Reflecting on June-July giving

Written by: Delores Hurst, Executive Director

June and July have been busy months for the Board of Directors, the staff, and the volunteers of HOPE. It began with preparing for and hosting our Uniforms For Kids giveaway of June 27th and 28th. The program chairs for this event worked hard to make sure it was a success, but like in most cases, every event has a hitch or hiccup, so to speak. This little hitch was moving the dates of the event a month in advance. Despite this, HOPE was still able to give two free uniforms to 186 children during the two days of event. Further still, we allowed some head start students to receive uniforms at a later date. This is where I can genuinely say that the ingenuity and problem solving skills of the people volunteering and working for HOPE is phenomenal. Thank you!!!

In July, HOPE held its recertification of the Food Pantry program on the 5th and 6th of the month. Over 205 of our clients came to the HOPE office on the 5th, but also 15 clients showed up to the office for uniforms that same day. Quickly thinking, the pantry coordinator consulted with myself and one of the uniform for kids chairs and we set a place for those UFK families to submit their forms for uniforms and kept two spaces for our pantry clients. Whoo, problem averted! We were able to help those UFK clients and still get recertification done for the pantry clients. It was an interesting feat that day, but the next day was just as interesting. On the 6th, our pantry clients began to come into the office at 9:00 AM. We saw 166 clients that day and handled the flow in stride. At around 11:00, our air gave out and around 1:00, the workers from St. Vincent de Paul came to the office to pick up the uniforms that we didn’t give out during Uniforms For Kids. I, as the director, was making sure everything ran smoothly for recertification and directed staff members to set a path on the opposite side of the building so the truck drivers were able to get the uniforms without disturbing the flow of the clients. We did all this while fans blew to keep the building cool.

I said all of that to say this. What we do at HOPE and for the people  in Pointe Coupee isn’t done lightly. We try our hardest to do what’s right and make sure every part of our mission is fulfilled. Sometimes, we have moments where things don’t run 100% smoothly. We get through it! We problem solve! Our hearts are in the work we do and our focus is on making sure the people of Pointe Coupee has a place to go that is looking out for their interest and getting them their basic needs. This is our testament of service!!