Hope for the Inner City 2009-10 Annual Report

Good News to the Poor

Christian Community Development

Mercy Ministry

HOPE FOR THE INNER CITY (1800 Roanoke Avenue)

P.O. Box 11584 Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401

Phone: (423) 698-3178

Fax: (423) 698-7141 Web: www.Hope4theInnercity.org

Email: info@Hope4theInnercity.org

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Download copies of this report:

www.Hope4theInnercity.org/annualreport

Charles Aiken, Chairman Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church

Art Grisham, Immediate Past President New City Fellowship

Andrew V. Kean, Vice Chairman New City Fellowship

Vincent Howard, Secretary New City Fellowship

Craig Prus, Treasurer Silverdale Baptist Church

Tracy Bacon New City Fellowship

Randy Bucher East Ridge Presbyterian Church

Jeff Clark New City Fellowship

Timothy Florence New City Fellowship

Charlie Gaston New City Fellowship

Jeff Hollingsworth Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church

Reginald Poindexter Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Duane Sanders New City Fellowship

Fred Schumpert Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church

Joanne Smith New City Fellowship

Jim Terney New City Fellowship

Lance Wescher St. Elmo Presbyterian Church

Regina Word New City Fellowship

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

C hattanooga is a unique town. It is a town of extremes. We are large in dimension, and yet it

retains its small-town feel. Our weather is extremely hard to predict, and our landscapes include rolling mountains and sprawling valleys.

The extremes also include the people and their circumstances. On a normal day a visitor to our beautiful city can hear all sorts of accents from around the country and the world. And if one looks closely, you will also observe those who are affluent and those who live in the midst of poverty.

Amidst this ever fluid and changing economic landscape are many agen-cies that are committed to helping the poor. However, Hope the Inner City’s uniqueness is found in our mission to help those who live in poverty escape it—permanently.

Our target: East Chattanooga, the city’s poorest neighborhood.

Our message: God created all people—including the poor—with the ability to help themselves and others.

That means that we are not simply committed to the perpetual feeding and clothing of those around us, but to equipping them with the skills that will create the self worth and sufficiency that can change the lives of men, women and children for generations to come.

Our partnership with local Christians, churches and various organizations allows us to offer the region’s largest diversity of services that include: food, clothing, health and dental care, housing, job readiness, adult literacy, youth leadership and more.

We are humbled by God’s wisdom to use Hope for the Inner City to be such a unique resource in Chattanooga. Ultimately our uniqueness can be summed up in one sentence: a ministry that services the poor from start (mercy ministry) to finish (life and generational change).

Thank you for partnering with us in 2009-10. We are extremely grateful that you did.

Paul A. Green

Executive Director

What Makes Hope for the Inner City Unique

SUPPORTING CHURCHES Thank you to these churches that have invested their prayer, finances, and volunteers in 2009-10:

2 Hope for the Inner City Annual Report: 2009-10

• Bank of America

• Chattanooga Area Dental

Society

• Chattanooga Area Food Bank

• Chattanooga Sports Ministry

• Chattanooga State Community

College

• City of Chattanooga

• Covenant College

• Love Fellowship Baptist Church

• The Maclellan Foundation

• Miracle Missionary Baptist Church

• Rock Island Baptist Church

• Sam’s Club

• Wal-Mart

• City Church of Chattanooga

• Covenant Presbyterian Church

• East Ridge Presbyterian Church

• First Baptist Church

• First Presbyterian Church

• Greater Friendship Missionary

Baptist Church

• Mount Paran Baptist Church

• Lookout Mountain Presbyterian

Church

• New City Fellowship

• Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Thank you to these local organizations that have leveraged our ministry to the poor in 2009-10:

OUR MINISTRY AT A GLANCE

Chattanooga’s urban communities desperately need believers who will invest

themselves in relationships with the poor—sharing the love of Jesus Christ, which

alone can change lives.

Mercy Ministry (Meeting people’s emergency needs)

Good News to the Poor

Assistance with Rent, Utilities, Food & Clothing

Temporary Housing

Dr. William Roy Mercy Dental Clinic

LifeSpring Community Health Ministry

Christian Community Development (Helping people become self-sufficient)

Job Readiness

Adult Literacy

Youth Leadership

Responsible Renting & First-Time Homebuying

Civic and Community Involvement

OUR

NEIGHBORS

H ope for the Inner City’s main campus

at 1800 Roanoke Ave. is across the street from the Harriet Tubman public housing complex, an impoverished community where most of our clients live. Since its construction in the 1950s as Boone-Hysinger Homes for white working-class residents, today the Harriet Tubman Homes is occupied nearly 100 percent by African-Americans, mostly women and children. Challenges today include high crime, drugs, gang activity, teen pregnancy and more. In 2009 Hope for the Inner City was instrumental in helping residents to revive their own Neighborhood Association Council, which offers them a regular forum to be heard and take charge of the problems in their community.

Resident Statistics:

Total Residents: 947

African-Americans: 913

(96%)

Caucasians: 34 (4%)

Men: 116 (12%)

Women: 351 (37%)

Boys: 238 (25%)

Girls: 242 (26%) Source: Chattanooga Housing Authority

Annual Report: 2009-10 Hope for the Inner City 3

T his is often a long process of encouragement,

accountability, education and training. But it is a process that yields results for the Kingdom as we seek to do God’s will here on earth even as it is done in heaven. We find that “what is done for Christ lasts.” Through the faithful prayers, financial assistance and volunteer participation of our many partners, Hope for the Inner City serves Chattanooga’s urban poor by leading the way in mercy ministry and Christian community development, meeting people’s emergency needs while also helping people become self-sufficient. But programs and projects are not our goal. They are simply a means to accom-plish our goal: true change in the lives of individuals and transformation of whole communities as we apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to real-life situations with love, mercy, justice and compas-sion for the inner city.

4 Hope for the Inner City Annual Report: 2009-10

A CHANGED

LIFE:

Michelle

A 29-year-old mother of six, Michelle Lane

was fighting drug addiction and financial hardship as a single parent. She came to Hope for the Inner City in 2008 on a state welfare referral, expecting it to be as impersonal as the government aid agencies she was used to. But what she found surprised her. “I have never been around people who have such a genuine passion for others,” she says. “The government system made me feel like paperwork. At Hope, they have programs, but there is a deeper relationship to it.” At Hope for the Inner City, she experienced a new kind of support, one based on Christian love. Turning her life over to Jesus Christ and eventually hired as a part-time receptionist, she sees this love more clearly than ever. “Their staff meeting … was like a devotional,” she says. “I’d never seen such a spiritual connection between people. Paul Green [the executive director] is my boss, but I feel like he’s a spiritual mentor to me.”

MERCY MINISTRY

Emergency Food, Housing & Clothing

When the urban poor come to Hope for the Inner City with an emergency need, we welcome them warmly with a listening ear, an open hand, and the good news of Jesus Christ.

1,400+ clients helped with food, clothes,

rent, utilities or prescriptions

420 families fed through Turkey for Two

122 families empowered to obtain afford-

able children’s gifts at the Christmas Store.

Dr. William Roy Mercy Dental Clinic

Since 1985, the Dr. William Roy Mercy Dental Clinic has served people who either

do not have insurance or do not have access to basic dental care. The clinic is a

joint effort with the Chattanooga Area Dental Society.

415 patients treated

27 volunteer dentists

40 volunteer hygienists and aides

LifeSpring Community Health

Started in 2006 as the Children’s Clinic at St. Andrews, this medical clinic for the un-derserved and uninsured addresses physical symptoms and unhealthy lifestyle habits.

1,617 visits

773 patients or clients served

170 children in health education classes

180 flu vaccines

165 health screenings & 128 sports physicals

Good News to the Poor

Our heavenly Father cares deeply for the poor, and Hope wants them to know him.

So to everyone who asks our help, we follow Jesus’ example, “proclaiming good

news to the poor, liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind”

(Luke 4:18-19).

1,400+ clients prayed for and exposed to

the life-saving message of Jesus Christ

31 local churches partnering and praying

Annual Report: 2009-10 Hope for the Inner City 5

A CHANGED

LIFE:

Myron

I n 2008 Myron Norman was earning minimum

wage at McDonald’s when he became reacquainted with Paul Green, Hope for the Inner City’s executive director. He was just out of prison and struggling to support his three children. Green soon arranged for him to live in Hope’s temporary housing and enter Hope’s jobs readiness program, CORE. After graduating from CORE, Myron began volunteering as one of its instructors—one who could relate intimately with his students’ circumstances. It wasn’t long before Green approached him with another challenge: evaluating Hope’s mercy ministry. Myron hesitated. “I had never done anything like that before,” he says. “I was practicing what to say to refuse the position.” But after much deliberation, he agreed. “The hardest obstacle,” he says, “was doing what Mr. Green believed I could do.” With renewed confidence, Myron is interviewing with an international ministry as an African-American church relations ambassador.

CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Housing

Recognizing that urban housing is often not affordable, permanent or decent, Hope for

the Inner City prepares low-income people to become responsible renters and first-time

homebuyers.

5 homeless men in temporary housing

2 homeless families in long-term housing

with wraparound services such as budget coaching, food aid, and job mentoring

Job Readiness

CORE (Career Opportunity and Resource Enhancement) is a Christ-centered mentoring program that helps inner-city residents find, keep and excel in a job as they learn to work for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23-24).

31 inner-city residents and ex-offenders

either placed in jobs, entering higher educa-tion, or pursuing additional training

Youth Leadership Whether in the streets of the inner city or in the pews your church, our summer youth programs

are filled with opportunities to sow and grow tomorrow’s leaders in a Christian setting.

5 teens working in part-time summer jobs

27 teens in soft skills training & discipleship

45 children with improved academic skills in

tutoring and Bible clubs at summer camp

448 urban ministry team participants from 12 states completing 18 service projects

Adult Literacy

Hope for the Inner City’s Adult Literacy program offers people the opportunity to earn a high-school equivalency diploma—often a major hurdle in finding a better-paying job with benefits.

10 committed students making academic

progress toward the GED exam

2 local colleges providing Hope for the Inner

City clients with higher learning opportuni-ties

Relief for Parents — A week with no school can be fun for almost any child. But for inner-city working parents and grandparents, the question is what to do with the kids for an entire week, especially when money is tight. Hope for the Inner City and Chattanooga Sports Ministry joined hands for Spring Break Sports Camp, a week of outdoor activities for chil-dren from March 16 to 20. Several children between ages 6 and 12 enrolled for five days of soccer, race relays, “tennis volleyball,” and age-appropriate Bible study. Breakfast and lunch were served daily. Summer Jobs for Teens — For 9 weeks, high-school teens were paired in a 20-hour-per-week job with a job site mentor and transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). “Anthony,” age 16, who has grown up without a father, worked as an intern with young chil-dren at Hope for the Inner City’s Summer Enrichment Camp. It was amazing to watch God use him with the small children, who looked up to him like a father-figure. It was as if God was

allowing him to become for other children what he him-self had missed out on. Our God is mighty as a father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5). Summer Enrichment Camp – God brought 45 school-aged children for daily activities like Bible study, reading and math tutoring sessions, sports, breakfast and lunch. “Matthias,” age 8, can read on his own—simply from the cumulative one-on-one time he has spent with Hope’s program staff and volunteers cumulatively. At last year’s camp, he was placed in front of a com-puter for what he thought were “games.” In fact, they were reading exercises. After attending Hope’s after-school program throughout

the school year and return-ing for another round of summer camp, his reading skills have improved sharply. He now confidently picks up books on his own. Mercy Dental Clinic Re-dedicated — For nearly 25 years Hope for the Inner City’s Mercy Dental Clinic has served people who do

not have insurance or access to dental care. On October 15, the clinic was rededicated in memory its founder, Dr.

William Roy. The late dentist had a vision for a clinic that would serve low-income people with dental care and pain management. Urban Ministry Teams — Our weeklong training pro-gram for adults and teens brought in a record number of church groups from around the nation all year long. That means more people are learning to identify with the urban poor (James 2:15-16) and learn-

ing to love their neighbors across racial and socioeco-nomic lines (Romans 15:26-28). Each group spent a full week performing service projects in the community, leading Bible clubs for chil-dren. They also participated in cross-cultural worship. Christmas Store — This year’s holiday outreach to the urban poor was our most successful on record: 122 families were empow-ered to purchase Christmas gifts for their own children, including 52 families who were specifically “adopted” by donors and churches. ‘Hope House’ for Home-less Families — A gener-ous grant from the City of Chattanooga allowed Hope for the Inner City to renovate a duplex for two chronically homeless families in Glenwood. Both families receive help with rent plus supporting services like job readiness training, financial coaching, and youth programs.

CELEBRATIONS & MILESTONES

Highlights of Changed Lives in a Fruitful Year

6 Hope for the Inner City Annual Report: 2009-10

Dr. William

Roy

Hope House: For homeless families Turkey for Two: Fed 420 families in crisis

Racial Reconciliation: Reflecting the peace of God’s kingdom

Follow Us on Facebook: Hope4theInnercity.org/facebook

FINANCIALS

T oday, two years into the merger of Hope for Chattanooga and Inner

City Ministries, we praise God for a ministry that is united around a shared mission and whose finances are stable. We understand that financial trust must be earned, not only with our donors and vendors but also with the whole community. Below are some principles that guide our commitment to financial stewardship: 1. We are internally ac-

countable (2 Corinthians

8:20-21). Hope for the Inner

City practices careful internal financial account-ability. All financial deci-sions by our executive di-rector and staff are subject to regular review and con-trol by our board of direc-tors. Our 18-member board is comprised of well-known community, business and church leaders with reputa-tions for personal integrity. 2. We are publicly transpar-

ent (Romans 12:17). Hope

for the Inner City is audited every year by a local CPA firm. Since we routinely

apply for public grants, our finances are also examined by government agencies. In addition, our ministry is registered with GuideStar, the national database of nonprofit organizations. Our IRS Form 990, which we file each year with the U.S. Government, is a matter of public record and can be viewed online. 3. We strive to budget

wisely (Luke 14:28). Hope

for the Inner City makes every effort to count the cost of ministry, especially

in tough economic times as these. Our executive direc-tor and our entire board of directors take a careful, line-by-line approach to planning our expenses. 4. We strive to spend pru-

dently (Proverbs 21:20).

Hope for the Inner City strives to avoid unnecessary and wasteful expenditures. We don’t have impressive executive offices or large expense accounts. Our modest ministry campus is a former Salvation Army post. We print much of our

literature in-house, and we supplement the work of our staff with committed volunteers and transformed clients who rejoice at the opportunity to “give back”. 5. We trust God to provide

what we need (Philippians

4:18-20). We serve a

generous God. As long as Hope for the Inner City carries out his call, we have every reason to believe God will meet our needs through the support of our many faithful donors and ministry partners.

A United Ministry with Transparent Finances

Annual Report: 2009-10 Hope for the Inner City 7

Expenses: $879,497 Revenue: $890,601

Board Giving$18,236

Government Grants

$25,100

Program Fees

$184,118

Special Events

$85,440

Corporations$17,211

Individual Donors

$117,142

Churches$88,501

Foundations$347,355

Assets Liabilities Equity

$569,465

$115,960

$453,505

Urban Ministry Teams

$179,687

Community Development

$43,961

Community Health Clinic

$84,143Job Readiness

$38,545

Adult Literacy$19,621

Housing$42,456

Mercy Relief$57,775

Dental Clinic$61,144

Administration$252,165

Youth Leadership

Camps

$100,000

HOPE FOR THE INNER CITY

(1800 Roanoke Avenue)

P.O. Box 11584 Chattanooga, TN 37401

NON-PROFIT Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 250

Chattanooga, TN

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

INSIDE:

2009-10 Annual Report

WON’T YOU PARTNER WITH US?

1. Pray. God is pleased to work through the prayers of his people. Pray for changed lives among our inner-city

neighbors. Pray also for our board, executive director and staff; our work is strenuous, and we survive on your prayers. Sign up for

our monthly prayer email updates at www.Hope4theInnercity.org/pray

2. Learn. Do you feel out of place at the very mention of inner-city outreach? You—and your church—are not alone. But mercy work is vital to a Christian’s spiritual growth (1 John 3:16-18), and Hope can teach you to love and serve the inner city. A good place to start may be serving on an urban ministry team. Let our experienced staff train your deacons, youth group or congregation on how to share Christ across socioeconomic lines. Learn more at www.Hope4theInnercity.org/learn

3. Volunteer. There are so many ways to volunteer. Help people with their resumes ... Assist with mailings and data processing in the office ... Set up events ... Coach a first-time homeowner or tutor a child ... Participate on a week-long urban ministry team … Prepare a monthly meal for our adult evening classes. The list goes on and on. See a complete list of opportunities at www.Hope4theInnercity.org/volunteer

4. Give. Your tax-deductible gifts allow us to continue the work to which God has called us. Your gifts help those who need rental assistance, food, clothes and emergency dental care. Your gifts help inner-city residents find, keep and excel at good-paying jobs, become first-time homeowners, and learn to read. And your gifts bring good news to the poor, the key to a changed life and transformed community. Give online today at www.Hope4theInnercity.org/donate

Mrs. Callie

Chapman