Mission
New Hope Charities, Inc. is strengthening disadvantaged communities through programs and collaborations that support individuals and families as they develop the skills necessary to reach their full potential. Our ultimate goal is to build sustainable families and communities that will flourish.
Our Story
New Hope Charities was founded as a grass-roots food distribution program in 1988. Our Palm Beach Chapter founder, Mrs. Lian Fanjul de Azqueta, concerned about the living conditions of families in western Palm Beach County communities, spearheaded the program by collecting food for the needy in her mother's garage. Now, more than 18 years later, the organization has grown into a multi-service family - and community - strengthening charity.
Although we have grown by leaps and bounds over the years, our Food Distribution Program is still one of our staple services. We now provide supplemental food bags to 225 families each month in our efforts to combat food insecurity and hunger in one of the poorest areas of our county. Additionally, we offer an educational component to our Food Distribution Program by coupling it with nutrition classes for the children in our "Out of School Programs". Our goal is to teach them to make wise and healthy food choices. We also believe that volunteerism promotes a feeling of self-worth and wellbeing in our clients, so toward this end we recruit recipients of our food program to assist in the preparation and distribution of food bags at our center. In this way, families that benefit from the program also feel that they are part of the solution, ultimately fostering leadership skills, personal responsibility and civic duty among our clients.
In addition to our Food Distribution Program we currently provide after-school care and summer camp for up to 65 children between the ages 6 and 14. These "Out of School Programs" provide children with a safe and nurturing environment in which to learn and grow. The after-school program focuses on economic literacy, reading mastery, life skills courses, homework assistance, computer competency and recreational and artistic activities for our youth. During the nine-week summer camp program, children from this mostly rural community are exposed to recreational and cultural experiences outside of their own community that would not otherwise be available to them, but that can enhance their lives and understanding of the world in meaningful and unique ways. Additionally, we offer daycare services for 52 preschoolers through our collaboration with The Redlands Christian Migrants' Association. Our organization also offers an ESOL program for 20 adult students learning the English language so that they can better integrate into society.
Our most recent accomplishment is the construction of the Chelsea Morrison Health Clinic & New Hope Charities Education Center, which has allowed us to expand our programs and services to better meet the needs of our clients. The family medical clinic operates in collaboration with a local doctor who is able to provide free or reduced cost medical care to indigent patients through a sponsorship from New Hope. In addition, the education center, which opened in October 2006, provides brand new classrooms for ESOL classes, homework assistance, literacy programs and other education courses; as well as a computer lab and a fully functioning lending library, operated in collaboration with the Palm Beach County Library System. New Hope's services are offered free of charge to the underprivileged children and families of the Glades area.