I recently had the privelage of photographing an annual fundraiser for Hope Ministries here in Baton Rouge.

Hope Ministries's mission is to

"Prevent homelessness. Promote Self-Sufficiency and Dignity."

They are located in north Baton Rouge, a part of Baton Rouge that is known for poverty and crime. They are right in the heart of this part of the city and offer help for families struggling financially in this area through programs that promote self sufficiency and dignity and directly involve the families in their rise out of poverty.

Hope has a food pantry, but unlike many food pantries, this is a "client choice" food pantry which is "a collaborative project that creates an atmosphere of dignity for clients and allows them to select food that suits their preferences and nutritional needs."

They also provide classes for those wanting to learn more about poverty in order to better understand the hardships involved and what real help in those situations looks like. Their unique mentoring program matches a family at-risk for homelessness with a mentor to help guide the family on their path to self-sufficiency. They also provide help with budgeting, finding a job, and connecting to one another within the community.

Each year Hope Minisitries has a fundraiser to inform the community of what they're doing in Baton Rouge and how the community can help. This year they had Kyle Maynard speak.

Kyle is a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, and athlete. Despite being born with arms that end at the elbows and legs near the knees, Kyle wrestled for one of the best teams in the Southeast, set records in weightlifting, fought in mixed martial arts, and most recently became the first man to crawl on his own to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

Kyle has traveled to five continents speaking about his experience as a Congenital Amputee and his goal each time he speaks is "helping each audience on their path towards reaching their highest human potential."

Kyle's talk was extremely inspiring. He talked about his motto "you're not dead yet..so don't quit" and that there is something in all of us that threatens us to think we can't do something. For him, it's the fact that he is a congenital amputee...for others of us it's our pride or someone once telling us we can't or our fears. He applied this to those in poverty and the hope that Hope Ministries encourages in their mission to bring people out of poverty with dignity..through the work of their own hands and in a way that connects them more fully to community while learning to be a faithful steward of what God has given.

You can view videos of Kyle's talk and footage from his climb up Mount Kilimanjaru at the following links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXTkNyzF98&feature=g-all&context=G2842901FAAAAAAAAAAA

Please consider giving financially to Hope Ministries or becoming a volunteer with them. You can help mentor a family, help stock their pantry, help families as they learn to budget, or help Hope in many other areas that connects these families to their community, hope and dignity in providing for their families, and changing the culture of their families to one of hope.

Visit Hope Minisitries's website at the following link.

http://hopebr.org/

You can give financially at this link:

http://hopebr.org/make-a-gift.html

Thanks for stopping by!