Before the event took place, we knew that our Second Annual Fundraising Banquet was going to be special. And special it was! Many people pulled together in the days before the event was to be held to ensure that the transformation we had envisioned would be successful. In spite of some unexpected obstacles such as the flu, cancellations due to schedule conflicts, and a raging storm that blew off part of the roof and knocked out power to the facility, Heart of Hope’s banquet was a huge success! Our theme this year was “One Step Closer” and holding the banquet at the site of our future home took a leap of faith. With God’s provision and the helping hands of volunteers, banquet attendees were able to see where their dollars are being spent and how Heart of Hope is truly One Step Closer to becoming a reality.

Master of Ceremonies for the event was Bryan Grisham, music minister at Calvary Baptist Church. Bryan did a fantastic job and shared his personal story of having adopted children. Music was provided by Lindsey Miller and Stacey DePrang, with Jenny Boyd on the piano. The event was catered by Taster’s Choice. Our featured speaker was Sherry Peveto. Sherry is a lifelong resident of North Louisiana and is a women’s health Nurse Practitioner at an OB/GYN group in Monroe, Louisiana. Sherry made us laugh and cry as she shared her personal testimony of having benefited from a maternity home ministry located in Monroe during her crisis pregnancy. Her story portrayed a beautiful picture of what Heart of Hope-A Sanctuary for Women is all about.

Thanks to all of you for joining with us. We had about 350 in attendance and your support raised approximately $69,000.00! Through your generosity, God is truly going to “enlarge our steps under us” and has moved us “one step closer!”

	One Step Closer Campaign You can be a partner in this legacy of HOPE by purchasing one square foot or more for $50.00 each. Foot by Foot we will move one step closer to opening Heart of Hope. $ “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.”              Psalm 62:5

First, we’d like to thank Feazel Electric for the awesome job they did restoring our electric service after a storm took out power to our gym. On banquet night, we were able to run everything we needed on a generator without most people even realizing it! We are currently working with our insurance company on getting repairs made to the gym. Upon inspection, there was much more damage than we originally thought. We will begin those repairs within the next 2-3 weeks.

We are pleased to announce that Doug Randolph will be our general contractor for the maternity home remodel. Doug has been very gracious and helpful to the ministry already, helping us with cleanup and repairs after the storm. We are currently receiving bids on different aspects of the remodel as well as meeting with different banks about financing the project. We anticipate starting in late March.

Word is spreading about Heart of Hope! Since November, we have had many opportunities to share information to various groups in the community. Some of those we have visited include: St. Mary Land and Exploration, South Shreveport Rotary Club, Benton Rotary Club, Cypress Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist, Grawood Baptist and Summer Grove United Methodist.

If you would like to schedule a presentation for your group, organization or church please send us an email using the contact form on our website.

Prayer is essential to this ministry. Have you thought about becoming part of our Prayer Team? You will receive prayer requests once a month and gather quarterly for corporate prayer. Email us your contact information if you would like to be on the team!