What’s in a name?
For Chris Hope, the answer was clear as day – a day five years ago when he saw the other side of childhood cancer. When he realized the pain experienced by a parent watching their child fight for life is often coupled with the pain of losing a life built back at home.
That day at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis – where Chris is a tractor-trailer driver for UPS – was a life-changing experience. In the process, it has changed the lives of countless others and given hope to many more.
He founded what is now the Chris Hope Foundation, a nonprofit that helps families deal with the financial hardships associated with a child’s prolonged stay in a hospital.
It started with a goal of helping one family a month.
“Now, we assist 8-10 each month,” Chris said.
That assistance is no longer possible by only asking friends to pitch in. Today, the Chris Hope Foundation receives funding from United Way, and UPSers do their part each year during the annual giving campaign to United Way.
“United Way is how we survive,” Chris said.
From helping families keep their homes and pay utility bills, to throwing hospital birthday parties, to funding scholarships for children who battled cancer, to granting final wishes for children in hospice care; the Chris Hope Foundation eases burdens and provides hope.
“Giving to help others is tremendous,” he said. “Families with sick children are burdened enough. Being able to fund our foundation through United Way makes all of it possible.”
You see, there really is something in a name.