Hope Village – Transitional Employment Center and Park

Hope to Opportunities Foundation has launched a $25 million-dollar capital campaign project to expand and build, Hope Village -Transitional Employment Center and Park, a fully ADA transitional employment center, park, and accessible gymnasium to expand our current vocational training and physical activities programs. The purpose is to integrate learning, independence, and physical development into our individuals’ daily lives while introducing them to the community through employment, independent living, and social interactions.

Hope to Opportunities Foundation has been successful in our silent capital campaign and now as we begin to go public with our expansion we are looking to build a relationship with predominant individuals and businesses in the community to help achieve the funding goals for our Hope Village project.

Your support will help us move closer to advancing our individuals into productive job roles in the community and acquire the physical activity essential for their health and well-being. At the same time, this will allow for individuals on our growing wait-list to begin working in our vocational training center and assist them on their path to a more independent work and living environment.

Our Hope Village, Transitional Employment Center and Park, consist of five phases:

Phase 1 of Hope Village will consist of the following:

Warehouse and Consumer Shops Shell Package and Parking – Total Anticipated Cost $3.1 million – The construction will be for the warehouse facility and five independent consumer shops. This phase consists of framing, walls, roof, utilities, pads, and parking lot.

This phase has been funded and we have broken ground.

Phase 2 – Warehouse and Consumer Shops Finish-out and Landscaping – Total anticipated cost $3.3 million

It is estimated that with the addition of Hope Village, independent consumer shops and warehouse, we will be able to serve 70-100 more individuals in our training program per year. The addition of this hands-on training program in an actual job environment increases the potential for successful student adult placements in the community workforce. This continual advancement in job training and placement will enable us to move individuals from the Advo Companies wait-list into outside employment. Ensuring they reach their potential as productive members of the community.

Phase 2 will consist of the following businesses:

Warehouse – The warehouse facility will provide manufacturing, assembly, and packaging services to both local and nationwide companies. Our clients will learn skills such as operating warehouse equipment, local and nationwide shipping procedures, and assembly line proficiencies.
Embroidery/Screen Print Shop – This business will help our clients learn vital customer service skills by placing our clients in interacting scenarios with customers, learning order collecting skills and financial transaction payments.
Coffee, Tea, Deli, and Ice Cream Shops – Our clients will put their food preparation and serving skills to work as well as learn the art of brewing and serving a variety of coffee and teas to the consuming public. They will learn these skills in our commercial kitchen and store front business. This type of cafe will be an asset to the community and more importantly, it will prepare our clients for job placements in several different types of work environments.
Custom Framing Shop – Our client will demonstrate their great craftsmanship and framing skills with the custom framing shop. The frame shop will also create a wonderful customer service training venue and help promote their social skills and advance them in their outside employment responsibilities.
Licensed Early Learning Center – We will provide an income-based early learning center to help lower income families have a safe and reliable early learning center for their children so the parents can continue to work and be active members in our community.

These six Hope Village Independent Consumer Shops and Warehouse will offer individuals the opportunity to apply the learned skills from Advo Companies to a competitive job site. These shops will be monitored and supervised by trained Advo Companies employees to help improve the skills of our students and prepare them for competitive outside employment.

The consumer based businesses involved in the employment center will offer real-time experiences and training to our students in preparation for joining the community workforce.

Phase 3 - Accessible Park – Total anticipated cost $3.6 million

The population we serve are primarily adults, having a place to play and increase their physical activity which meets their ADA requirements is not readily available in our community, therefore it is difficult for them to fit in when visiting a city park.

The fully accessible park (ADA) will be next to the main Advo Companies, Inc. building. The equipment will be designed to enhance the development and physical fitness of our individuals. Each piece of equipment will be placed to ensure the continued development of sensory movement, muscle development, and social integration. The park will be open to the public and will be available for civic organizations to utilize for special events.

Phase 4 – Activity Center/Gymnasium – Total anticipated cost $9.5 million

The activity center/gymnasium and sports field will be utilized year-round for practices and activities meant to enhance our individual’s ability to train and participate in organized sporting activities.

At present, we participate in Special Olympics with over 140 athletes participating in 12 different sports in the area. We also have several athletes qualify for the Regional, State, National, and World Games.

Finding venues for them to practice to prepare for competitions is very difficult and expensive for our organization. This gym facility will decrease our rental expenses and provide convenient practice times for our athletes.

Phase 5 – Advo Headquarters - Total Purchase Price $5.5million

The purchase of the Advo Headquarters from the current owners will eliminate the rental fee and increase cash flow for Advo operations and client needs. This will shelter the property under Hope to Opportunities Foundation, ensuring it’s availability to future generations of Advo clients and solidifying a place for them to call home.

We are making great progress with our expansion and very excited about the possibility of you being to be part of the achievements. Your involvement will help Hope to Opportunities Foundation achieve the funding required for the new Hope Village Transitional Employment Center and Park and continue to grow the confidence of our students.

We are very thankful for the long-term support of our remarkable donors and our outstanding corporate partnerships as we celebrate over 32 year of service for our clients. Working together we have been very successful at improving the development of our students with more community work opportunities, social interaction, and independent living possibilities.

We thank you again for your consideration of our Hope Village Transitional Employment Center and Park project. We would be honored to host a tour for you and your team at our facility to witness all the accomplishments our clients perform daily. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to either of us at any time.