Harvesting Hope

The theme for this year’s Holiday card that Pearl Promise sent out is loaded with meaning and significance as it relates to our mission.  “Harvesting Hope today, nurturing futures tomorrow.”  The second part – the “nurturing futures tomorrow” involves the kids, and quite frankly, that is why we do what we do.  To build a more stable future for the kids. To give them hope.  To stop cycles of poverty, abuse, trauma. 

Our mission is simple: “Equipping single parent families with the tools they need to build emotionally and economically stable homes.”  Of course, the process, the “harvesting” part is more complicated.  And messy.

There is not a “typical” profile that would describe our single parent families, but in almost every story there has been some factor of trauma or loss or heartbreak.

Sometimes there has been divorce or abandonment, death of the spouse, drugs or incarceration.  Often the narrative involves domestic violence or addiction issues.  There may have been generational patterns of poverty or abuse.  Evictions, restraining orders, custody battles, illness, you name it, we have seen it all in the 15 years of the story of Pearl Promise.  So, the “harvesting” part is often complicated and hard.  It takes time.  It takes patience and resilience.  It takes those of us who provide direct client assistance to believe on behalf of the mom or dad, that there is hope, that they will make it.

Harvesting hope involves pouring into the often-rocky ground (the families) good things—love, compassion, faith, resources, goal-setting, practical assistance, accountability, structure, peer encouragement, GED support, and the gift of transportation so a parent can get her kids to school and herself to work.  All of this takes time.  It takes grit and commitment and passion.  It requires a level of tough love and gentle firmness.

Those of us who work in the area of human service must be thick-skinned and tough, yet soft and ever so tender.  Our constant prayer is that we will never become calloused or jaded.  That every single story is a new story, one that we have never heard before.  One that deserves our full listening, knowing, our mindful presence and prayerful attention.  Every parent that comes into our doors at Pearl is here for a reason and we have the incredible honor of loving on her/him, and in so doing, we are forever changed in the process.

The harvest looks different for each parent and family, but there are some beautiful commonalities:  self-confidence, safe and thriving children, the road to self-reliance, a family at Pearl that is always in their corner, and quite often, a new and deep realization that God’s love and grace will carry them through.

We cannot do this harvesting hope alone.  It takes donors and prayer partners and churches and businesses.  It takes sacrifice and partnership and a whole community to come alongside these precious families.  We selected a Bible verse on the cover of our Harvesting Hope card that says, “Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” Galatians 6:9  We invite you to come along this journey with us of harvesting hope in the lives of single parent families. 

Ways to Support Pearl Promise

Harvesting hope is something we cannot do alone. Your generosity helps single-parent families move from crisis to stability, from fear to confidence, and from hard soil to a life rooted in hope. Here are ways Colorado residents and friends everywhere can make a meaningful impact:

1. Give Through Pearl Promise (Kindful)

Your direct gift through our secure giving platform goes straight to supporting families in crisis.Colorado residents receive:

• 25% Colorado tax credit on cash donations

• 12.5% Colorado tax credit on in-kind donations

Give securely at:https://pearl.kindful.com/

These credits reduce your Colorado state tax burden—meaning your generosity goes even further in helping families rebuild their lives.

2. Give Through Colorado Gives

Support Pearl Promise through Colorado Gives and take advantage of a limited-time match opportunity.

Monthly Donor Match (Up to $100!)New monthly donors will have their first month’s gift matched up to $100 by the Colorado Gives Foundation—while matching funds last.

Become a monthly donor and double your first gift here:https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Pearl-Co

Your monthly support helps sustain programs like Focus Pearl, Kids Mentoring, GED support, transportation assistance, and more—all vital pieces of nurturing futures for single-parent families.

From hearts of gratitude, we thank you!