We like to share good news regarding the ways in which your support is helping to build brighter futures for the students at The Hope Institute. We hope you are inspired by reading the stories of the children of Hope. Yet, we’ve found that there are times when our words fail in comparison to the comments of our parents. Even though they may be separated by miles, they remain the family members closest to the children we serve, and the ones best able to assess the benefits provided by The Hope Institute. This month, we are pleased to share with you heartfelt comments from our parents.

Karen Browning: “Our son Kyle is 20 and has been attending Hope for 9 years. He now lives in an off campus group home with a delightful group of boys. In the past 9 years, I have had the honor and privilege of volunteering at the school in several capacities, working with the kids, teachers, habilitation specialists, recreation specialists, administration, and even some of the board members. Kyle loves his group home and his Hope School family. We are so blessed to have such a great school right here in Springfield!”

Lisa Moore: “My son Jack is a day student at Hope School and is in the Primary I room. Hope has been the BEST thing in the world that has ever happened to Jack! He has learned so many things, became more social and thrives there every day! I cannot say enough good things about Libby and Jud! They are my angels!”

Carrie Martinez: “My son Luke loves Hope school and is in Ms. Sherrie Broughton’s class. We don’t know what we would do without Hope School and its wonderful staff. Luke has done a complete turnaround from his past school we couldn’t imagine life without Hope and its caring staff.”

Lori Love-Piper: “Our son Freddie has been at Hope for 5 years. We are very proud of him and love Hope’s staff. They have done wonders with our son. They are our family!”

And, finally, Barbie Tiesman: “Our son Nathan is well cared for, is taught, is adored, is kept safe, is loved, is played with, and we know that he has found his home. We are his family, but Hope is home. Feels weird sometimes to say that, as I type through tears, but Nathan doesn’t belong anywhere else. He would not thrive anywhere else. Just like GOD gave us Nathan; GOD also gave us HOPE, Hope school is just that. If there were a Heaven on earth, it would be Hope school for Nathan and for us.”

When we receive “Valentines” like these from parents and other family members, we are reminded of why we do what we do. We hope you enjoyed reading them.