Hope for New York

It is a typical site across Manhattan for groups of young professionals to gather after hours at a local spot and talk about life and work in New York.  It is not typical however, that this group would meet for the purpose of raising awareness and funds for the poor and marginalized. But that is exactly what happened at the 2nd Annual Hope for New York Spring Benefit.  On May 15, nearly 300 young professionals gathered at the NYC Fire Museum in SoHo to raise awareness of Hope for New York’s work throughout the city.  More than your typical after work get together, the Spring Benefit was a time of inspiration for social engagement and ministry to the city. 

The night’s theme “Your City.Your Impact.” challenged those in attendance to think of New York City from outside the typical consumer perspective.  The speaker for the night, Scott Sauls of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, used the story of Jonah as an encouragement that God regards cities as an essential place of ministry.  He also challenged the crowd to consider thinking about how New York City might be transformed if all Christians constantly thought about how they might give to the city instead of how they might benefit from the city.  The talk provided a time for individuals to evaluate how they might contribute to the restoration and renewal of the city. 

The evening also included testimonies of a mentor and student involved in Operation Exodus, one of Hope for New York’s affiliate ministries.  The student from this pair spoke of the incredible difference Operation Exodus and the volunteer mentors have made in his life, “when other kids from my neighborhood were trying drugs or joining gangs, I was catching up on my reading… and learning more about the Bible from my mentors.”  Through original compositions, Sean McClowry shared songs that echoed Hope for New York’s vision of a city that experiences complete transformation through the love of Christ in action. 

Thanks to the generous underwriting of an anonymous donor, one hundred percent of the financial contributions from the event will go directly towards programs.  In the true spirit of the evening, nearly all of the work put in to make the event a success was done by volunteers.  At the end of the night these young professionals were challenged on how they might be able to support the mission of Hope for New York by donating their resources in the form of money or time.  Thank you to those in attendance who have, and continue to, support the mission and vision of Hope for New York as we reach out to the poor and marginalized of this great city.

Special thanks to all the volunteers who helped during the course of the evening.  We especially want to thank the Spring Benefit Committee for their vision to make this event happen. (Committee Members: Elise Chong, In Seon Hwang, Jennifer E. Lee, Jane Park, Amanda Wachsmuth, Neal Winterhof, Annie Yang, Tabitha Yoon.)