H15 serving up a hot breakfast Aug. 12
The volunteer crew at last year’s H15 Ministries pancake and sausage fundraiser breakfast flip some pancakes. The Aug. 12 breakfast is designed to not just be a time of fellowship and food, but also a way for the public to help learn more about the H15 Teen Center Ministries’ effort to touch the lives of area youth.
Saturday, Aug. 12 marks the final day of Holmes County Fair week, and H15 Teen Center Ministries in Millersburg wants to send people to the fair with plenty of great food in their stomachs, so before people hit the fair, they should hit H15 Teen Center for a pancake and sausage breakfast fundraiser.
The third annual H15 Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser will take place at H15 Teen Center at 34 E. Jackson St. on Saturday, Aug. 12 from 8-11 a.m. Cost is by donation, and Director Andy Schafer said the fun and fellowship is absolutely free.
“We’ve had such a great time at this event, and we’ve gotten wonderful feedback from people about how much fun they had and how incredible the food was,” Schafer said.
The pancakes will be made from scratch and served with locally made sausage links and real maple syrup and coffee and juice.
In addition, patrons are welcome to check out the teen center and to learn where the ministry is and where it hopes to get to in the coming months.
Schafer said while the breakfast food always takes center stage, one important aspect of the event is to introduce those who visit the center to everything it has to offer youth and share the vision of the effort to complete stage two, an effort that will include a full kitchen, dining area and more.
“That’s an important part of the morning,” Schafer said. “We’ve had so many people who have come in here never having seen the inside of the facility. It’s always surprising to see their whole outlook on the ministry change once they catch the vision of what we’re doing. Our building is just that, a building. The center isn’t the ministry, but what is the ministry is the relationships that we continue to grow and develop with the youth and our volunteers. We’ve seen lives changed, and our building is the tool that opens the door to invite teens in to share their lives and to develop a relationship with us and with Christ.”
All proceeds from the breakfast will go to help the teen center pay for the new roof that was a big part of phase two of the building process.
According to Schafer, the early portion of 2023 saw the ministry able to install a new roof on the western portion of the property in Historic Downtown Millersburg, which provided for a dry area for the first time since H15 purchased the property.
However, with the rising cost of building material, Schafer said they found themselves short of having the funds to pay off the contractor for the work done to build the roof.
“We ended up being $14,000 short of being able to pay it in full,” Schafer said. “But our contractor was very gracious in extending us however much time we needed to get it paid.”
Obviously, the hope of the contractor is that day comes sooner than later, and Schafer said that while they are once again humbled by the gracious offer, they too would like to get the rest of the funds paid off in a timely manner, which is where this pancake breakfast fundraiser comes into play.
“Wouldn’t it be great to pay it all in full from this fundraiser?” Schafer said. “Having that debt always weighs heavily on me. I don’t like having that out there, even though our builder has continued to stress there is no rush. That’s why we are inviting everyone to reach out into their church, their community or wherever they are and invite people to come join us. It’s a wonderful opportunity to have a great breakfast, to experience everything that H15 Ministries is doing, and to support the youth in our community who have found a great, safe place to fellowship and grow. We have had so much fun with this breakfast, and I’m eager to see how God intends to help it grow this year.”
Schafer said he, his wife Tammy and the board are grateful to all of those who have already poured themselves into supporting the ministry, whether it is financially, through labor or by volunteering.
“God has been doing great things through the gracious hearts of our community members,” Schafer said.
To learn more about H15 Ministries, visit them on Facebook or at www.h15ministries.org.
H15 Teen Center Ministries is located at 34 E. Jackson St. in Millersburg. Anyone unable to attend the breakfast can send donations to H15 Ministries, P.O. Box 105, East Jackson Street, Millersburg, OH 44654.