The Hope for Memphis Fund, the Foundation’s agent of giving, is helping make a difference in the city. The Foundation has been in the business of making giving easy for hundreds of organizations and families for years, but only recently have we been in the giving business ourselves. All surplus funds from fees on donor advised funds since 2006 are given away through the Hope for Memphis Fund. The Hope for Memphis Fund Committee has learned that giving money away is never easy. With hard work and much discussion, we are proud to announce two recent recipients of The Hope for Memphis Fund grants.
Memphis Young Life Urban will receive a grant to help add a staff position to create/lead an incentive program that will develop urban leadership. Young Life Urban is directed by Reggie Davis and their mission is to introduce adolescents to Jesus Christ and to help them grow in their faith. This grant takes the ministry’s traditional focus on evangelism and provides more favorable outcomes through the creation of a leadership program. If you are not familiar with this powerful ministry, please contact Reggie to set up a ministry visit and to find out how to get involved. 901.483.7199
The second Hope for Memphis Fund grant is awarded to ReachLife Ministries. ReachLife’s mission is to empower inner city ministries to reach the urban culture with the Word of God through culturally relevant music and other media and curriculum. This grant will help develop and launch their “Man Up” curriculum. This culturally relevant, biblically driven media based material will target males ages 12-25 in the inner city on the subject of manhood. It is an attempt to address the lack of fathers, the lack of appropriate male role models in the urban culture and the impact of secular rap media which is laden with negative messages of broken inner city lives. The project includes a hip hop album and tour, 8 week DVD, and a printed guide for students and leaders. The “Man Up” material will be launched in Memphis followed by a national roll-out and should be available in 2010. If you would like more information on Reach Life or the “Man Up” curriculum, please contact ReachLife at 901.351.4118 or visit www.reachlife.org.
Without help from our donors these grants would not be possible. If you are interested in contributing to the Hope for Memphis Fund or are interested in more information about past grants and current guidelines please view the Hope Christian Community Foundation website.