United Methodist HOPE Ministries

4643 Winbourne Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70805 225.355.0702

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Our Mission

Prevent homelessness.
Promote self-sufficiency
and dignity.

Event Photos Archive Page

Getting Ahead Graduation #8

On Tuesday, August 25, 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!

Getting Ahead graduates Angelia
and Mona Lisa and a family member at the
Getting Ahead #8 graduation.
Angelia was featured in "The Faces of Poverty,"
an article in The Advocate on 9/27/2009.
Check it out on our HOPE in the News page!

Getting Ahead Graduate Vivian (second from left)
poses with, from left to right,
volunteer Getting Ahead facilitator Dick Stonich,
Program Manager Jeffrey Fairley
and Executive Director Renee Craft.

Getting Ahead graduate Carl (right)
presents his Action Plan to his classmates
while volunteer Getting Ahead facilitator
Dick Stonich looks on.

HOPE client Valerie Clark tells attendees about
her many accomplishments as a participant in
the Family Mentoring Program and
the Getting Ahead in Just-Gettin'-By World
training series. To hear more about
Valerie's story, check out the WAFB interview
linked from our HOPE in the News page.

HOPE You Come!

On Thursday, September 25, we held an
informational meeting for community
members and fellow social service providers
to learn more about HOPE programs.

HOPE Director of Operations & Social Enterprise Janet Simmons
addresses the crowed at HOPE You Come,
telling them about our many amazing programs
that help people move from poverty to self-sufficiency.

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!

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!

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!

Far left: Getting Ahead graduate
Tawanda, middle, receives her graduation
certificate from volunteer Getting Ahead
facilitator Dick Stonich, left, and HOPE
Program Manager Jeffrey Fairley, right.

Left: Getting Ahead graduate Shatonda,
right, presents her Action Plan to her
classmates while Stonich looks on.

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!