Growth and Development: A Look Back on 2018

2018 brought a wealth of changes to HopeWorks. As we enter into the holiday season, we’d like to take a look back at the year and highlight how HopeWorks has grown!

Summer Avenue groundbreaking

One of the biggest events of this past year was the groundbreaking at our new facility located at 3337 Summer Ave. The state-of-the-art facility includes four classrooms, offices and a multi-use space that will serve our needs for countless events. On July 19, a ribbon-cutting was held to celebrate and commemorate the new facility, with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and former Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell both in attendance.

First Tennessee Bank 25 Years of Giving

First Tennessee Bank Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary with a video contest. Viewers voted on videos submitted by regional nonprofits. Thanks to the support of voters like you, HopeWorks was selected as one of four $25,000 winners! Click here to watch our video submission for the contest. 

Graduation celebrations

2018 saw the first and second graduating class of the Hope2Hire program, a partnership with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Workforce Investment Network, the University of Memphis and the Shelby County Division of Corrections. Hope2Hire helps inmates and graduates of our Professional and Career Development program learn marketable trade skills. They then connect with employers to help ease the transition from prison to the working world. HopeWorks is incredibly proud of the students in our two graduating classes.

Men’s clothing giveaway

On Nov. 17, HopeWorks held a clothing giveaway at our new location. This men’s only event offered a free lunch and clothing closet for men who needed clothes appropriate for work. The clothing giveaway was made possible thanks to the new facility and the gracious donations of donors.

While we’ve had an extremely successful 2018, we feel that 2019 will be even bigger. Our ESL and HiSet courses are growing to accommodate the demand from the community. Our Hope2Hire partnership will enter into its second year, providing at least two more classes of graduates from the program and supplying students with the tools necessary to achieve meaningful employment after incarceration, which will ultimately reduce recidivism rates. We see other nonprofits and organizations move to a more holistic approach for reentering society by offering countless services to better meet the needs of the community. The team here at HopeWorks is excited about these changes and can’t wait to kick off the new year.