Submitted by The Kiwanis Club of South Lake
Evelisse Bookhout, Executive Officer of Hands of Hope America, Inc, was the guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of South Lake. Evelisse is an Army veteran from Central New York with experience as a nursing assistant, helping other veterans, as well as children and adults with disabilities.
After moving to Central Florida, she noticed a significant lack of social services in the Four Corners area. With a heart to help, she founded Hands of Hope America, Inc., a 501(c)(3) in 2019… right before the start of the Covid pandemic. While certainly an obstacle, the pandemic made these services even more critical, and Evelisse worked even harder to fulfill the programs mission.
The mission of Hands of Hope America is to equip, empower, and restore underserved individuals, families, and communities in need in the Four Corners area of Central Florida. Their Vision is to provide accessible services and resources to restore self-sufficiency and dignity to all people.
Hands of Hope America provides resources and services to address the growing issues of food insecurity, poverty, educational literacy, homelessness, and unemployment. They have two locations: their Food Pantry and Resource Center is located on Hwy 192 in Clermont, and provides emergency food assistance. The Community Center, located on Sunrise Lake Blvd in Clermont, provides case management, assistance with employment, educational opportunities, technology training, medical referrals, youth mentorship, and other social service needs.
During the summer, they are offering an 8-week summer camp with fun activities, field trips, enrichment courses and more. They are also offering a summer feeding program of grab-and-go summer meals to keep kids full while the schools are closed.
Visit handsofhopeamerica.org to learn about volunteer opportunities, to make a donation, or to learn more about their programs.
***
Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child at a time. The Kiwanis Club of South Lake meets every Thursday morning at 7:30 am at the Citrus Tower Conference Center, 2757 Citrus Tower Boulevard. Stop by and check us out. We’d love to meet you! For additional information about Kiwanis, please visit kcosl.org or Kiwanis.org
