A Note from Allison: New Hope’s New Year

27 Jul A Note from Allison: New Hope’s New Year

Happy July!

This month, we continue to celebrate zero cases of COVID-19 and increasing numbers of vaccinated individuals at New Hope. In fact, 100% of individuals served in our residential programs and in Day Services have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine! We believe strongly that this will keep #TeamNewHope healthy and safe even as we see COVID cases on the rise with the new Delta variant.

We are also excited to welcome our administrative staff and supervisors back to our Payne Road offices in a hybrid environment. It is great to see people in person again! Thanks to our dedicated leadership team, I am confident that New Hope is taking the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe and healthy as we continue to get back on track. All associates continue to wear masks in common areas and practice appropriate social distancing and other precautions during team meetings and in shared workspaces. We are also continuing to screen visitors to the building and limit them to meeting spaces away from individuals served.

We have had many reunions this month. New Hope’s Aktion Club celebrated their first in-person meeting since the beginning of the pandemic on July 15th. The club enjoyed a cookout at Payne Road with the help of volunteers from Kiwanis Club of Northwest Indianapolis. Special thanks to members and Aktion Club advisors Roy Hedeen and Carolyn Hart-Hults as well as New Hope Board Member Emeritus, John Bloom for their support. Our local Kiwanis club continues to be a great partner for our Aktion Club and for many other client events including our annual Fall Festival.

We ended the month with our first Board meeting of the new fiscal year. This was the first in-person board meeting in 18 months. The highlight for me was finally meeting Gretchen Sussman in person and welcoming our newest member, Steve Cook. Gretchen joined the board last year during the pandemic and had not been able to meet with her fellow Board members face-to-face. Steve Cook is returning to #TeamNewHope in his retirement. Through his 43-year career, Steve held a variety of positions in the disability services industry, including Executive Director of New Hope, before retiring as the President/CEO of INARF in 2020. His experience and expertise in our industry will be an invaluable addition to our Board of Directors. Thank you to Steve, Gretchen and the rest of our Board for their commitment to our mission:

Liz Hoover, Chair, Hoover Financial Advisors

Patricia Gamble-Moore, Vice Chair, PNC

Loraine Brown, Secretary, Ascension

Ron Mead, Treasurer, Hendricks Regional Health

John Bloom, Director Emeritus, Butler University (Retired)

Sr. Francine Brown, Daughters of Charity

Steve Cook, INARF (Retired)

Jayme Donnelson, Hess, Hess and Donnelson LLP

Pam Evans, Star Benefit Associates, Inc.

Denise Irons, NHI Parent

José Lusende, Edward Jones

Susan Robinson, NHI (Retired)

Jen Scroggins, Eli Lilly

Charity Stowe, HER Development

Gretchen Sussman, Leading NOW

Our volunteers, including our Board of Directors, have been such vital supports to our mission as we continue to get back on track. We’ve been grateful to meet new friends despite the challenges of the pandemic and have been blessed to lean on old friends like Kathe Rae who continues to lead our Garden Club. THANK YOU to all the volunteers who support our mission and the individuals we serve!

Stay healthy and stay in touch! Don’t forget to follow us on social media and to share our mission with your friends and family.

Take care,

Allison