroPablo’s mother how to write and also did some work withthe kids in the after-school program.

Growing the programWe´re working towards adding children to the program for2012, increasing the number from 64 to 75. We will con-tinue to do this through the community pre-schools andeligible, promising siblings of families that have shown re-sponsibility in their commitment to their child’s education.Contact Hand in Hand for information on sponsoring achild in the Pathway to Change program.

While attending his law school alumnae dinner on August12, Ed Dunsworth, Director of Operations for Hand in HandNicaragua, received the Weldon Award for unselfish pub-lic service. It was an great evening and Ed and Barbarahopefully met a few future supporters for Hand in Hand.

Pathway to Change continuesimpressive results

Ed Dunsworth receivesWeldon Award

7

2225 Steier LaneLouisville, KY 40218

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLOUISVILLE, KY

PERMIT NO. 1486

Wayne Fowler, Executive Director/Co-Founder

2011 Board of DirectorsRev. Joseph Fowler, President/Co-FounderHarry Borders, Vice PresidentJohn Schmidt, TreasurerSteve Ford, Secretary Christine Beckett, SCNSusan Sweeney Crum Bertha DanielsDonna Fazio Kathy FrancisJuda Maria Hellmann Glenn KosseDr. Rick Rowe Terry Todd

Louisville Office2225 Steier Lane • Louisville, KY 40218502.459.9930 • Fax 502.459.9945

Belize Office144 North Front Street • PO Box 2187Belize City, Belize, Central AmericaPhone 011.501.227.6273Fax 011.501.227.1298

Nicaragua OfficeKm. 13 Carretera Sur, Colonia Becklin, Casa # 5El Crucero, Managua, Nicaragua011.505.265.7065

The Auxier Center21 S. River Street • Auxier, KY 41602606.886.0709 • Fax 606.886.0973

Wednesday, November 9, 20117:00 am Doors Open

7:30 am to 8:30 am ProgramThe Olmsted

3701 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KentuckyReservations required

SSaavvee tthhiiss DDaattee .. .. .. NNoovveemmbbeerr 99,, 22001111LLeeggaaccyy BBrreeaakkffaasstt

For more information call 502.459.9930 or email:

marla@myhandinhand.org

www.myhandinhand.org