Today, I visited the Hope House in Midtown Memphis. Hope House is a preschool, day school, and social services office. The main priority of the organization is assisting families that are HIV positive that are living in poverty. Shelby county schools help partially fund the school and day care, but most of the funding comes from donors.

During my day spent at Hope House I worked with children from 2-4 years old. First, I sat down with a little girl and read books with her, counted plastic bears, and stacked butterflies. All the kids and I later played with lots of toys, told stories, and made silly faces. We also spent a good bit of our day outside playing. I loved running around chasing the kids, and seeing them happy and care free. Their smiles were incredibly genuine and contagious.

Hope house offers a joyful atmosphere where parents can be confidant when dropping of their children. Hope offers play therapy where kids that have been through trauma are able to be helped, which is an amazing endeavor. Everyone working there is very passionate about what they do, and are there to help the kids in any way they can. This organization is a completely free service to their clients that they work with.

Every child there can feel the love that is being given to it, and it is clear why. Hope doesn’t offer just the support given while they are at school, but even when they are home. Children with special needs are often sent home with specialized food to ensure they are kept healthy, as well as bus passes and other benefits for the parents.

Spending my day at Hope House today was an awesome experience. I didn’t know anything like this existed in the Memphis area so it was very exciting to see such a progressive and inviting organization living in the middle of a midtown neighborhood. Being able to connect with the kids and give them one on one attention made me very happy.

Hope House is a great organization that anyone looking to volunteer should spend time at. The positivity that radiates from the whole staff is so enticing and left me wanting to stay all day. I can’t wait to be back soon with all the kids to laugh, play, and have fun!