Building a Bridge

There is so much to be thankful for!

On November 5th we celebrated our 10th anniversary at Hope & A Future. Of the guests that braved the cold to celebrate with us, there were the children of parents who spent their last years here and some of the people who have given their time and talents to help make Hope & A Future what it is.  Musicians, volunteers and donors celebrated with us!  Relationships are the heart of Hope & A Future and we had so much fun celebrating together.

Among the people celebrating were two people that received a logo cookie as an inadequate thank you for all of their help!  When Hope & A Future was just an idea, Paula Reif, co-founder and I did not have the knowledge or backing needed to build this special neighborhood. However,  there were two people who mentored and encouraged us to move forward. Tim helped us set up our 501(c)3 nonprofit business and Bill educated us on the development process.  These two profoundly helpful people; Attorney Tim Radelet and Developer Bill Perkins are part of our foundation at Hope & A Future.  They spent many hours of their time, over the course of many years, to educate and guide Paula and I.  As Pro Bono consultants, they attended many meetings with us as we worked to move our ideas forward.  They were the bridge between our human service background and our educational needs in business and the development processes.  

There have been others along the way that we can point to and say, “Without your support at that particular time we would not be here.”  Brad Duesler, Mike Menard and so many more are among them.  But Tim and Bill win the prize for longevity!  The logo cookies we gave them at our anniversary party were greatly insufficient. They started this journey with us 19 years ago!  Both are now retired. Bill recently moved in with us at Hope & A Future.  Both continue to be supportive and helpful friends.

Early in our relationship Bill nicknamed Hope & A Future, Wing & A Prayer.  He always liked our ideas, but he was keenly aware of the many roadblocks we would have to work through to see the first Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood (TIIN) built. I often introduced him as my curmudgeon friend and mentor and Bill would grin. This came out of his habit of spending hours exploring options and ideas with us and ending each meeting with, “it’s a beautiful project, it’s too bad it’s impossible.  Feel free to call me if you have any more questions.” I finally asked him why he kept meeting with us if he believed the project was impossible. He said, “Because I love an impossible project.”  After Bill retired and we finally bought our current property, he helped with carpentry work as a volunteer on our accessible addition. We both smile when we remember those busy days with volunteers and paid help working side by side.  Hope & A Future cooked huge noon meals for the volunteers.  Bill now lives in the rooms he helped build. It is my prayer that Bill will be able to watch the first complete TIIN being built from our porch and go on to enjoy being a part of the life inside of it!  I invite you to help make that happen.

This giving Tuesday, please consider making a donation to Hope & A Future. We invite you to become part of the bridge of provision that will bring the first complete TIIN to fruition!

I hope you enjoy your family, friends and neighbors this Thanksgiving.  We are so Thankful for each of you!  

I pray you are blessed in your well doing!

Karin