Dear Friends and Family, 

Have you ever noticed that the male species has a unique way of greeting each other?  I believe it starts around middle school; at least that is what I have gathered through my observations.  They walk up to each other and do some fancy unique handshake and then possibly add a shoulder or chest bump.  One day, while I was at the mall, I watched one of these greetings happen and I wondered how they know what to do.  Do they plan their handshake in advance, or is there some bro shake ingrained in them?  I then began asking my male friends and some of the young men that we serve at House of Hope Joplin.  Amazingly enough most of the responses were that they just make it up as it is happening.  That is quite impressive if you ask me!

At House of Hope we give a lot of high fives.  We hug the kids as much as possible when it is appropriate, but most teens prefer a high five.  (Gabe is the only one qualified to do the fancy handshake). We give high fives as a greeting, a well done, a congratulations, a trust me, an acknowledgement of their hilarity, a way of saying I’m on your team, and a way of saying I understand.

As I have said in other communications, in the last six months we have tripled the number of teens and families that we serve.  We have also grown our staff to meet that demand; however we have not been able to grow donations to the point of sustainability.  As we brain storm on how to increase monthly donations to sustain the growth we have incurred and to allow us to continue to grow, I thought of the way men greet each other.

I thought to myself, we don’t need some fancy 5 step ask with possible whiplash at the end.  We just need some high fives.  We are asking for you to commit to supporting House of Hope Joplin in the amount of $25 a month ($5 per finger) or in an increment of $25.  We have set our goal at increasing monthly donations by $4,000.  We have recently had an increase of $700, meaning we only need to add $3,300 a month.

We are in need of hearing some expressions of well done, congratulations, we trust you, I’m on your team and I understand.

High Five,

Jen Black

Founder/Executive Director

 “We can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”

Romans 5:5 (MSG)

November 7, 2012

Dear Friends,

The other day I was talking to someone about House of Hope, and she asked me, “How do you charge families practically nothing and still keep your doors open?” I said, “Well, we have financial partners that believe what we are doing is important and worth supporting.” Tears sprung to her eyes, and she said, “I wish there had been a House of Hope around 13 years ago when I was struggling with my teenage son. Things might have turned out much differently.” If you are partnering financially with House of Hope Joplin, I want to start by saying, thank you! You are providing hope to both teens and their parents! If you have not yet partnered or want to increase your support, I want to give you an opportunity to join us in replenishing hope.

Romans 5:5 has recently spoken to us regarding our work here; God has generously poured more teenagers and their families into House of Hope Joplin than we can hold. In the last six months, we have more than doubled the number of teens that we are working with. Daily, we are amazed at the outpouring of God’s hope into their lives. We love being part of the healing and restoration happening, and we know that there are many more families that long for hope. In order to serve them all, we need your help.

At House of Hope, we believe strongly in not turning anyone away based on an inability to pay. We also know that even when families are able, we cannot offer them the support and counsel that we provide without faithful donors. While we have doubled the number of teens served, we have not doubled our financial partnerships. We ask parents to pay between $30 and $60 per week and are willing to reduce that if they cannot afford it. It costs us $120 per week to serve a family; however, we want to be able to help any teen who walks through our door. Will you please consider helping us to replenish hope by sponsoring a teen?

There are multiple ways for you to sponsor a teen and their parents as they receive the outpouring of God’s hope and healing. You can fill in the gap between what they are paying and what it costs us to serve them. Currently, families are paying an average of $34 a week, which leaves an $86 gap. You can sponsor a teen and their family completely for one week in the amount of $120. Or, you can sponsor them monthly or for a 6 month period. Please see the enclosed response card for the financial breakdown.

We know that God has poured every single teen into House of Hope for a reason. We are convinced that by the time He is done with things, we will not be able to round up enough containers to hold how blessed House of Hope Joplin will be. With your help, we can replenish hope in even more families’ lives! Will you please prayerfully consider sponsoring a teen today?

Sincerely,

Rachel Yount, MSW LMSW

Development Director/Counselor