The holidays are a time when HOPE is in high supply. Little ones are hopeful about their visit with Santa and what he might leave under the tree. Grownups are hopeful about the time spent with the ones they love and cherish, making memories to last a lifetime. And, of course, there’s the story of Christmas and the hope that the blessed baby in the manger brought to the world. HOPE is not a tangible thing, but a feeling… a heartwarming, walking-on-air kind of feeling.
Sadly, HOPE is an elusive concept for many this time of year…
Particularly families experiencing homelessness. It’s hard to feel hopeful when all HOPE seems lost. That’s a sentiment shared by more than 2,000 families in Gwinnett County alone who are without a home or precariously housed. We receive calls every single day from families seeking hope and haven. Right now, every single apartment at Rainbow Village is filled and we have nowhere to place families who are seeking our help. We need to do more.
In 2021, we served 35 families – providing 27,000+ bed nights.
We are on track to surpass those numbers this year. But we go far beyond simply providing transitional housing. Our Aspire Program helps families who’ve experienced homelessness shed the hurts of the past and embrace the possibilities of the future through Life Skills classes and Success Coaching as they blaze their own trail toward self-sustainability.
In 2023, we will stretch ourselves in new directions to bring HOPE to even more families than ever before.
While so many of us are looking forward to the holidays, my team and I at Rainbow Village already have our sights set on the coming year. We have created a Next Big Thing committee to identify opportunities for us to scale our program to serve more people, and it’s already showing great promise. Our first partnership beyond the boundaries of our Village is with Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries in Norcross, and we are having conversations with folks in Peachtree Corners, Lawrenceville, Buford and beyond to explore ways to bring HOPE to a greater number of families. But we can’t do that without your help.
To support this vision, we’re kicking off a Give the Gift of HOPE campaign.
From a volunteer and staff member to a corporate partner and donor to a Rainbow Village board member and resident-turned-graduate, over the weeks to come, you’ll hear and read a variety of “views from the Village” about the importance of bringing HOPE to families in need. Your donation now means more than ever before – it paves the way for us to meet the needs of the families we are currently serving on our campus AND to expand our reach far beyond our Duluth address in the future. My team and I are so grateful for your support. To learn how YOU can change the life of a family experiencing homelessness, CLICK HERE.
Thank you for helping us Give the Gift of HOPE this Holiday Season!
Melanie Conner
CEO – Rainbow Village
