Center for Hope
The Center for Hope was a non-profit in Ambridge, PA where my ICO team and I had the opportunity to serve at during our spring break. Their mission is being a “faith-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food, clothing, education, and youth programs to underserved residents of Ambridge, Pennsylvania.” It was such a fun experience serving here with my team because it was the first time we’ve all been there and seeing how they differentiated themselves from all the other food pantries in the area.
The Center for Hope gets a bunch of donations from people, but they intentionally choose not to keep everything. On their website, they said “we understand that having access to clean and appropriate clothing is essential for self-esteem and overall well-being.” They choose to go through everything intentionally and throw away anything that isn’t great quality because they want the people who go there to keep their dignity. In a place like Aliquippa or literally anywhere, it can definitely be humbling or even hard to get a free handout or to ask for assistance. I liked this approach because throwing away any clothes that had stains, smelled bad, had bugs, and etc. was a great way to be more redemptive instead of just giving people whatever random donation they got.
The Center for Hope also did the same with the food donations that they got and tried to throw away anything that was rotting, moldy, or soon to be spoiled because they also wanted their customers to have the best quality food.
They also had an after-school program that helped the kids with homework, tutoring, and recreational programs. When one of the ladies were talking about the after-school program, she also mentioned how they had a system to pay the kids to come and to help learn accountability, consistency, and discipline so that they could gain skills when they get a job. This approach also helped the kids have a bit of income to help out their families. Overall, I thought that the Center for Hope was pretty redemptive and set themselves apart from most food pantries and non-profits that we came across in Aliquippa.
Website: The Center for Hope