Convoy of Hope is about serving families and communities. From its inception, community outreaches across the U.S. have connected Guests of Honor with free resources — groceries, backpacks and shoes for schoolkids, job counseling, haircuts, family photos, and more. In addition, by training and resourcing rural churches, our Rural Initiatives teams provide solutions to challenges faced by small towns. And, our Field Teams groups reach out to communities around the globe through local service projects.
Partners like Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, have made serving their community a priority. Convoy of Hope and Christ Fellowship have worked together for years to respond to disasters and meet local needs. When Hurricane Michael wreaked havoc nearby in 2018, for example, Christ Fellowship established Operation Sister City.
With Convoy’s help, they served emergency staff and survivors in a neighboring community.
According to the church’s outreach director, Becky Kyle, that response opened many other doors for Christ Fellowship to serve their community. This past year, the Palm Beach Gardens City Council expressed their gratitude by recognizing Christ Fellowship as a beacon of hope across the entire region.
Through community engagement, Convoy of Hope is committed to meeting the needs of people, regardless of the size of the need or community. In the years following the pandemic’s spread, food insecurity remains a central need.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans who say they sometimes don’t have enough to eat jumped 23% — from 15.8 million before the pandemic to 19.2 million this May.
Catherine D’Amato, CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, recently told CBS MoneyWatch that 1 in 3 households with children in Massachusetts reports that their children were hungry or that the family recently skipped a meal. Greater Boston Food Bank’s research revealed some families are forced to make desperate choices, such as watering down baby formula or other food.
Convoy of Hope utilizes a vast network of church partners like Christ Fellowship and a host of local compassion-minded corporations to bring help and hope to communities. So far this year, 263 tractor-trailer loads — containing more than 5.6 million pounds of food, water, and other resources — have helped more than 426,000 people across more than 320 communities.
“We will continue to focus on this growing need in America,” says President Hal Donaldson. “Community engagement efforts are enabling us to partner with more churches and corporations every year to stem the tide of hunger.”
This article first appeared in Hope Quarterly Issue 31.
