Farmers Helping Farmers  (Part 2)

Helping with Hay for Hurricane Helene's victims

Brittany Eisenman organized fellow northwest Pennsylvania farm families to ship hay to North Carolina and Tennessee farmers devastated flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

That effort that has produced countless faith stories for those involved. 

This is Part Two of Mark Webster's conversation about how farmers help farmers -- and Christians help neighbors, even those who are a distance away. The widespread response from the community is heartening to those who are helping, and for those who have received this practical compassion.

You also can hear Part One of our "Hometown Heroes" interview. Check it out on our 2/26/2025 feature podcast. You can send a link so someone else among your family, friends or congregation can hear it. All of our original Family Life Podcasts are also available to download, or click Subscribe to be notified each time a new episode goes online.

For further details and photos from this "Hay Lift", there is additional coverage from multiple farm journals and local websites.

For more about the ministry which is overseeing the logistics of these deliveries, go to the website or social media of Spurred to Victory Ministries. Spurred to Victory's primary evangelistic work uses horses to share the Gospel.

photo credit: facebook/brittany eisenman

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Helping with Hay for Hurricane Helene's victims

Farmers Helping Farmers 

It's the "Hometown Heroes" podcast from Family Life News

The devastation of Hurricane Helene in mid-2024 will be felt for years in the Carolinas, Tennessee and other states. But, a group of farmers in northwestern Pennsylvania provided a helpful response that many of us might not have even realized was needed.

In this week's Hometown Heroes podcast, Mark Webster introduces you to Brittany Eisenman, who organized shipments of hay to western North Carolina farmers after those massive floods. As you will hear, it wasn't farmers "bailing" out farmers with bales of hay for their livestock, there's a strong story of a God Moment which was a major aspect to this project.

You also can hear Part Two of our "Hometown Heroes" interview about the practical and spiritual messages shared with each truckload of hay. Check it out on our 3/04/2025 feature podcast.

EYT Media is another source to find out about this haylift.

Other episodes of our original podcasts introduce you to other "Hometown Heroes", individuals and groups who take intentional steps to tangibly enhance the lives of their neighbors, communities and regions.

Find our archives at FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts and other popular podcast platforms. You can share, listen or download, or tap "subscribe" to receive an update each time a new edition goes online.

"Hometown Heroes" also airs most Tuesdays during the Family Life Noon Report and our 5 O'Clock Report, with highlights also included in our other newscasts. Hear these on one of our nearly-70 radio stations across Pennsylvania and New York, or listen in from anywhere with our live stream, app, or web player:  

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photo credit: facebook/brittany eisenman

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Kingdom Builders of Central New York

The Hometown Heroes podcast from Family Life News

Today’s guest on “Hometown Heroes” is Bill Sears with Kingdom Builders of Central New York – a ministry that provides free home repairs for those who can’t afford them … and shares the Christian Gospel along the way. Their mission statement is "Serving God by Serving People".

Sears tells the story of how Kingdom Builders' executive director Andy Deforest has done faith-based mission work in New Zealand, Cambodia, Honduras and Papua Guinea, and has found a way to carry out parallel kinds of mission in the Susquehanna Valley.

Professional electrical engineer Bill Sears has been on the KBCNY board since the ministry was founded.

Discover more about this community-minded ministry at KingdomBuildersCNY.org.

You can go to the Kingdom Builders CNY website to read or subscribe to their online newsletters.

Hometown Heroes: Victory Sports

Part 2 of our interview with Doug Rifenburg

Victory Sports founder Doug Rifenburg takes us inside this ministry which distributes sports equipment to children and teens to give them positive activities as an alternative to other troublesome options. There is a Gospel emphasis too.

Included in this segment of Mark Webster's interview, Rifenburg tells about a partnership which Victory Sports and its donors have with the police department in Buffalo, giving officers another community-policing tool to connect with young people in their neighborhoods.

Part 1 of this "Hometown Heroes" feature aired on February 4. You can listen to that segment as well, download it or share it from this link at www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts:  Heroes 2/04/25

Victory Sports is headquartered in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, New York. Their distribution center is open selected hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The website is www.VictorySports.org. Doug Rifenburg and his family have a long history in the Buffalo sports world.  Find out more about him and his work here.

Hometown Heroes

The Family Life News Tuesday Podcast

Victory Sports in western New York spreads the Christian gospel by distributing sports gear to young people in need.

Founder Doug Rifenburg takes us inside this ministry -- and out to the neighborhoods they influence -- with this "Hometown Heroes" interview with Family Life's Mark Webster.

This Family Life "Hometown Heroes" interview continues in with Part 2 which first aired in the Noon Report on February 11.  You can listen, download that segment, or share it from the link at www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts:  Heroes 2/11/25

Victory Sports is headquartered in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, New York. Their distribution center is open selected hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The website is www.VictorySports.org. Doug Rifenburg's biography is here.

The Hope Center in Western New York

Family Life's Hometown Heroes podcast

The Hope Center of Leroy, New York, is a community focused organization which provides a variety of services to the people of Genesee County.

Diane Sia is the director there, and she gives Family Life News Anchor Mark Webster an overview of their many community ministries, including:

Sia says the most beneficial byproduct of the Hope Center of Leroy is the personalized connections that happen with the young people, parents and others they see. Those people get an attentive listening ear, experiences of care and encouragement, and tangible evidence of Christian faith.

You can also find out more about their tutoring, senior moments luncheons, GriefShare workshops and other programs at www.HopeCenterofLeroy.org.

Catch up with all the individuals and organizations who are transforming their local communities with our Hometown Heroes podcast archives anytime. We encourage you to listen, share, subscribe or download all your favorite Family Life features from www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts or from many popular podcast platforms.

Hometown Heroes

a Family Life Tuesday news feature and podcast

Co-founder Ray Oberst tells us of the value he sees in Christian weekday education as a New York State Christian school continues to grow

Today's edition of "Hometown Heroes" features the co-founder of the Parker-Jordan Christian Academy in Allegany County, New York.

Pastor Ray Oberst tells our Mark Wester about the vision and the launch for a Christian K-12 school there. While many look at faith-based education as an alternative with Scriptures and traditional family values as a primary goal --- and those do happen at PJCA too --- one of the biggest accomplishments that happens at a Christian school is marked improvements in academic performance.

Oberst talks about how the academy has seen mushrooming growth since it opened with a handful of students in 2019. He says families are seeing the progress students make in their classes, extracurriculars, faith, and their emotional/personal/relational lives.

For more information:  PJCA website

Hometown Heroes

A Family Life podcast

Sandy Lenehan from Shamokin, Pennsylvania, has produced a series of YouTube videos called “Wee Steps with God”.  Her goal is to get the word of God into the hearts of young children.

These videos are online at youtube.com/@WeeStepsMinistries/videos.

Bob Price has this week's "Hometown Heroes" interview.

Life Matters

The Hometown Heroes podcast from Family Life News

The Life Matters Training Center in Canastota, New York, is a pro-life ministry which prepares fellow Christians to effectively carry on the pro-life cause.

Hear their success stories from Joanna Myers, the center's director of program development and expansion. 

For more about this ministry, their website is www.LifeMattersTrainingCenter.com

For all the archived episodes of Mark Webster's Hometown Heroes interviews, visit www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts or your favorite podcast platform.

All of our Family Life podcasts are available to hear, download or share with others. You also can subscribe to receive a notification a new episode is posted for your choice of our podcasts.

Wreaths Across America

The "Hometown Heroes" podcast from Family Life News

Perhaps you can feel like a Hometown Hero this weekend (Saturday, December 14).

A nationwide project is seeking volunteers for "Wreaths Across America", where Christmas wreaths are placed on the graves of America's war dead. Veterans will be honored this way at 4.600 cemeteries in this nation, at sea and abroad. This includes dozens of site in Pennsylvania and New York -- from Butler to Batavia to Buffalo, from Fairview to Scranton to Oswego.

A searchable map can help you find a location near you. click on the Volunteer tab at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.

The Family Life Interview features Dan Miller, a longtime participant in this massive wreath-laying ceremony at the Bath (NY) National Cemetery, gives us insights its history, purpose and significance.