As images of fall harvests begin to fill stores, Hope Harbor is preparing for its annual fundraiser.

The Hope’s Harvest fundraiser is a community event that includes great food, moving speakers and a support for a program that has been making a difference in the community for 13 years now.

“The menu is what is special this year,” organizer Kim King said. “It is produce from local farms, and we are going to have appetizers overlooking the lake this year. The menu and the venue are going to be really what is special about this year. It is a fun and delicious way to support the ladies at Hope Harbor.”

While the group has featured a wide variety of speakers through the years, including Steve Herndon last year, this year Hope’s Harvest will turn the spotlight on the students and graduates of the program.

“We are highlighting students and graduates,” King said. “In the past, we have had a keynote speaker come in from outside of Hope Harbor, but this year, we are going to highlight students and graduates.”

All of the graduates have successfully completed the program that aims to help them turn their lives around through the power of Christ and a community of support.

“It is a one year Christian recovery program for women battling addiction,” King said. “We can only have eight women at a time, so we are what I like to call a small, but mighty group because we are able to focus on the individual not the number.”

Hope Harbor cannot do what it does without community support though. The program relies on money raised at fundraisers like this one and the Pathway to Freedom ride to keep programs running to continue making a difference.

“We are state-regulated, but we are not state-funded, and the tuition that we charge is so minimal that events like Hope’s Harvest are vital to keeping the program running,” King said. “The two fundraisers make up at least 50 percent of the budget.”

Anyone who would like to support the cause but will be unable to attend can help by sponsoring a graduate’s ticket to the banquet or by inviting Hope Harbor to speak at a civic club event.

Hope’s Harvest will take place at Three Oaks Barn, 197 Burgess Road on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $58 and can be purchased at Hopeharborga.org/events.html.