National Month of Hope Founders Announce the H.O.P.E.E. Awards

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- April is the National Month of Hope, and this year, the founders have announced that they will introduce the H.O.P.E.E. Awards, where recipients will be honored during a special "Celebration of Hope" Ceremony at the Cascades Park Amphitheater in Tallahassee, Florida on Sunday, April 21, 2019 from 1:30-4:30 PM ET.

Seeing the impact that hope can have on people's lives, Dr. Rosalind Tompkins, founder and president of Mothers in Crisis, Inc. launched a national public awareness campaign in 2018 beginning with the designation of April as the National Month of Hope. Challenging people to 'think hope' and 'make hope connections', this inaugural campaign turned into a powerful movement of individuals joining forces and becoming citizens of hope in their own communities across the country.

Now, coinciding with the National Month of Hope, Mothers in Crisis Inc. will recognize inspiring individuals through the debut of the H.O.P.E.E. Awards (Helping Others Practice Enduring Empowerment). These awards will be presented to those who exemplify helping others to practice enduring empowerment while spreading hope in the family, church or synagogue, school, community, marketplace, nation and world.

The 2019 local Tallahassee, FL recipients include:

• Daryl Parks, attorney and businessman
• Nancy Daniels, attorney and former public defender
• Lou McPherson, philanthropist
• Byron Dobson, Tallahassee Democrat senior writer and editorial board member
• Dr. Alfreda Blackshear, M.D., retired pediatrician
• Jack Levine, child & family advocate and founder of 4Generations Institute
• Maggie Lewis Butler, educator and former Leon County school board member
• John Dailey, Mayor of Tallahassee, FL

The 2019 national recipients include:

• Former First Lady Michelle Obama
• Pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen, Lakewood Church in Houston, TX
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student survivors of school shooting
• Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and politician
• Abbey Hernandez, survivor of teenaged kidnapping
• Dr. Patricia Bailey, International missionary
• Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin and founder of Circle of Mothers

"It's a blessing to be the bearer of good news and to let others know that who they are and what they do is shining bright and bringing hope to others," says Dr. Rosalind Tompkins.  This year's slogan is "I would rather hope" and with daily headlines filled with tragedies that include school shootings, suicides, flooding and devastation, political turmoil, etc., there are many that need hope in their daily lives. This April and beyond, we hope that you will be inspired to become a Citizen of Hope. To learn more about this special event along with ways to get involved, please visit: www.makeahopeconnection.com.  #nationalhopemonth #nationalmonthofhope #Iwouldratherhope

SOURCE Mothers in Crisis, Dr. Rosalind Tompkins