Currently, the specific campaigns and programs that the Mission of Hope undertakes throughout the year are as follows:

Christmas Campaign (began 1996): During the months of November and December, the Mission of Hope holds a widely publicized Christmas Campaign in Knoxville, Tennessee and the surrounding areas. Collection barrels are placed at select locations throughout these areas. New toys, clothing, shoes, food, books and hygiene items are placed in the collection barrels by a generous public for distribution to the children of rural Appalachia so they too can have a Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas. Many businesses, individuals, civic and service organizations, churches, schools and hundreds of dedicated volunteers help to make Christmas special for these children. Working in conjunction with 9 local missions/ministries and 23 schools in rural Appalachia, the Mission of Hope’s volunteer preparation and delivery teams were able to provide assistance to 12,000 children and their families during our 2003 Christmas Campaign. These deliveries included approximately 33,400 toys; 1000 boxes of food; 125 boxes of books and classroom supplies for the teachers and schools; 1350 complete outfits for children including underwear, coats and shoes; and 7500 student hygiene bags along with 100 ministry hygiene boxes. It was truly an awesome and wonderful blessing for everyone involved!!

Back-To-School Campaign (began 1998): During the Back-To-School Campaign the schools located in the counties we serve, which have a significant population of children living in poverty, are assisted by the donation of much needed school supplies to the individual children, the teachers and the schools. In our 2003 Back-To-School Campaign, 8,000 children at 21 schools in select counties in Southeast Kentucky and Northeast Tennessee received backpacks filled with school supplies and hygiene items plus teachers received classroom supplies.

Spring Resurrection Programs (began 2001): In 2001, we presented our first ever Easter Program. A team of eager volunteers from several of our supporting churches went to the communities of schools, mission efforts and ministries that we support in rural Appalachia. These teams presented a fun filled program consisting of food, games, clowns and puppets, music and a brief message of the gospel story of Easter. What a wonderful day of blessing was had by all! This program continues to expand yearly and is now called Spring Resurrection.

Healthcare Events (began 2001): In the spring of 2001 and 2002, the Mission of Hope in association with the REACH Program of The Baptist Health System of Knoxville and the Meridzo Center of Lynch, Kentucky held a Healthcare event in Kentucky. The Baptist Health System provided their Mobile REACH healthcare and educational unit which offered free vision, hearing and blood pressure screenings. The Mission of Hope also provided hygiene supplies, distributing free toothbrushes and toothpaste along with healthcare brochures. In 2002, we were blessed to be joined by an optometrist and a dentist during the Healthcare event. The response to their presence was overwhelming! A team of clowns went along to add fun and humor for all attending the day’s events. We plan to continue and hopefully expand this ministry in the future.

Construction Ministry (began 2002): The Construction Ministry outreach of the Mission of Hope began in response to the numerous requests for building materials along with assistance with home repairs as well as repairs to community churches and ministry centers. Teams of volunteers travel to these areas in Appalachia to perform basic renovation, remodeling, maintenance and repairs often in conjunction with local community action groups. We also solicit donations of construction and maintenance materials and monetary contributions to purchase the needed materials. This arm of our ministry is growing and seeing great interest as summer mission opportunities.

Resource Ministry (ongoing): The focus of our Resource Ministry is to develop and maintain friendships and partnerships with individuals, companies, consultants and other organizations who can contribute materials, services or resources which the Mission of Hope could never afford to purchase. We in turn pass these on to the efforts of the schools, missions, ministries and communities which we serve throughout Appalachia.  A major emphasis within the Resource Ministry is the Sewing Team (began 2001): In January 2001, we received a donation of fleece blanket materials and through the ingenuity and creativity of several of our volunteers our Sewing Team was born. This group of dedicated women and men meet periodically to hand craft blankets of all sizes, baby blankets and stuffed toys, hats, wheelchair and walker bags, sleeping bags with pillows and many more wonderful items with not a scrap wasted. The Mission of Hope has been blessed with sewing machines, fabric, thread as well as the participation of 4-H and sewing clubs. These items meet the most basic of needs and have received a “warm” response from their recipients. We continue to look for materials and other projects to expand this outreach.

As you can see, the Mission of Hope has many approaches to service, but the ultimate goal is to provide whatever assistance we can to the people of Appalachia, who still today live in the depths and despair of poverty, while bringing Hope to those who are in such great need. When a need is identified, we attempt to bring together the materials and resources for a solution to the problem.