The event “Love & Hope for Holyoke” was intended to bring organizations and churches together

HOLYOKE – A collaborative effort by a nonprofit organization, several Holyoke churches and a state program culminated Saturday with a party at Chestnut Street Park and the distribution of free food to families in need.

The goal of the event, called “Holyoke Day of Worship Through Love and Hope,” was to “activate” local churches to work with secular groups and government agencies on a unified approach to solving the problems of poverty and hardship in the community.

“We saw the need to unite the churches because they all have their own services. We thought, ‘How about we bring them together to do more?’ A collaboration,” said Mass in Motion coordinator Stephanie Colón. “We created the Food Access Community, where different organizations come together to meet the needs of the community.”

Mass In Motion is a government-sponsored movement promoting healthy eating and active living. Holyoke churches Templo Ebenezer and Habitation Church also participated in Saturday’s event.

Kayla Rodriguez, executive director of Nueva Esperanza, said that while her nonprofit is focused on arts and culture, the organization’s name means “new hope” in Spanish.

“We want to get churches to partner with organizations like mine. There are many charities or arts and culture groups,” she said. “We are here to give hope to the community members and to partner with the churches to spread love and hope, faith and the Word of God, while at the same time being here and giving.”

Nueva Esperanza has become the de facto central clearinghouse for organizations in the food access community.

Colón said previous surveys and a so-called “root cause analysis” had shown a lack of communication within the community.

“One of the biggest problems has been access to information,” Colón said. “They don’t know all these things are happening because the information isn’t available.”

By linking different units, the organizers believe the information gap can be closed.

“People know that there are services and that churches are helping our community,” Colón said. “But how do we access them and how do we bring them together so that more people can access this help?”

Although a planned cleanup in the city on Saturday had to be cancelled due to weather conditions, a distribution of food and hygiene items worth US$10,000 to needy families was carried out in the afternoon. The funds came from the government’s Community Preparedness for Vulnerable People program, which aims to build resilience to climate change.

“We use food as a form of resilience,” said Colón. “That’s why we started the Food Access Community in the first place.”

The party featured live music from Unified Worship, a Christian rock band from Westfield.