Fort Worth HOPE Center

Client Main Contact Name: Jason Lee
Phone:
Website: http://www.fwhope.org

The Fort Worth HOPE Center is a nonprofit, community-based organization. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2004, we have served low-income and unemployed families in Fort Worth and Dallas since 2002. Our motto is “Fight HUNGER and Feed HOPE”.  We “Fight HUNGER” through  food distributions three times a week to families whose income falls within the TEXCAP income guidelines for poverty.  We “Feed HOPE” through vocational training in our School of HOPE, where adults earn certifications in various areas to qualify for a wide variety of jobs in the community.  In order to get a job many people need to have a “new Smile” because of rotten and broken teeth.    Our Hope SMILE Center is dedicated to giving individuals a second chance to find employment by restoring their “Smile”.  There is nothing more wonderful to see our adults who have been isolated and unable to work because of condition of their teeth, and now they are released to face the world again with a new SMILE prepared to find employment. We build collaborative relationships with job training and placement organizations for adults and their families in an effort to improve their overall quality of life.

We have more than 400 volunteers logging over 23,000 hours annually. We have expanded our volunteer base through having corporate volunteers come in and work as part of team building exercise.

We provide:

  • Food, clothing, and household items for individuals living at or below poverty level through our Food Pantry and Resource Center
  • Educational programs
  • Youth programs
  • Job training
  • Job placement
  • New SMILES in our HOPE SMILE Center

The needs of the youth are best exemplified by statistical data gathered from the school district where most of the youth live and attend public school. In a recent report, which examined six middle schools, roughly 85% of the combined student population are minority (African American, Latino, Asian), 60% are considered economically disadvantaged, 35% have limited English proficiency, 70% qualify for free of reduced lunch and less than 50% receive passing scores on state mandated tests. This statistical data is also indicative of the parents of the children of these same children. These figures must be improved in order for these students and their parents to receive academic and social success and break the cycle of poverty.

Our School of HOPE program is for low-income adults and children from low-income families.  Vocational training includes OSHA Forklift and Scissor Lift Certification, ServSafe Food Manager Certification, Customer Service and Hospitality taught in a Culinary Arts School and Cake Decorating from beginner to advanced plus Garde Manger food ART with fruits and vegetables.   Our educational vocational programs are facilitated by means of 30 donated desktop computers and over 25 laptops from BNSF Railway and 3 servers from SMU that provides LAN and Internet access from our computer classroom.  Students learn how to prepare their résumé and online job applications.  They are able to take their ServSafe exam online so that they have an immediate results.

The community we serve has a high school drop out rate of over 50%, and the GED program is a must for our students to get into vocational schools. The HOPE Center partners with three vocational schools that send us potential students who apply to their school but don’t have their high school diploma or GED. They send those students to us for GED training, and then they go back to those schools to enter vocational programs.

Our collaborative relationships include Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB), Feed the Children, Community Learning Center, Inc., (CLC), Community Action Partners (CAP), American GI Forum, Texas Workforce Solutions, F.A.C.T. and more as we work together to rebuild people’s lives and provide support while they are in transition.