Today I ran my fifth Chevron Houston Marathon. I have been a runner off and on for the past 12 years and have done several different types of events … marathons, half marathons, 10Ks, 5ks and relays. But in all those years, today was the first time I ever cried when I crossed the finish line. I didn’t cry because I had had my best marathon finish ever, finally achieving that long coveted sub-5... Read More »

Our Red Hat Society Chapter Divas With Hattitude began volunteering in November of 2011 and returned in 2012. We volunteer one Saturday every November at the Star of Hope Women and Family Emergency Shelter. We start our day by celebrating our chapter members November birthdays at a restaurant, and conclude with dinner service at the center. We help prepare and serve the meals to the many residents... Read More »

My husband and I have been financial supporters of Star of Hope for many years. I have always been impressed with the strong Christian work that Star of Hope has provided to thousands of people in need. Once our youngest child received her driver’s license (lots of prayers said!), I felt it was time to donate my time to Star of Hope as well. I went to a volunteer orientation class and waited for... Read More »

The temperature may be dropping but not our hopes for filling the freezer at the new Star of Hope Donation and Distribution Center. In fact, we could not be more excited about our up-coming event with partners KSBJ, NGEN Radio and Kroger. With their help, we are planning to pack the freezer with 20,000 pounds of frozen food. If that sounds like a lot of groceries, then check this out. We... Read More »

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 »

This week two major radio corporations are featuring an Entire Day dedicated to helping Star of Hope make this a Summer of Hope for our clients. Thursday, June 28, beginning at 6 AM until 7 PM, Clear Channel’s top rated SUNNY 99.1will run commercials talking about Star of Hope’s summer efforts and asking listeners to go to our website and make a donation. As an added blessing, Houston Area Toyota... Read More »

I have been a volunteer at the Star of Hope Women & Family Emergency Shelter for almost a year. I am going to tell you how I came to Star of Hope. My husband and I lived in Singapore for 5 years and were relocated to the Houston area. My 4 children were all grown and I wasn't sure about what to do with the next chapter in my life. I prayed that God would show me what to do. My focus came from... Read More »

Eleven Houston Area Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants will collect diapers for Star of Hope’s toddlers the weekend of March 24-25. The popular sports-themed eatery is calling the 2012 diaper drive “Homeless Babies – Help Us Cover Their End Zone.” Cathy Camp, Regional Marketing Director for the chain, has announced that locations in Spring, Wallisville, Cypress, Rosenberg, Conroe, Richmond, Victoria,... Read More »

Hey guys!  I found these two photos of Thanksgiving lunch at the Star of Hope.      The first pic is from many years ago and the second is more current!  The parallels touched my heart in that, while years have passed, there are still the less fortunate in our city, who really need our help.  Every day, Star of Hope helps over 1,000 persons, about 1/3 are children.  The more I work in... Read More »

(function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); There are only a few weeks now until Thanksgiving and whatever plans we are making, they most certainly will include a gathering event focused on... Read More »

(function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); Thanksgiving is a time we all count our blessings, and I want you to know that hundreds of Star of Hope’s residents and graduates are thanking God for you!... Read More »

(function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that every day now, we are confronted with a new, major crisis in our world. Here at home in Houston, we have... Read More »

As Star of Hope is into its SECOND CENTURY of serving Houston’s homeless men, women and children, we are working hard on partnerships and new life-changing programs which will move Houston "down the field and toward the goal line" of significantly reducing homelessness in our city! Our Board, leadership and many of you in our community have developed and approved a 5 year plan, called “VISION... Read More »

As I am writing this, we have just experienced a night of unprecedented need at Star of Hope's downtown Women & Family Emergency Shelter. Last night, 141 families and single women were admitted to our already full family shelter. The only place for them was on the floor on a mat, but they were grateful and came anyway. Thirty five families with their 55 children and 51 single women all came... Read More »

In my last update, we discussed Houston’s problem of significantly rising homelessness in our city. According to the 2011 count of homeless men, women & children in Houston, this population has risen by 25% in just ONE year. In all, 13,000 people in our city are now without a place to live. And on top of that, we are experiencing the highest early-summer record heat recorded! So what is Star of... 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 »

At Star of Hope, we celebrate volunteers every day. April has been National Volunteer Month. Thirty days that have passed so quickly - yet each of those days were filled with Houstonians giving their time and talents to reach out to our city's homeless men, women and children. Last year, 8.774 men, women and families served 31,892 hours. 128 individuals donated 13,601 hours of specialized skills -... Read More »

I have consistently had some place safe to sleep. I have consistently been fed.  I have consistently been loved. I have consistently made mistakes and have been forgiven and accepted. I have consistently been made to feel valued….and I have consistently forgotten that some people don’t have any form of healthy consistency in their own lives.   Star of Hope can’t save the world, but it can give... Read More »

Popular radio personality Dana Tyson (Sunny 99.1) was asked by the ABC network to produce a "local" version of the new national reality TV hit Secret Millionaire. The national version features a millionaire who goes undercover doing homeless volunteer work in a charitable institution. At the end of the show - the "volunteer", moved by the charity and love that he is surrounded with - reveals... Read More »

Sometimes, I get a chance to get out of my normal day to day IT world and get to help out on video.  A few months back one of our wonderful donors/volunteers, Cookie Joe, and her business partner, Tran Pham Rich , (owners of Cookie Joe's School of Dancin'  located in Sugar Land, Texas) donated the money to rebuild and equip our intake center at the Women & Family Emergency Shelter. The name of the... Read More »