Challenging moments and hope go hand in hand. It’s especially during taxing times when hope is most needed.
The Help Them To Hope campaign has been providing that for 63 years.
HTTH president Rich Ribando is amazed it’s gone so long, but not surprised.
Never having to knock on doors for donations, the people of Lake County have consistently given what they can each year, knowing every penny goes to organizations that are well-vetted and provide what’s needed for those facing tough times. Those who could use a bit of hope to go on.
Each year, the campaign is a blank slate for what Lake County can do for its own people: Those neighbors, friends and strangers.
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This year’s recipients of donations are familiar organizations that have been spreading hope for many years: A Safe Place, Beacon Place, Catholic Charities, COOL Ministries, Keeping Families Covered, Mothers Trust Foundation and PADS Lake County.
But sometimes, hope is lost in dark places when bad news seems to be everywhere.
Ribando and the rest of the HTTH team aren’t immune to that bleak feeling of pessimism. But when it strikes, he said he thinks about the big picture.
“When all is said and done, the question to be asked is how our lives would be if we lived in any other country of the world,” Ribando said. “Would we have the capacity to give to those who are less fortunate?”
If the answer is that you can give then you should, he said.
It’s not only the amount of money that is changing lives for the better. To date, HTTH has raised more than $2.8 million. No mathematician is needed to get an idea of what that figure is equivalent to in hope.
Hope is a driver to do more. It’s what has fueled the HTTH team all these decades.
They make all of the behind the scenes work look effortless, as if it’s no work at all. They shy away from recognition, although much should be given because of all the time, energy and money that’s put into running a beloved organization such as HTTH.
Since every donation from the community goes to the recipient organizations, that leaves all of the costs of running a not-for-profit to the board of directors: president Ribando; vice president Charlie Selle; secretary Rosemary Alfredson; and member directors, Robert Haymaker, Barbara Swanson, Christopher Brenner and Warren “Skip” Schaefer.
They do it with love in their hearts, Ribando said of his team and friends.
But adding that every flame eventually goes out if not replenished, his wish is for the work behind the scenes to be able to continue for many more years, with others joining the “wonderful” team. As he has said in the past, they’re always looking for young blood to come in.
He’s also wishing this blank slate that is year 63 shows a record number of donations that perhaps people can see not so much in figures, but more as a massive spread of hope.
To donate to the fund, send checks or money orders to Help Them To Hope. P.O. Box 364, Gurnee, IL 60031 or go to www.helpthemtohope.com or www.helpthemtohope.org and click on DONATE.