Giving: Publications : Hopebriefs
Many Hope Families are Struggling Financially
Can You Help Bridge the Gap?
March 15, 2010
Dear Friends,
Two recent Oscar-winning films, Precious and The Blind Side, chronicle stories of hopeless urban teenagers who are transformed through the sacrificial love of strangers.
In The Blind Side, a compassionate woman (played by Sandra Bullock) takes in Michael Oher, a homeless, giant-sized teenager abandoned by his family. Her sacrificial love for Michael changes his life. Just recently, the real life Michael became an NFL football player. It is an uplifting, feel good story of a life redeemed.
Precious is much more hard-hitting. Set in 1987, it tells the story of Precious Jones, a teenager from Harlem and her struggle to overcome rape, incest, poverty, and out-of-wedlock children.
The redemption in the story comes when a young teacher at an alternative school helps her toward a better life—one where she can read and write, find work, and support her family. It is a difficult film to watch—and it has drawn all sorts of praise and criticism for its honest portrayal of an oft-overlooked part of the black experience.
In both films, however, the point comes through loud and clear: you can make a difference in someone’s life—but it’s going to take a significant sacrifice.
In a review of Precious by Reina Kelley in Newsweek, she asked why so many girls like Precious—and, I would add, boys like Michael—remain trapped in such hopelessness. She writes,
“No one seems outraged that so little has changed in the inner city in more than 20 years since [1987]... The public-education system is still failing to raise graduation rates above 50 percent in the worst neighborhoods. The public-welfare system has yet to offer a real path out of poverty, and child-protection services is [sic] still struggling to protect children....The real devastation at the heart of this film is that [we] can't offer [girls like] Precious a more concrete way out of [their] predicament."
Praise the Lord that in Minneapolis, the halls of Hope Academy are filled with inner city kids whose lives are being changed because of your sacrificial giving.
In our last newsletter, we profiled Elijah Young (seventh grade), and his family (“News of Hope,” Feb. 15). When Elijah came to us in kindergarten, he fit the profile of a high-risk youth—one who could have easily slipped through the cracks elsewhere. Back in 2002, we were able to enroll Elijah because Doug and Ann McMillan, Elijah’s partners, agreed to sponsor his education here. Today, Doug and Ann continue to support Elijah, and he is now a gifted, respectful student who one day dreams of becoming a pastor or missionary.
 This year, more than $1.6 million dollars has been given to our annual sponsorship fund for students like Elijah. However, I wanted to invite you to consider making a gift toward helping us provide an additional $30,000 of sponsorship help this year.
As you may know, Hope is committed to never turning away a child due to lack of funds. Every April, each family’s share of tuition is determined at an annual meeting, and based on these meetings, we anticipated about $215,000 in family tuition to serve our 250 students.
However, due to the difficult economy, during the course of this past year many of our families have come upon hard financial circumstances.
With job losses, trimmed hours, and other family changes, we have agreed to reduce tuition for many families. When I make these adjustments, I tell families that I believe God will provide what is needed for us to serve their kids. In total, this trimming has created a gap of about $30,000 in the school’s sponsorship fund.
Will you prayerfully consider helping bridge this gap?
Perhaps you can make a one-time gift of $500 or $1,000. Gifts of $25, $50, or $100 can also make a significant difference. If just sixty of you were to make a one-time gift of $500, this would close the gap for the children of inner city families that have lost jobs this year.
You can also make smaller monthly gifts and become a sustaining supporter of Hope Academy—recurring gifts provide much needed stability for inner city families. You can make a one-time or recurring gift online (or you can call and request a giving envelope--call Dan Olson at 612-721-6294 ext. 106).
Recurring gifts can also be made.
My hope is that this $30,000 would be raised before the end of April. As we schedule our April tuition conferences for next year, I would love to tell families that God has provided.
Finally, I did want to let you know that we still have twelve students without a sponsorship partner for this year--and we have 40 students incoming kindergarteners in need of a Partner for next year. If you would like to provide a half ($2,900) or full ($5,800) sponsorship for a student to attend Hope, your gifts would be greatly appreciated by those parents. (Learn more about Partnering here).
Your sacrificial giving is changing the lives of inner city children. What could be more important and satisfying than that!
I praise God for you, and the surpassing grace he has given you to help redeem the youth of the city. Many Hope Academy parents have asked me specifically to thank you for your continued love in making a school like Hope available for their children.
Grateful for you,
Russ Gregg
Head of School
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