ADRIAN — With the help of a generous challenge grant from an anonymous donor, the HOPE Community Center in Adrian is getting closer to a longtime dream.
“HOPE has long dreamed of having our own transportation,” said Mary Martin, interim executive director of the community center for adults with developmental disabilities. “We really would like a 15-passenger van.”
The HOPE Center offers approximately 1,200 programs per year to its roughly 100 members, but most of those programs have to take place at the center’s facility on Baker Street, Martin said. Taking trips offsite requires the use of private vehicles or public transportation.
“Because of that, we’re very limited and we can only do things kind of near us in the community,” Martin said.
Having a van would enable the HOPE Center to take more frequent trips — giving members more chances to enjoy things like bowling, movies, sports games, and museums. It would also bring destinations like Toledo’s Imagination Station within reach, further enriching members’ lives.
“We like to be able to take people out and kind of expand their world,” Martin said.
Many HOPE Center members also love volunteering, she added, and the van would make it easier to take them to volunteer sites in the community.
The HOPE Center’s dream got a lot closer recently when an anonymous donor promised a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $25,000, of all donations toward the van campaign.
Martin added that although the van will not have a wheelchair lift, the HOPE Center will continue working with Lenawee Transportation to ensure that members who use wheelchairs are able to participate in trips.
The center is hoping to wrap up fundraising by May 1. Donations toward the van campaign can be made online at hopecenteradrian.org. Donations can also be mailed to the HOPE Community Center, 431 Baker St., Adrian, MI 49221.
Established in 1976, the HOPE Center’s mission is to support Lenawee County adults with developmental disabilities in pursuing an empowered, healthy, and community-enriched life.
For more information about the HOPE Center, call 517-265-2410.
