HOPE — An organization aimed at helping families in the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. district has shared a summary of its 2022 operations.
The Students’ Fund of Hope has released a year-end summary, which can be viewed on the organization’s Facebook page.
“This all started with an idea to assist with lunch balances, but has grown beyond anything we could have imagined,” said Vice President Bobbie Shake, who joined the organization’s board in 2022. “As we look back to our first event of root beer floats, we are grateful for a community that comes together to extend kindness and grace to those in need.”
In 2022, the Students’ Fund received almost $55,700 in donations and grants, bringing the total amount raised to $217,846.95 since the nonprofit was established in 2018.
The organization gave almost $37,000 to the community this year, with the funds distributed as follows:
- $12,620 for community needs
- $7,910 for school direct needs
- $5,828 for essential needs
- $5,653 for fundraising events
- $3,440 for housing
- $1,518 for school and extracurricular supplies
The year-end report also recounted some of the year’s highlights, such as the opening of a community engagement hub located on the town square.
President Whitney Budd said the Students’ Fund of Hope raised more than $4,000 for the family of Hauser High School senior Jesse W. Bragg, who died of a gunshot wound in late November.
The organization also hired a third party to complete an audit of its finances from 2018 to present.
“I think it’s always good to do an audit of books, just to make sure that there are no discrepancies,” said Shake. “… In accepting donations, you need to be accountable with those funds.”
There were no negative findings, and a copy of the report is available upon request.
In addition to looking back over the past year, the Students’ Fund of Hope is also looking forward to the next.
“We’re growing steadily, and we have big plans for 2023,” said Budd.
For instance, Shake said they’re looking at pursuing a long-term goal of purchasing a house that could provide temporary housing for a family in need.
“Right now, we are only able to either do rental assistance or maybe put them up in a hotel, something like that,” she explained. “We don’t really have any kind of a permanent housing situation where we would be able to house a family for a period of months until they get stable. So that is something we are looking for in 2023 to begin working on.”
She added that the nonprofit is hoping to expand services offered at its community hub, which currently provides space for the organization to meet with families, provide therapy sessions and conduct some other activities. The nonprofit also allows the Hope Branch of Recover Out Loud to use the space to for its meetings.
In 2023, the Students’ Fund of Hope would like to add more activities, such as possibly mentoring, art classes for kids, and financial classes for families and teens.
