HOPE Coalition Notes Local Donations

Site of Project HOPE Teen Center

Lori Hammer, Project HOPE Director, noted that the Center has received over $3,000 in recent donations.  The exact amounts are $250 from combined plea offers from the local District Attorney’s office, $2,000 from LCM Missions, the Living Covenant Church with Pastor Rick Beard and $1,170 in donations from the Tom Buxton memorial and more donations are coming in.

Coalition member, Susan Portner said the Colorado Health Foundation After School grant has been submitted and was completed with the efforts of several board members.  The grant is for $93,000 and covers the costs of a number of after school projects for students.  She said they should have word on the grant’s acceptance by this June.

The HOPE Center is preparing for several activities after the spring break.  Byron Hall will continue to teach the bike repair class, but at this point anyone wishing to donate BMX bikes should contact the Center.  Donations of bike locks would also be appreciated as one student recently had his bike stolen from his porch.  The seasonal Yo-Yo classes are gearing up for another season and students have put on displays and contests at Willow Creek Park during the annual Lamar Days festivities.

Becky Navarette noted that the ‘Girls in the Middle’ program will be held on April 3 at Lamar Community College and presenters and donations are being sought for the daylong event which focuses on girls in grades 6-8.  “We’d appreciate anyone who can speak to the students from the medical and business community in the area,” she explained.  The website for the event will be online by March 1^st for registrations.  One more event was noted, the kite day this year has been set for April 18 at Escondido Park.  More details will be available at a later date, and in the meantime, kite making classes will begin for the students.

The Why Try class has around 15 students enrolled, the majority of which are boys and mostly 7^th and 8^th graders.  Angel Madrid said a recent class was held on how we tend to label people through assumptions and name calling.  The class focused on how being ‘labeled’ didn’t define students as a person.  As a demonstration, labels with different traits were attached to a person and then torn off and torn up to provide a lesson in empowerment.

By Russ Baldwin