About Center of Hope
Changing our Community Through Christ.
From This!
The Center Of Hope recently purchased the old "Big Star Building , 600 S. Washington.
The new facility will feed more people, expand education classes, employment and counseling opportunities.
TO THIS!
The Polk County Center of Hope was founded in March of 1985 as the Polk County Mission Center. Started by six local churches which combined their food pantries, the mission then, as it is now, was to provide emergency food and other necessities to the needy of Polk County.
Since that time, the goals remains the same, but the methodology has evolved to include not just handing out free food, but offering classes and personal counseling to empower people to break the cycle of poverty, hunger, and hopelessness themselves.
So now, the Polk County Center of Hope is so much more than just a food bank. Thanks to our classes and our volunteers, clients of the Center are learning how to break that cycle, stand on their own, and become contributing members of our community.
We offer education and training on how to write a resume and prepare for job-hunting, nutrition information, family management, information on drug abuse, and most importantly, how the power of prayer and faith will help them achieve their goals and succeed in life. In short, the Center of Hope offers a hand up, not just a hand out. And that means hope.
Staggering Statistics
In a recent study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Polk County was found to be at or near the bottom of some of the most important categories when it comes to the quality of life.
From a social standpoint, Polk County ranked 219th in Socio-Economic Factors such as unemployment, children in poverty, single-parent households, and inadquate social support.
That's where Center of Hope comes in. The fastest and most permanent way to change those staggering numbers is not just by handing out food, but educating people about cause and effect, and showing them how to break the cycle of hunger, poverty and hopelessness through education, lifestyle changes, and prayer
Out of the 232 counties in Texas, Polk ranked 231st in Health Outcomes and Length of Life. It ranked 218th in Health Behaviors, such as smoking, obesity, excessive drinking and teen births.