For several years, Hope Within Ministries Community Health, Counseling & Dental Center has held a fundraising holiday shop during the Christmas season.

"While we rely on our 40-plus volunteer licensed medical and dental professionals to provide care to our patients, we needed to look at additional ways to provide financial support for our operations throughout the year," said Anne Marie McAlester, executive director. "Our holiday shop is always well-received, so we looked at having events throughout the year - spring, summer, fall and Christmas."

The organization's Spring Pop-Up Shop will be held on Friday, May 3, from noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the annex on the clinic's property, 4748 E. Harrisburg Pike, Elizabethtown.

The shop will include collectibles and antiques, upcycled furniture, home entertaining items, original photography and artwork, glassware, Americana, vintage jewelry, specially made painted terra-cotta pots with inspirational sayings and more. Sub sandwiches will also be available for purchase.

"Our items come from a variety of sources," McAlester shared. "We have been blessed by several supporters who have donated quality furniture, including some antiques, as well as sports memorabilia. Local businesses have generously donated items such as honey and home decor. We also have volunteers who delight in thrift shopping collectibles and upcycling furniture. In addition, we have a very dedicated friend of the ministry, nurse Robin Bush, who procures, at her own expense, items constantly throughout the year."

Hope Within serves residents of Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon counties who are medically uninsured and financially eligible. Services include free common prescription medications; donation-based oral health screenings, education, cleanings and other dental care; and counseling on a self-pay income-based negotiated fee, with no eligibility requirements. Hope Within's typical patients are people who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford health care from the marketplace. In addition, Hope Within has been a temporary medical home for refugees escaping war-torn places like Somalia, Ethiopia and Ukraine.

"Our neighbors are making the difficult choice about eating, heating or medical and dental (care). For most, all of the above is not an option," McAlester stated. "We are here to fill a gap and avoid the 'what ifs' - what would have happened had we not seen that patient with a bad cough, dental infection or depression? It doesn't take much to imagine the downward spiral of bad health, leading to loss of work."

Events like the Pop-Up Shop help Hope Within fulfill its mission. "Most businesses earn money when their doors are open, but when we have our doors open, the money flies out," she said. "We need to fund this ministry with fundraising events. We all know somebody in this situation and any one of us could be in this situation at any moment in time; therefore, we should support each other."

For more information on Hope Within, visit http://www.hopewithin.org.