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HOPE client purchases her first home!
 Family
Mentoring Program client Valerie Clark purchased her first home on
Wednesday, January 6. When Valerie first came to HOPE in March 2008,
she was drowning in a sea of debt. With the help of her case manager and
volunteer Family Mentor, Valerie learned to balance her household
budget and began saving. She also enrolled in HOPE's Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World
training series and built her credit score up from the low 400's to
above 700 using the knowledge she gained in that course. Everyone at
HOPE is so excited for Valerie and her family! We wish her many years of
happiness in her new home.
 HOPE receives Homeless Service Award!
HOPE received the 2010 Homeless Service Award on January 13, 2010, from the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless (CAAH), the professional organization for homeless service providers in the Greater Baton Rouge Area (seven parishes).
This award goes to a CAAH member agency that has made a significant
contribution toward ending homelessness in the last year. During the
award ceremony, CAAH noted that HOPE has made several
innovations over a number of years including transforming our
emergency food program into a Client Choice Food Pantry, re-designing
our Family Mentoring Program to focus more on homeless prevention,
and capitalizing on our strengths by bringing poverty education into the
workforce as an agency funding stream. CAAH Executive Director
Randy Nichols said, "Each of these innovations represents a best
practice for ending homelessness or building non-profit capacity, and
together they demonstrate a commitment to excellence in serving some of
our community's most vulnerable citizens." Pictured above are Chair of the CAAH Board Tim Young, HOPE Executive Director Renee Craft and Nichols. | |
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| Holidays for HOPE:
A great success in 2009! |
 This past holiday season, HOPE provided holiday food and Christmas toys for more people than ever before!
We provided the
ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to 178 families or 613
individuals, and the ingredients for a Christmas meal to 145 families or
631 individuals.
Many volunteers
and donors helped us make this Christmas a happy one
by providing new toys for 328 children from 122 families!
Thanks especially to all the churches and groups who
helped make our holiday programs such a great success with their
generous donations. All donors will be recognized in our upcoming 2009
Annual Report. |
| Family Mentors Needed! |
| Can you help an at-risk family achieve independence?
 Volunteer
mentors serve as advocates and friends of the families enrolled in our
Family Mentoring Program. They also help families develop creative
problem-solving skills to address their unique needs. Mentors use their
knowledge, life experiences and talents to help families identify
helpful resources. They also work closely with our case management team
to help families reach their individual goals. HOPE
provides in-depth training which will take place from 9:00 a.m. to
2:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 23 and Saturday, January 30. To
become a mentor, fill out our volunteer application and email it to Jeffrey Fairley at jfairley@hopebr.org or fax it to us at 225-357-6352. Please don't hesitate to call us at 225-355-0702 for more info.
Mentor Janifer Peters and client Rashane Favors relax in the shade at HOPE Family Reunion 2009 in early August. |
| Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World |
 We graduated 22 people from our Getting Ahead trainings
in August and November. This 40-hour program helps
participants identify the underlying causes of poverty, increase
financial literacy and design an action plan for becoming
self-sufficient. The classes build on the strengths of the individual
and help them identify resources within their own families and
communities to achieve long-term self-sufficiency. The next round
of Getting Ahead workshops will begin January 19, 2010, with advance registration required. Call Jeffrey Fairley at 225-355-0702 or email him at jfairley@hopebr.org if you know someone who can benefit from this program! |
Support
HOPE:
Join Keyholders Society or 12:50 Club!
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You
hold the key. Here at HOPE Ministries, we open "doors of HOPE" for the
families we serve and we need your help. We're launching our Keyholders
Society this year to provide an opportunity to give $1,000 a year. What
might seem like a small amount to you - only $84 a month - will go a
long way towards the $2,350 annual cost for one family to participate in
our Family Mentoring Program and learn the life skills necessary to
increase their family's stability.
We're also looking for prayers and support through our new 12:50 Club. It costs just over $600 for one client to participate in Getting Ahead
and learn to manage his or her finances and earn an increased credit
score, like Valerie in the story above. To help pay for one client's
costs in this program, we ask that members of this new group donate $50 a
month for 12 months. We're also asking the 12:50 Club to pray for HOPE
Ministries' continuing success every day at 12:50 p.m.
It's
truly amazing to realize that one donor can make such a difference. We
must remember that we are also called to do so. Matthew 12:50 states:
"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and
sister and mother." Throughout the Bible, we're called to follow God's
will. In simple terms, we are called to feed the hungry and assist the
poor to help improve the lives of our fellow man. At HOPE, we do just
that and take it one step further. When families at-risk for
homelessness become self-sufficient, they are able to hold their heads
up with dignity and provide for themselves.
Will you prayerfully consider joining the Keyholders Society or 12:50 Club? You can make your pledge online, or if you prefer, call 225-355-0702 or email jhammett@hopebr.org
and we'll send you a pledge card. We look forward to your help in
fulfilling our mission to prevent homelessness and promote
self-sufficiency and dignity here in our community.
Kindly,
Renee Craft
Executive Director |
| Support HOPE:
Apply for a Capital One Affinity Card! |
Click one of the cards to find out how you can support HOPE every time you go shopping!
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| Support HOPE:
Make a donation online! |
It's easy to make a one-time donation online. Just click on the "doors of HOPE"
to make a safe, secure donation with PayPal! | |
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