Who we are

What is Shower of Hope?

When was the last time you took a drive through Health Zone 1 of Jacksonville, FL?  The most urban sections of Jacksonville, Health Zone 1 includes zip codes 32202, 32204, 32206, 32208, 32209 and 32254. This area of our city has the lowest level of education, the highest level of unemployment, and the greatest level of poverty than any other area in Jacksonville. We see this as a problem.

But who are we? We are Shower of Hope. We are a group of people who look at the issues of poverty and poor education in our city and are unable to just sit by and watch this cycle continue to reap destruction on our future generations. But man what an issue to resolve. How do you even begin to tackle that? Well, we’re not completely sure, but we do have an idea that we believe can chip away at one piece of the puzzle.

Shower of Hope is an organization that is seeking to address the problems around teenage pregnancy. Did you know that we have high schools in our city that have a teen pregnancy rate higher than 1/15? And 1 out of 5 of those girls will have a second child before they finish high school; if they even finish high school? And the majority of these girls were born to a teen mom? And most of these girls are in no position to have a hopeful trajectory for their future?

This is where Shower of Hope comes in. We are trajectory changers. We do this by creating events for pregnant teens and teen moms that will put them in a greater position to have a more hopeful future. Some may call it a baby shower, but it really is so much more. At these events, we provide the girls with many of the major physical necessities for the first years of their baby’s life, in exchange for their commitment to work with the agencies and educational resources that we establish and partner with. At the event, we bring in representatives from various pregnancy, parenting, mentoring, and educational organizations that can partner with the girls to lead them towards success, as a parent, student, and general member of society.

Our job is not to recreate anything that anybody else is already doing. Our job is to serve as a connecting agent and accountability partner between pregnant teens and teen moms and the organizations that they most likely didn’t even know existed, and using the funds that we raise to meet many of their physical needs as well. And the event is just the beginning. We continue to plan supplementary seminars and workshops where these girls can receive continual guidance and stay connected with the organizations that we partner with, who are here to provide education, guidance, and care for the girls.

Can you see how this might change the trajectory for their future? Can you see how this can change the trajectory for their child’s future? Can you see how this can change the trajectory for the poverty cycle in our entire city? It doesn’t take an idealist to see the impact that we believe this movement can have.

And you are invited to join us. You will find a few different ways that you can join us and support this movement here on this website. Before you leave, we would love for you to connect with us on the social network of your choice. You will find the links ot our page in right hand column.