Happy 15^th Anniversary, Family Hope Foundation! What an accomplishment you have achieved—no small feat for a non-profit organization! 

Many of the board members have been involved since the beginning–a true testament to their dedication to the Foundation’s purpose and mission. Thank you for your commitment. We are also incredibly thankful to the many donors who continue to support the mission financially. Family Hope Foundation would not be here without all of you!

I can tell you that there is nothing better than when we, at the Center, receive the list of the children who have received a scholarship to receive therapy at our organization. We love seeing the parents’ faces and hearing how happy they are that a bit of their financial burden has been lifted. Thank you, Family Hope Foundation, for supporting innumerable families in West Michigan over the years.

Anyone working clinically with children today knows that the number of children needing services continues to rise. Anyone working clinically with families knows about the challenges they face when working to get insurance coverage for their child’s therapy. If you are a clinician, you know the challenges in trying to determine insurance coverage and reimbursement for services that are necessary for the child’s growth and support.  

In our office, there is no one that does not feel the impact of telling a family “Your child has no insurance coverage.” It would be hard for many of us to see a silver lining without the support of the Family Hope Foundation.  Twice a year, we can offer families hope and possibility.   

Hope is what started this organization 15 years ago when insurance coverage was extremely prohibitive for children, and many families were struggling financially given the economic times. Being the stubborn advocate that I am, I used the limited resources available to me to create this organization.

Since then, I have had the pleasure of watching the Foundation grow immensely, participating in several fundraising events, getting to know several board members, and most importantly, seeing the number of families that have received support. I am grateful for how Family Hope Foundation took my vision for the organization forward, and how they continue to do so on their 15th anniversary. 

I leave you with this: the need for support is not going to go away. If anything, it will continue to be in ever greater demand. We must ensure that children and their families are accessing and receiving quality services, regardless of financial background. Because Family Hope Foundation makes this possible, we are grateful for the board members and donors that have given the past 15 years of support. Thank you to Jane Eppard for many years of giving of her time and energy to bring this organization to where it is today, to Madeline Puckett as she has stepped beautifully into her role, and congratulations to Jennifer Roudebush as she recently joined the team as the new Executive Director. 

Most importantly, thank you to the families that apply for assistance to support their children and to the clinics that provide services. If it truly does take a village, and it does, then let us be grateful for the community that Family Hope Foundation has brought together. Here’s to the next 15 years—keep up everything that you do to make this support possible.

With utmost gratitude,

Molly Buist, OT/L
President and Founder, The Center For Childhood Development

P.S. As a founding board member, we quickly learned that building a non-profit was no easy feat, and it took a village. Molly’s vision sparked a passion and drive in the board members where giving up simply wasn’t an option. The importance of the mission gave us the energy and drive to continue to push forward. Molly’s email is a profound reminder of the significance of Family Hope Foundation’s mission for the families we serve. As Molly said, “The need is not going away.” I’m here to say that neither are we! We remain steadfast in our drive and commitment to serve the disability community.
–Jane Eppard, Development Director