Harmony Home and 50 churches join together in a spirit of giving for those in need

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shopping
Those in need went “shopping” for free items during the Harmony Home Ministry event. Photo/Winter Trabex

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MANCHESTER, NH – People started gathering around the First Baptist Church on Union Street on a Saturday morning for a yearly event that had become a local tradition. The Church, conveniently located near the Manchester City Library and the Families in Transition emergency shelter, saw around 200 people gather for an unusual service, together with a food giveaway and a free shopping event.

Doors opened at 10:30 a.m., allowing a crush of people to wander their way upstairs in an enormous space that resembled a small stadium rather than a church. The service was brought together by a variety of churches from all different denominations. Songs and hymns filled the air as musicians held or sat before musical instruments.


When the service ended, volunteers with red stickers on their shirts gathered downstairs where a multitude of tables waited. Food, which had begun being cooked the previous day by a volunteer named Al Camarata, simmered in the kitchen behind the shopping area. Although a large number of volunteers had showed up, it soon transpired that there were not enough to go around for the number of participants who came.

The inspiration for the event came eight years ago when Henry Demers, founder of Harmony Home Ministries, and Kevin Jurovati decided that simply providing temporary shelter and feeding the homeless in soup kitchens wasn’t enough. They wanted to improve the lives of individuals, rather than simply keep people alive through trying times. Harmony Home’s Christmas Giveaway came out of this idea.


Preparation for the event began in June when volunteers started asking around for donations of all kinds. Hats, scarves, gloves, sweaters, tents, sleeping bags, underwear, disposable razors, and a variety of food options had come from all sorts of different people. Whether someone had a lot or nothing, anyone was welcome to come and take whatever they needed –  with tents being reserved for the homeless only.

“We’re all coming together from different churches and businesses,” Demers said. “Every year, the event increases how amazing it is. We probably have about over 50 churches in the organization involved. Donations come from all over. The sleeping bags came from a woman I never met. She just went on her Facebook and collected over 100 sleeping bags for this outreach. We got things from a North Carolina business from someone I hardly know. All these boxes kept coming into my house. It just comes from everywhere.”


Jurovati’s involvement came from volunteering at 1269 Cafe and meeting Henry Demers. Jurovati recalled with fondness a day when he showed a movie to the people there. They told him that he made them feel loved. Following this, he started giving once-a-month sermons to Manchester’s homeless community. 

His inspiration came from prayer when he was asked to conduct a service on Thanksgiving. But instead of the service, he found himself called to hold a Christmas event in which all the churches in town would be invited.

“When I went to the event,” Jurovati said, “the whole basement was filled with gifts, toiletries, sleeping bags, food. Henry has pretty much kept it going ever since. He uses his nonprofit to ask people for donations throughout the year for the event.”

Working together for a common goal is what it’s all about, says Demers.

“There’s something to be said for putting aside differences,” Demers said. “This church might believe differently than my church. We put that aside to come to serve the community together. We do more good together than individually.”


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About this Author

Winter Trabex

Winter Trabex is a freelance writer from Manchester and regular contributor to Community Voices.