Getting ready for Thanksgiving, volunteers help with The Give Thanks campaign by getting food donations organized at Home Sweet Home ministries. (Photo by Leslie Bunge/Home Sweet Home)

While every holiday, and every season, is front and center for the staff and volunteers of Home Sweet Home Ministries, a representative with the 102-year-old organization said there is one particular festive occasion that always rings special.

Bloomington-based Home Sweet Home, 303 E. Oakland Ave., was founded on Thanksgiving Day in 1917.

“We’ve become a beacon of hope in this community,” Leslie Bunge, communications coordinator, said. “We are blessed to have so many wonderful neighbors willing to help others, year after year.”

As with any organization, Home Sweet Home has evolved since first opening its doors, Bunge said. She described such initiatives as the Bread for Life Food Co-op and the Rapid Rehousing Program as examples of using “innovative approaches” to serving needs in Bloomington, Normal and beyond.

While there have been changes and expansion in the services Home Sweet Home offers, Bunge said the organization’s overarching goal has never wavered.

“Our mission is to demonstrate Christ’s love through innovative approaches that instill hope, change lives and build community,” Bunge said. “We continue to provide safe shelter, nutritious meals and new beginnings to those in need in Bloomington-Normal.”

Billy Shelper, founder of Home Sweet Home, is credited with creating a slogan still in use today: “Provide hope for all who enter.”

“That message is still displayed above our front desk as you enter through our front door,” Bunge said. “(Home Sweet Home) has strived to carry out that mission.”

: Volunteers serve up Thanksgiving dinner to clients. Home Sweet Home Ministries has been serving the Bloomington-Normal region for 112 years. (Photo by Leslie Bunge/Home Sweet Home)

While Home Sweet Home has ongoing appeals for donations, organization officials traditionally have overseen several large-scale, thematic campaigns. The most recent one — the Give Thanks campaign — wrapped on Monday (Nov. 25).

This year, Home Sweet Home called on donors to provide 2,500 families with a meal box and turkey.

Home Sweet Home’s next campaign, Night in a Car, addresses homelessness; it is set to take place Friday, Nov. 7.

“We are currently challenging individuals, families, businesses and other organizations to get involved,” Bunge said. “Night in a Car is a homeless simulation in which we challenge participants to spend a night in their cars.”

From the get-go, volunteerism has been an important backbone in carrying out Home Sweet Home’s mission, Bunge said, and the Bloomington-Normal community has a history of expressing generosity.

Case in point: All of the organization’s volunteer needs for this week’s Thanksgiving festivities have been met, though Bunge said there are still openings for volunteers interested in delivering meals to families in need on Christmas Day.

“Volunteers make our work possible,” Bunge said. “We offer a variety of opportunities for community members to get involved. Our most popular areas to volunteer are in our kitchen and warehouse.”

At a time of year when counting one’s blessings is a part of the cultural vernacular, Bunge said she and others in charge of day-to-day activities within the ministry are overcome with gratitude.

“(The community’s) donations have inspired hope, providing men, women and children in need with a fresh start,” Bunge said. “We are truly grateful for the blessings bestowed upon us each year. Together, we’re building community.”