PRESS RELEASE DETAIL

Office of the Mayor-President


For release: IMMEDIATELY

Release Date: 07/26/2016

Mayor Holden, community leaders cut ribbon today for HOPE Ministries’ new Community Garden

Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden and other community leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate HOPE Ministries’ new community garden and citrus orchard. The garden was installed by students from the Mayor’s Love Our Community Summer Youth Employment Program with assistance from a summer intern funded by ExxonMobil and funding support from Capital Area United Way.

The Mayor’s Love Our Community Summer Youth Employment Program was established in 2013 as an environmental stewardship and neighborhood revitalization initiative that employs youth between the ages of 14-17 for four weeks in the summer. The program was designed to fight blight and give youth the opportunity to earn income while completing work that benefits themselves, the environment and the community.

Since its inception, Love Our Community continues to partner with organizations that transform vacant lots and develop, support and sustain access to fresh produce through community gardening.

With ongoing support from partners like these, HOPE Ministries maintains a proven track record of leading the community in the implementation of innovative and effective programming that has a measureable impact on both the neighbors we serve and the community we live in.

The Client Choice Food Pantry addresses food insecurity in the 70805 zip code by providing wraparound services including nutritious food selections, outreach to stabilize access to federal assistance programs, one-on-one guidance and referrals to other resources, and education to support healthy lifestyle choices.

The Way to Work –Sustainable Workforce SOLUTIONS© is a division of HOPE Ministries that trains people to keep jobs and companies to retain people. The program provides both employer and client-centered resources to help participants achieve and maintain employment, economic, and family stability

For more information contact Kelli Rogers at (225) 355-0702 or (512)-771-4599 (cell) or go to www.hopebr.org.




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