December 2019 Happenings
for Hope House in Mexico
|
|
|
Here is our monthly (más o menos) newsletter to keep our friends and family updated on what is happening with Hope House Children's Relief (HHCR) and Hope House in Mexico. For those who don't know, HHCR is our not-for-profit 501(c)3 and all donations received are directed solely to Hope House. The newsletter will provide updates on the boys - especially the new ones - a little insight into the staff, teams, vocational training, projects, and items of special interest. If you know of someone that would be interested in HHCR/Hope House, Mexico updates, they can subscribe here.
A copy of last month's newsletter can be found here. If you go to this website there is a link to all previous newsletters. |
|
First of all, we would like to wish all of our readers a very Happy New Year. You have helped make last year a great one for the boys of Hope House through your generous giving. Hopefully you will continue with your commitment to help keep abused and abandoned boys off the streets here in Mexico.
As donors ourselves over the years, we choose where we want to donate but then trust the recipient organization to use those donations wisely and prudently, as they know best where it needs to be used. From this we have learned that donors appreciate knowing how their funds are being used. This is the motivation behind presenting our goals.
In the last newsletter it was stated that HHCR is not the sole supporter of Hope House. We partner with other US and local groups to keep the home running. But since this is the HHCR newsletter, we only focus on what we are able to accomplish.
From the beginning, even with with all the partners contributing, there always appears to be a shortfall in funds available for daily operations. The number one goal of HHCR is to meet the monthly shortfall. This removes a significant amount of pressure from the administrative staff as they have their hands full raising all the boys, ages 1 through 18, who reside at Hope House. The photo below is of 14 of the 15 boys under the age of 18 around the Christmas tree. Currently there still are the 15 boys under 18 and Ulises who lives in the Transition House. With Ulises, it makes it 16 boys. We are working with the Hope House administrative staff to see if Hope House can go to 24 boys in the next year. This is what it is all about. Since we are in the proximity of Hope House, we can respond quickly and find out what it is and provide the funds to cover the shortfalls. Also, one of the members of the board of directors is at the weekly Bible Study in our home and is part of our worship band. So we are connected.
|
|
A secondary goal is to help Hope House fund giving more boys hope and to keep them off the streets. In discussions with administrative staff we are looking to house six additional boys. It appears that HHCR may have the funds and Hope House has the staff to accomplish this goal
As additional funds are available, HHCR's third goal is to help with maintenance issues, replacement of aging equipment and other expenses as they arise. Some of these were delineated in the last newsletter.
A fourth goal is to provide the necessary tools and instructors for vocational training. Currently the facilities can support carpentry, gardening, music, computers, and English. However, instructors are needed.
Recently we have been connecting with online organizations whose goal is to help small 501(c)3's like HHCR to gain more visibility - at no cost. HHCR has already benefited from some of this kind of help, and we are looking forward to more increased exposure to add more donors. Even though the current donor basis seem pretty solid, it is wise to prepare for unforeseen changes. We are busy working these various opportunities to ensure operational funding stability.
Visibility and exposure are key elements of seeking additional funding. For added Hope House visibility in the US, there are plans to send one of the staff members, who also is on the board of directors of Hope House, to visit the Bay Area in California and speak to interested groups. He now has his passport and will begin the visa process, which is sometimes challenging. If you know of a church, Christian school, organization, or group of individuals in that area who would be interested in learning more about Hope House, let us know by email.at this address.
|
|
|
First Day at Kindergarten
|
|
|
This is Leo on his way to his first day in Kindergarten. He is all set with his backpack and everything..
|
|
|
December is an extremely busy time for the staff of Hope House. Many local groups and individuals want to come and spend time with the boys and bring them gifts. On the part of the donors, it is a very generous time. Of course, the boys appreciate all the attention.
Below is a collage of the annual bringing of Christmas gifts to the boys by Creekside Bible Church, formerly Grace Bible Fellowship (GBF). Each boy receives a large cardboard box with their name on it. A church member or family chose one of the boys, and selected, wrapped, and packed a box full of gifts especially for them. The top photo is posing after each has received their gift off the truck Middle row on the far left and far right and in the middle of the bottom row are how the boys receive the boxes. Some boxes are larger than the boys and they need help holding them. Center photo on bottom row far left is the boys hearing the Christmas story and the gifts are an illustration of the most important gift of all. Bottom row far right is of the boxes by the Christmas tree.
|
|
|
The collage below is of the boys decorating the Christmas tree and then posing with the completed job. This too, is something new and special for each of the boys.
|
|
|
Below is a collage of the boys opening the big boxes and then their individual Christmas presents. By the smiles on their faces, it definitely is a sight to behold!
|
|
|
In Mexico, family Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. The collage below is of the boys enjoying this time. The celebrate around campfire, play with sparklers and enjoy eating. Obviously if they could they would personally wish each of you a "Feliz Navidad".
|
|
|
The collage below shows some of the boys after having received gifts of toothpaste and toothbrushes. But as we say all the time, every little bit counts and goes a long way. Now the boys have the tools for dental hygiene, something they have learned at Hope House and will be important throughout their lives..
|
|
|
Local Organizations Honoring the Boys
|
|
|
Fund raisers are a common event in this area as there are many groups and projects that need financial assistance. One of the local restaurants does this fund raising dinner for Hope House every year. It is Tangos, the best steak house in the area. On behalf of the HHCR donor base, we were invited to join them. The collage below contains a few photos of this event. This was just the first dinner seating at 5, which was followed by a similarly full restaurant at 8. It is difficult to see in the small photos of how many people were there but it had to be close to a hundred or more in both seatings. The Santa Claus at both dinners is a good friend of ours.. The photo bottom row on the left is Annel, the administrative director, receiving the check.
|
|
|
Several organizations set up a race fund raiser, as shown in the collage below. The large photo on the left shows the boys participating in the race.
|
|
|
In-house Tutor and Workshop Instructor
|
|
Hope House is extremely grateful for the response received in providing scholarship funds for the boys' education. One of the strains on the daily budget is tutoring boys in their regular schooling. The tutoring program is very successful, and the boys in this program are performing significantly better in school as a result. A tutor in the morning works with the boys attending school in the afternoon, and a tutor in the afternoon helps the boys attending school in the morning. The cost is $75 USD per tutor per week, or $150 per week for all tutoring. If you would like to help with this, it makes a huge difference in giving the boys hope for the future. Donations can be made here.
Hope House is currently needing to add a teacher in the woodwork shop. Hope House has one of the most complete workshops in the area that is now primarily used to complete projects. We have been blessed with this workshop and it is beneficial and prudent to use it for training the boys in carpentry, as there is always a market for young men skilled in carpentry in the area. Donations can be made at the same link above. Two classes per week, each of three hours, is the goal.
|
|
Just to remind you that Hope House has a program available for donors who would enjoy sponsoring a particular boy. In this program a specific boy would be assigned to you. More information on how this program works, and how you can be part of it can be obtained by contacting Karlee here. This program is administrated through Shepherd's Heart Ministries, one of many partners in supporting Hope House.
|
|
|
As mentioned before, HHCR recurring donations have almost doubled because of the employer matching funds To be able to bring in more boys, we have chosen to increase the monthly recurring donations to $4,000. This places monthly financial giving at 65% of our new goal of $4,000. You can see that using a seemingly small thing like applying for matching donations through your employer can have a huge impact. We would love to achieve the new monthly goal so that Hope House will be able to take in more boys.
|
|
|
|
HHCR has been approved by PayPal as a legitimate 501(c)3 charity. This makes HHCR part of the PayPal Giving Fund. The impact is that all donations made through the PayPal Giving Fund are free of any fees. And since HHCR operates without any management fees, every dollar donated through use of the PayPal Giving Fund button goes 100% to Hope House.Some of our donors have already made use of this opportunity to get funds directly to Hope House.
|
|
|
|
|
