food, clothing and blessing boxes (i.e. It is through this interaction with the homeless that enables volunteers to give a helping hand and to develop relationships, where needs can be established. This leads to us, as an organization, working together to take it that step further and give the individual a fighting chance of being a contributing member of society. Growth Path - what makes us different:
Hope Station aims not only to reach the poor but, in order to grow, Hope Station aims to incorporate an experience for the volunteers with the aim to encourage active involvement by as many people as possible; growing the organizations reach. One way we plan to do this is by adopting a different theme each week, requiring volunteers to get creative with their outfits creating a jovial and welcoming atmosphere to the station. This is done firstly to make the volunteer experience one that is fun, memorable and inviting - making them want to come back, secondly to generate interest across various social media forums (with photographs & videos to raise awareness and funds) and thirdly and most importantly – to share the joy within the volunteers hearts and into these people’s desolate lives. Our strategy:
The following 4-step strategy has been established to enable Hope Station’s volunteers to reach out to the under-privileged. By following these 4 steps, a relationship can be built with each individual that needs help that enables Hope Station to work with them and incorporate them back into society as functioning individuals. LOVE – Hope Station begins the journey by making contact with the poor by providing meals, clothes, & blessing boxes, building relationships and discovering each individual’s needs. RESTORE – Once individual needs have been discovered, Hope Station aims to provide each individual with the treatment they need (provided that these individuals have made the commitment to change their lives) – in form of rehabilitation from drugs, abuse, social skills etc. This stage will require integrating with other NGOs that focus on these specific needs. At the end of this stage these people progress to being called “passengers”, as they have now officially embarked the journey towards a significant life improvement. EQUIP – Volunteers are assigned to small groups of “passengers” – encouraging them by providing the necessary advice and routes towards employment, education, healthcare, spiritual growth and family life. There is also a gap where fund-donors can sponsor a specific passenger with their need – be it a skills training workshop, transport costs, health care, education etc. These donors will be in direct contact with Hope Station – enabling them to track the progress of their specific passenger. Hope Station is not a recruitment agency but we do our best to equip our ‘passengers’ to be eligible for employment. PROMOTE – Once the individuals have passed through the above three steps they are then encouraged to help us help the rest of the community by sharing their stories. These stories will hopefully encourage more homeless people to join Hope Station with the intent to change their lives. Over and above – these stories can be shared online (or other forums that will reach the general public) where awareness can be raised into Hope Station’s work and its effect on the community. What the funds will be used for:
The Funds raised through this initiative will be used for the sole purpose of supporting the soup stations, whether it be through the purchasing of a supplies such as pap, soup, plastic bowls and spoons, clothes, and toiletries for blessing boxes or for the purchasing of equipment such as tables, pots, buckets, water containers, petrol to get volunteers to the stations and other needs. We plan to raise funds by the generous donations from any helping heart of any entity that is willing to support this organization. With the funds raised from investors, whether it be in the form of cash, food, equipment or other donations, we can reach as many people we can get our hands on - we can change lives.
