Surprise surprise, The Hope Center of Lexington has been recognized for doing what they do best – helping improve the lives of hundreds of people. How? Well it’s pretty impressive if you ask us…

The now completed Don Ball Campus Center was recently selected to become Lexington’s first United States, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Envision Center.

Why is that a big deal?

Ok – first let’s cover the basics. An Envision Center is a federally “approved” designation for a place within a community that provides support to people in four key “pillars”: Economic Empowerment, Educational Advancement, Health and Wellness, and Character and Leadership.

The Hope Center, an organization that has essentially been performing these very services for nearly 30 years, is now the only Envision Center in central Kentucky and one of only a few in the entire state. Now, however, the Hope Center boasts a brand new facility that allows them to better accommodate those functions that support the core mission of HUD’s Envision program. It’s a rare honor indeed to earn the designation, and we were fortunate enough to be at the presentation. It’s even rarer still that a director of HUD for the entire country (currently Dr. Ben Carson) provides personal congratulations to an awarded facility and community.

We’re reminded again of how grateful we are for our ongoing working relationship with the Hope Center, and proud of how they continue to raise the bar for what it means to do meaningful work in our community.

Congrats everyone – you’ve earned it!

PS. It’s worth a read to understand a little more about what the mission of the Envision Center program is:

Economic Empowerment
Improve the economic sustainability of individuals by empowering them with opportunities to improve their economic outlook.

Educational Advancement
Provide educational opportunities by partnering with public and private organizations that approach education in non-traditional ways on non-traditional platforms.

Health and Wellness
Improve access to better health outcomes for individuals and families.

Character and Leadership
Enable all individuals to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens by encouraging participation in volunteer and mentoring opportunities.

To learn more about the US HUD’s Envision Center program visit their website HERE