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| Donate Now! |
| Our Mission |
| Prevent homelessness. Promote self-sufficiency and dignity. |




| FaithWorks 2009 |
| On Saturday, October 3, volunteers from First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge gave our Client Choice Food Pantry a fresh coat of paint as a part of their church's first annual FaithWorks community work day. Special thanks to HOPE Volunteer Pam Fairly for coordinating this project. Our new "banana yellow" food pantry looks great! |
| LSU Non-Profit Management Students Interview HOPE Clients |
| HOPE Executive Director Renee Craft is working with a graduate non-profit management class at LSU, helping them to learn the ins-and-outs of running a successful non-profit organization. On Wednesday, September 30, two of the students interviewed our food pantry clients. They even brought gifts for the clients who participated! |

| HOPE Awarded Standards of Excellence Voluntary Re-Certification |
| On October 21, HOPE was awarded voluntary re-certification as an agency that meets the Standards for Excellence established by the Louisiana Association of Non-profit Organizations. |
| At right: HOPE Executive Director Renee Craft, middle, receives the award during a banquet at the LANO Annual Conference in downtown Baton Rouge. |

| Getting Ahead Graduation #9 |
| On Thursday, November 19, eleven students graduated from Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World ©. This workshop series helps students learn about the underlying causes of poverty, increase their financial literacy and develop their own personal action plan for increasing their self-sufficiency. You could be in our next Getting Ahead workshop! |

| Thanksgiving Food Distribution |


| We provided ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to 178 families in the community! Distribution day began with anxious waiting, but pretty soon there were smiles and turkeys all around! |
| You can view more event photos on our archives page! |






| Top right: A client makes her selection from a variety of toys. Bottom right: Despite the dreary weather, parents and grandparents alike were thrilled to leave with overflowing shopping bags. |
| Christmas Place Toy Distribution |
| On December 15, we provided new toys to 328 children from 122 families in the community! We were lucky to have the assistance of many great volunteers, including Country Day School students and Payless Shoe Source employees. |
| Christmas Food Distribution |

| HOPE Volunteer Receives Power of Nine Award |
| Right: HOPE Volunteer Dick Stonich, second from left, receives the Power of Nine award from WAFB Channel 9 at a luncheon on January 28. Pictured from left to right are WAFB anchor Donna Britt, Stonich, HOPE Director of Operations and Social Enterprise Janet Simmons and HOPE Executive Director Renee Craft. |