About City Hope Community
Contact
Email: cityhopecommunity@cityhopecommunity.org
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 922 Clarkston, GA 30021
Donate: https://cityhopecommunity.org/donate
Our Mission
To mobilize and unite individuals and churches in taking up the care and cause of the socially vulnerable.
We are driven by the greatest commandment – to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We believe in the effectiveness of local missions and local partnerships.
We respect and uphold the honor and dignity inherent in every individual regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
We currently focus our efforts on serving refugee families and individuals in Metro Atlanta.
Our Story
Lori Kim, founder of City Hope Community, started serving a family as a volunteer for World Relief with her two high school children in 2006. After meeting more families who were in need of tutoring, she brought 12 high school students from her church to serve. Over the course of the following three years, more local high school and adult volunteers joined. The Saturday Tutoring Program became an organized effort and many parents were taken by the maturity and passion gained by their high school children who took part in this program. More parents began to involve their children and since 2010, a consistent number of 60 high schoolers have been tutoring and mentoring children through this weekend program every semester.
Adult volunteers also began to serve the children’s parents by providing various forms of assistance, such as giving rides and donating household items. In addition to Saturday Tutoring and Family Service, Lori saw the need for after school help for middle and high school youth. At the time, it seemed an impossible task to start a weekday after school program since high school and adult volunteers could only serve on weekends. However, volunteers began to join from local universities. After the first site started in 2010, a new site was added each semester in the first 2 years in different apartment neighborhoods. The after school program has reached a consistent 50-60 college volunteers each semester serving a great number of children and youth.
Over time, Lori also received many household donations from her friends to distribute to the families. Storage space became limited as donated items overflowed in her own garage, as well as another volunteer’s garage. After Lori’s church allowed her to use their space to receive and distribute donations, volunteers began to bring the families they served to select necessary household items. After two years, a Board member donated a space in his business property, which officially became City Hope Thrift Store in 2013. The store, managed mostly by volunteers, is open every day and has been providing free items to more than 500 families in the past few years.
With the increase of volunteers and services, Lori united the efforts to form the non-profit City Hope Community and hired staff to oversee the growing programs. Since its start, City Hope has been operating with support from local organizations, churches and individuals. Today, Lori, her dedicated staff and countless volunteers continue to serve and care for children and their families in the community.
Programs
City Hope serves children and families through a variety of programs. With the commitment of volunteers and staff, we are able to carry out invaluable services to support families in different areas, including ESL classes, family care, academic tutoring, and leadership training. Along with assisting families to gain self-sufficiency, another valuable outcome is the strong network of relationships and support formed through the experience. To learn more about our programs, explore our program categories below
–Family & Adult
–Children & Youth
–Short-term Mission
Get involved with City Hope Community!
–Family care
–Children Mentorship Small Group Leader
–After School Tutor
–Saturday Tutoring for Children
–Thrift Store
–Food Donor