 HOPE was honored on Sunday, May 8 with the Neighborhood Champion Award for Service (as a Service Organization) by the Ascend Foundation. Each spring the Ascend Foundation invites the general public to nominate people and organizations for their contributions to the community good. This year, more than 425 nominations were judged by 7 people (each judge was unaware of who the other 6 were). Kaino Philips, CEO of Ascend Foundation, highlighted HOPE’s long standing impact on consistently serving individuals experiencing homelessness and for setting new standards of service. Kaino stated, “Too often the people who do the real work don’t get the recognition. It’s time we acknowledge that HOPE has done some spectacular work and is leading the way to improving the way we all think about people who experience homelessness.” This award is not for momentary service. Over more than 20 years, many people have partnered with HOPE in effective ways. Together we have reached meaningful milestones such as: low-barrier sheltering, onsite clinics, onsite case management, onsite service-providers, and a host of volunteers. As a result HOPE is known for stronger outcomes that result in recognition, such as this award. Every volunteer, supporter and team member shares in this award and should feel the pride of a job well done. Thank you for partnering with HOPE. Let's keep up the work because there is so much more to do. “Too often the people who do the real work don’t get the recognition. It’s time we acknowledge that HOPE has done some spectacular work and is leading the way to improving the way we all think about people who experience homelessness.” |