By Linda Boyle
At our recent Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom Conference, we had a split-the-pot with half the proceeds going to the Downtown Anchorage Hope Center.
Attendees contributed $1,820 to the effort. And the best part— the winner chose to give her half of the winnings back to the Hope Center!
Why did we choose the Hope Center? The Hope Center provides a hand up and out for the homeless. It is a Christian based nonprofit and most of its funding and supplies come from individuals and local grocers.
This Downtown Soup Kitchen serves 500-700 lunches a day, seven days a week. Serving the homeless and low-income community for over 45 years, they provide shelter for 70 women nightly.
The volunteers donate 1,000 hours a month to assist with all their programs. The Hope Center has a food bank, clothing shop, showers, places to wash one’s clothes, and more importantly, many educational opportunities to get their guests back on their feet.
The Feed Me Hope Bakery and Culinary School has a 90% job placement rate! Not only do they house women in crisis, they also provide them specific education to gain employment. That is a real hand-up.
Besides a food truck where the guests can learn customer service, they also cater events.
Next door to the Hope Center is Suite Hope: an 18-unit apartment complex that offers housing to the students enrolled in their “Feed Me Hope” job training program.
Everything the Hope Center does is based on Christian principles. After meeting with director Sherrie Laurie, administrator Sally Kraft, and the life coach Janis Ridgeway, I was sure we had made the right decision. Their passion for their work was obvious.
Everything they do is focused on following Christ’s standards: “for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in….” Matthew 25:35.
Their motto is Hope Restored, Hearts Renewed, Lives Transformed. They are doing God’s work—right here in downtown Anchorage. How can you help support them in their mission? Either through volunteering, donating, or praying for them.
And finally, thanks to all our conference attendees who helped the Hope Center with their donations to our split-the-pot.
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom (formerly the Alaska Covid Alliance).