Summer greetings to our New Hope family!

July is the beginning of New Hope’s fiscal year when we take time to reflect on our progress toward our strategic goals and our plans for the new year. And while this reflection has often brought me pride, this year I am especially in awe of the amazing accomplishments of our #TeamNewHope!

In the first half of our fiscal year, we were so excited to launch Cheese and Thank You, the unique food truck program which provides vocational training to young adults with disabilities. We also welcomed several new young people to our family through the AIM program, said goodbye to two of New Hope’s most influential leaders as they celebrated their retirements, and enjoyed a LOT of karaoke Fridays at Payne Road Day Services!

The second half of the year, however, brought more unexpected change than anyone could imagine! COVID-19 arrived at New Hope in late March and our fearless #TeamNewHope immediately reacted. Each team came together to make an action plan to reduce the risk of spreading COVID to our clients and associates, and the teamwork has not stopped. In retrospect, COVID-19 was likely the best teambuilding exercise New Hope has ever had!

Since March, we’ve been maintaining the same four priorities:

1. Keep everyone safe and healthy;
2. Do this by minimizing risk;
3. Keep everyone working; and
4. Maintain open communication.

While we never could have foreseen the events of this spring, I am so proud of the way our associates rose to the challenge. THANK YOU to all of them for their Dedication, Service, Integrity, Creativity, Wisdom and Reverence – they have lived out these Core Values during every hour of every shift and have gone above and beyond to serve others.

Today we are happy to hear the voices of a small but mighty Day Service and AIM program, see families visiting with their loved ones, and have new hires in orientation. New Hope’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee consisting of 19 associates from throughout New Hope has been meeting regularly. These are all small but hopeful steps, knowing that we are getting Back on Track.

At the same time, New Hope is preparing to manage another potential wave of COVID-19. We have learned from our experiences, remained in contact with officials and experts, and taken actions to continue working toward our number one goal: keep everyone safe and healthy. We remain committed to doing the right thing for the individuals we serve, their families, our associates, and our community every day.

We recently asked a group of team leaders who do they wear their masks for? Many listed the clients on their team or all of the individuals New Hope serves. As we all work together to end this pandemic, will you please wear your masks for the vulnerable individuals served by New Hope as well?

Thank you and stay well,
Allison