There are lots of ways you can help… One of the questions I hear over and over from folks in our community is this: "How can I help the homeless?” When we see someone on a street corner begging for money, or hear about someone struggling to pay their bills and about to lose their housing, we feel compelled to help. Yet we almost immediately feel helpless as to what’s the best thing to do. When I... Read More »

Through your generous giving to underwrite meals for the homeless, Star of Hope was able to serve 87,641 kitchen prepared meals to help people in our community struggling with homelessness during February and March! Now in April, National Volunteer Month, we encourage you find a place of service at one of our four Star of Hope locations around Houston. There’s plenty to do for all ages. If you’re... Read More »

Star of Hope Mission has played a leading role in serving Houston’s homeless population for more than a century. Have you ever wondered how we got started? Rev. Dennis Robert Pevoto came to Houston in 1900 and spent six years assisting in the growth of Baptist churches. During this time, Evangelist Mordecai Ham (who led Billie Graham to Christ) and the former homeless alcoholic Richard... Read More »

I was living the American dream. I had a good job, a family, a home with a white picket fence and a dog. By the standards that I grew up around, I was supposed to be happy and complete. But that was not the case. I went from living the American dream to chasing it, making more money, getting larger homes, moving up the corporate ladder, needing more external things to make me feel whole. By... Read More »

I wanted to tell you about one of our volunteers, Peggy*. On three separate occasions she has baked over 400 cup cakes and brought them to Star of Hope. We served over 600,000 meals last year; one of the things that many times gets over looked is the “dessert.” Our clients have so many homeless service needs, we are always looking for ways to help make them feel at home. These cupcakes have been... Read More »

We had the Star of Hope Annual Banquet last week and it was amazing to see just some of Star of Hope’s donors attend. It was held at the Hilton Americas. As we learned more about Houston’s homeless needs, we found that: • There are 13,500 homeless right here in Houston. • Star of Hope, a local homeless shelter prepared and fed over 620,000 meals during the 2011. • The number of homeless families... Read More »

This week Star of Hope has three good reasons to “Thank God It’s Friday.” Starting early Friday morning 93Q (92.9), The Eagle (107.5) and Country Legends (97.1) will each broadcast two commercials an hour featuring testimonies of men, women and children that were homeless and have had their lives changed by the recovery programs at Star of Hope.   This “Day of Hope” was inspired by a recent... Read More »

Not only do Star of Hope Alumni (ACTS - Alumni in Community, Transformation & Service) return to the campus to serve and give back, they build relationships and enhance the spiritual life of programmers in a number of ways off campus as well.  Alumni conduct weekend spiritual retreat camps. They organize many types of fellowships such as bowling fund raisers, acts of service outings, and sporting... Read More »

You may have seen the story "Homeless Population Keeps Increasing" in the Houston Chronicle this week, the results of the 2011 Homeless Count for our city. It's no surprise to me that the number of homeless people in Houston has risen by 25% in just one year.If you've been following my blog the past two years, you know that Star of Hopehas served record crowds since 2009, with the greatest... Read More »

People are hungry in Houston. The hunger exceeds the physicality of pain and weakness and goes further into the longing and hunger for love, attention, support, comfort and acceptance. Those emotional hungers are fed at Star of Hope only after a nutritious mealphysically sustains the children, men and women who haven’t eaten a full meal for days.Since one of the first gifts from Star of Hope for a... Read More »

Isn’t it amazing how God who created the universe give each one of us our own unique gifts, talents and abilities?!? And then, He fits all of those gifts, talents and abilities together so that the needs of those less fortunate are met and He is glorified. I see His marvelous work each and every day at Star of Hope Mission through our volunteers. Although I’ve never met her face-to-face, Sue... Read More »

On behalf of Star of Hope, I would like to extend special congratulations to Mark Camero and Kevin Sweat from Boy Scout Troop 642, which meets at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Few scouts would tackle such demanding projects or set such a high standard of excellence! In addition to constructing large storage units for our Women & Family Emergency Shelter,... Read More »

I am very confident in saying that 90% of the world’s most passionate and hopeful people are 25 years and younger. Look at college campuses during a presidential election year or the energy of a high school pep-rally. Revolutions are started by young people who have heard their parents talk about tyranny for a life time and have the hope and courage to start change. Here, at Star of Hope young... Read More »

As we close out the month of April, the National Month of Volunteerism, we at Star of Hope Mission want to recognize the immense contribution that volunteers make at Star of Hope.  Here we use volunteers for almost everything: to paint walls and fences, tutor classes, change-out light fixtures, plant plants, and serve meals and a number of other things.  Sometimes they just conduct a drivefor... Read More »

Stephanie McMath joined Star of Hope's Volunteer Services team last fall - just in time to work with all of our holiday volunteers.  From the beginning, we knew her time with us wouldn't be long.  Her temporary assignment was scheduled to end right after Christmas and she already had big plans for the future.  Stephanie, who has lived abroad and traveled much of her life, has a real heart... Read More »

This week I had the opportunity to meet Ann and Brenda from Willis of Texas. They were working a shift as Star of Hope Call Center Volunteers. In fact if you call Star of Hope on a Wednesday morning or afternoon, chances are you will speak to a Willis volunteer. About 50 Willis employees rotate through one our Wednesday Call Center shifts every 4 -6 weeks! Amazing.Brenda said that answering the... Read More »

Easter is just a week away, and everyone at Star of Hope is already rejoicing! We see the transformational power of Easter at work in lives every single day, as God brings forgiveness, healing and restoration to thousands in our community each year through the ministries of Star of Hope. This past Sunday, 2,000 members of Second Baptist Church danced at Discovery Green in downtown Houston,... Read More »

As everyone in Houston knows by now, it’s Final Four® time! The NCAA® Men’s Final Four Basketball Championship games will be played here April 2-4. But what you may not know is that beginning next Monday, March 28th, and throughout the week preceding the games, the NCAA® will be serving Houston’s youth and underprivileged families in some very special ways.This coming Monday, hundreds of residents... Read More »

If you’ve ever volunteered at one of Star of Hope Mission’s four locations around Houston, you no doubt have personal stories of how your effort helped and touched the lives of some of those you served while you were here. Another great part of volunteering is getting to work side by side with our dedicated staff!Recently, Houston’s own Dana Tyson, Sunny 99.1 Morning Show host, came to our Women &... Read More »

“Star of Hope in Houston Texas, You're truly changing lives, not with lip service but with hope, love & opportunity, amazing job. Thank You!” @LeighAnneTuohyThese words were posted on Twitter last Saturday by LeighAnne Tuohy, following Star of Hope’s Annual “Because You Love” Banquet the night before. It was our best attended banquet ever with 1700+ donors, corporate sponsors and... Read More »