History

In 2010-2013 the regional community known locally as the Fox Valley (Appleton, WI) hosted a Fall “Convoy of Hope” outreach.  In 2011 Brooke Prahl served in the footwashing area distributing free shoes and socks.  It was here she was inspired to serve her local community 30 miles away – New London, population 7,295.

Empowered by prayer and a Specific, Motivating, Attainable, Relevant, & Timebound/Trackable (S.M.A.R.T.) Goal, Brooke’s directive was clear – to serve 1,000 low income residents in New London the Saturday before school begins. She launched Mission of Hope as a senior at New London High School. The CommUNITY rallied around Brooke’s clear directive and area coordination teams met monthly ahead of the August outreach in 2012.

Following the second annual Mission of Hope public, private, and social sector community leaders invited us to gather monthly for a singular purpose …. listen.

A community need arose through our communal conversations – family homelessness. How can we retain families in the community and aid in the alleviation of poverty?

As Mission of Hope teams continued to refine the logistical processes, something far superior was surfacing – how to leverage a single day into a neutral platform heightening the awareness of existing community resources for increased coordination, collaboration, and communication.

Following New London’s third annual Mission of Hope, leaders from Waupaca County inquired about hosting a localized version of Mission of Hope in the Spring. Lessons learned from coordinating logistics spurred a local team in Waupaca to service their Guests of Honor. And the following year educators in Clintonville heard about Mission of Hope’s impact upon families as we launched a third location the weekend following Waupaca.

Due to the generosity of Thrivent Financial and their engaged members, more communities are being cultivated and launched ahead of 2018.

Success is not determined by the number of communities engaged in Mission of Hope.  Success is a sustainable remedy to a rallied CommUNITY diminishing localized root causes of poverty.

Success is New London, Wisconsin.

Following our fourth Mission of Hope we were bestowed an honor by the New London Area Chamber of Commerce – CommunityIMPACT, Inc. received the distinguished 2016 Quality of Life award for our efforts in Mission of Hope.  The award was not success so much as a mere benchmark/milestone.  Our pinnacle of success was attained when Brooke’s parents recruited a Board of Directors and incorporated a non-profit organization, The Mission of Hope House of Wisconsin, Inc – a residential opportunity to bless local families.  The focus is Restoring Hope through Community Connections.

Success is NOT offering a Mission of Hope event in New London – we are merely catalysts unveiling abundant resources.  Success is a sustainable CommUNITY aligned to the alleviation of poverty.