Hope Services

Community support wasn’t a part of my life growing up and I don’t really think of myself as a philanthropist or activist. However, #MyGivingStory shows the difference that ordinary people like me can make in the face of challenges, impacting the lives of others and inspiring others to rally around a cause. My inspiration to give started at home and grew to encompass a whole community of people who are disenfranchised by society—people with developmental disabilities.
My son, Alex, was born with developmental disabilities. In 2004, he was about to “age out” of special education, and my wife, Ruthie, and I struggled to find options that allowed him to continue to develop his abilities and remain in the community. Finally, our search brought us to Hope Services, a Bay Area-based nonprofit organization that provides programs and services to individuals with developmental disabilities of all ages. We were delighted with what we found at Hope—staff that were professional and compassionate, and, most importantly, programs that involved clients in the community through paid and volunteer work, recreational outings, and educational trips to places that clients needed to learn to navigate, like the grocery store or bank. Unfortunately, we live in the small town of Half Moon Bay, and the closest Hope program was an hour away in San Jose—too far out of Alex’s comfort zone and too long of a drive to be realistic for my wife and I. However, we weren’t ready to give up on Alex, or on Hope. So, we decided to launch a Hope program right at home, where Alex would feel comfortable and be able to become integrated into his own community, and our neighbors with developmental disabilities could find a compassionate, community-oriented place to reach their full potential.
Although starting Hope Services’ Half Moon Bay program was no easy feat, once I experienced giving back to the community and impacting the lives of others with developmental disabilities and their families, I was hooked. Ruthie and I became regular donors to Hope, since we soon realized the organization needed financial support as well as volunteer support in order to provide its much-needed services. In 2007, I amplified my volunteer efforts by joining the Board of Directors of Hope, becoming Chair in 2014.
The more I began to mobilize the community around Hope’s mission to improve the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities, the more I realized an important thing about most people: they want to give back in whatever way they can, whether by making a donation, participating in a walkathon, or lending a helping hand. Therefore, I decided to give my employees at my business, Commercial Casework, the opportunity to incorporate philanthropy into their professional lives. Each year, they are allowed to take time off to volunteer, organize volunteer days, and initiate fundraising drives for the nonprofits we support.. Far from detracting from Commercial Casework’s quality of work, I have found that bringing philanthropy into the workplace improves employees’ morale, helping to increase productivity and retain talented workers. In fact, I would encourage any business owner to consider including some sort of charitable activity in their work—when entrepreneurs and employees feel the work they are doing is making a difference, they improve both their own lives and the community around them—a win-win situation for all.
I hope #MyGivingStory shows that you don’t have to be a billionaire or superhero to have a real impact on the lives of others. All you need is a cause you care about, a fair bit of elbow grease, and the courage to try. I also hope you will check out the great work Hope is doing at www.hopeservices.org: I know advocating for society’s acceptance of people with disabilities has become my passion and, once you see the tremendous things Hope’s clients are doing, it might become yours, too.