On Giving Tuesday, we want to elevate other organizations doing life-changing work across our country and around the world. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Organization predicted that 1.6 billion jobs on the margins of the world economy—representing half the world’s workforce—were in immediate danger. Lower-wage workers and minorities, as well as members of the informal economy, are particularly at risk—but these five organizations are stepping in, and they have our wholehearted endorsement.
Photo courtesy of Mile High WorkShop
Where: Denver, CO, area
What they do: The Mile High WorkShop is an employment and job training program for those facing barriers to work through the production, assembly, and bundling of goods. The WorkShop partners with businesses in the community in order to employ and support men and women who are rebuilding from homelessness, addiction, and incarceration.
What we love about them: “I love how the WorkShop takes chances on those our society often has written off, namely men and women coming out of incarceration or recovering from addictions. At the WorkShop, they experience the dignity of a great job within a community of hope and grace as they rebuild.”
Chris Horst
Chief Advancement Officer, HOPE International
Board Member, Mile High WorkShop
2. Edify
Photo courtesy of Edify
Where: Africa, Latin America, and Northeast India
What they do: Edify partners with entrepreneurs to launch affordable Christ-centered schools in their communities. With access to training, capital, and technology, these social entrepreneurs can launch low-fee, independent schools to serve the same disadvantaged communities they are from—giving them a unique understanding of the children’s strengths and needs.
What we love about them: “Edify’s model captivates my heart because of their deep commitment to equipping local leaders. I have been privileged to meet many principals and school owners in the Dominican Republic who overflow with joy and pride as they share about their journey of beginning a school and how Edify was instrumental in equipping them to provide quality, Christ-centered education to children and youth in their community.”
Jenna Pounds
Finance Assistant, former HOPE Trips Liaison to the D.R.
Photo courtesy of Magic City Woodworks
Where: Birmingham, AL, area
What they do: Magic City Woodworks exists to offer highly impactful, paid six-month wood and metal shop apprenticeship experiences for young men stuck in a rut. They’re out to redefine work not as a mundane task but an opportunity, an equalizer, and a training ground for our hearts.
What we love about them: “I appreciate how Magic City Woodworks leverages their wood and metal shop for the good of their neighbors and for God’s glory in producing beautiful works of art—whether standing desks, garden boxes, or cutting boards. MCWW’s leadership is equipping and empowering their apprentices—formerly unemployed men who are trained to create these works of art—by teaching them that their work has value, dignity, and impact.”
Lori Chambers
Regional Representative, Birmingham, AL
4. Hustle PHX
Photo courtesy of Hustle PHX
Where: Phoenix, AZ, area
What they do: Motivated by Christian faith, Hustle PHX encourages the creation of sustainable business ventures in underserved communities, leading to the flourishing of all communities in Phoenix. They carefully select entrepreneurs who could benefit from intellectual, social, and financial capital and step in to fill those gaps by providing education, mentorship, and investment opportunities.
What we love about them: “Oye and his team at Hustle PHX have changed the landscape of what it looks like to do microfinance on a local level. Through their partnerships with local banks, investors, and businesses, they have made an incredible impact on the community of Phoenix and the lives of their neighbors in need of a hand up.”
Haley Smith
Senior Regional Representative, Dallas, TX
5. Sinapis
Photo courtesy of Sinapis
Where: Africa, Middle East, and South America
What they do: Through training and a global support network, Sinapis empowers entrepreneurs professionally and spiritually so they can grow to the next level and transform the world around them. Their passion is small and growing businesses, typically with 5 to 250 employees. These companies fuel the economy and account for 67% – 80% of new job growth, bringing employment and dignity to communities as well as success to individual entrepreneurs.
What we love about them: “Sinapis takes MBA-level curriculum through a process of adaptation and contextualization, then, through a cohort-based model, provides business incubation for small-and-medium-enterprise entrepreneurs in eight countries. It’s truly world-class training that would otherwise be inaccessible to these business owners and is often the missing ingredient to scaling their businesses and employing dozens more people in their communities. The best part is how they’ve seamlessly integrated Kingdom DNA throughout so that it’s impossible to emerge from the program without a greater sense of God’s goodness and a heightened call toward Gospel impact.”
Josh Ruyle
Director, HOPE Global Investments
What I love about HOPE Intl: HOPE promotes other like-minded ministries to help them to thrive as well. Peter Greer and the HOPE team know it’s about Kingdom work, not just HOPE’s work. God chooses to work through people because in so doing, people are enriched via activating their God-given personalities and skills to build God’s kingdom on this earth. Thank you, HOPE, for being unselfish in promoting others doing work for God’s glory and purposes.
Highlighting other compelling and Christ-centered ministries on #GivingTuesday! Whats not to admire about that?
I can’t thank the Lord enough for HOPE ! Whenever I read something about what you do, I feel the Passion and Love for Christ, it’s wonderful. May the Lord bless the work of your hands abundantly.