In just over a year of existence, the Giving Hope Charity has already made a big enough impact to have earned a Giving BACK Tuesday grant from the Knox County Foundation.
The charity began during the 2020 Christmas season when a group of Mount Vernon school transportation and maintenance employees wanted to do something special for the students and their families.
The goal was to boost morale and lift spirits during the holiday season in what had been a tough year for everyone due to the pandemic. An idea sprang up to give six elementary school students from needy families a $200 shopping spree.
That was the catalyst that created the Giving Hope Charity.
According to the group’s website, they transformed a school bus into a reindeer and sleigh driven by Santa and staffed with volunteers dressed as elves. The first stop: a shopping trip to Walmart with the kids.
The students and their families had a pre-trip party with refreshments and stockings overflowing with treats.
“We wanted to make this day as amazing as we could,” the website said. “To our surprise, all of the kids used some of their money to buy Christmas presents for family members as well as gifts for themselves.”
Giving Hope Charity drew the attention of the Knox County Foundation, which celebrated Giving BACK Tuesday on Nov. 30. In addition to issuing a call for people to help give back to the community in some way, they gave the public a chance to nominate a local nonprofit agency.
The grants committee narrowed those nominations down to the five selected in January. The winners work with the Knox County Foundation on projects or programs that the grants can used for.
“This was the first year we hosted Giving BACK Tuesday, and we are hopeful to continue this campaign, or something similar, every year to celebrate Giving Tuesday and honor our nonprofits that work year-round to serve the community,” Lisa Lloyd, Knox County Foundation program director, said in a press release.
Giving Hope Charity spokesman David Shoro said applying for the grant was as easy as responding to a Facebook post soliciting applications. He said the grant money could be as much as $5,000 depending on needs, and this is currently being formulated.
“Our story was unique enough, [and] the Knox Foundation wanted to help,” Shoro said. “Our board is reviewing our program options and will be working with Lisa Lloyd with the Knox Foundation to develop a program suitable for this grant.”
For more information about the Giving Hope Charity, visit givinghopecharity.org or find them on Facebook.
