Join the 118-year-old Fifth Sunday tradition. Partner your congregation with Residing Hope through a Local Church Representative relationship — receiving mission updates, hosting events, and connecting your community directly to the children and families we serve.
Learn About Church PartnershipShare your time and talents. From campus events and mentoring to skilled professional services in law, medicine, counseling, and education — there is a meaningful place for every person who wants to serve Florida's most vulnerable children.
Explore Volunteer OpportunitiesLeave a lasting impact by including Residing Hope in your estate plans. Bequests, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, and life insurance gifts create an enduring legacy that continues to serve Florida children for generations.
Learn About Legacy GivingResiding Hope was born from the commitment of Florida Methodist churches in 1908, when congregations across the state began setting aside their Fifth Sunday offerings — the proceeds from those months when a fifth Sunday fell in the calendar — to support children in need. More than 118 years later, that partnership remains the spiritual heartbeat of the organization. Through the Local Church Representative (LCR) program, congregations across Florida maintain a direct, personal connection to the mission — receiving regular updates on the children and families served, hosting campus visits and mission events, and channeling their involvement toward specific programs and needs.
The LCR relationship is not a passive one. Local Church Representatives are advocates within their congregations — people who have visited the campus, met the children and staff, and carry the mission back to their church communities with firsthand knowledge and genuine conviction. Many of Residing Hope's most committed volunteers and most dedicated foster families have come through the LCR network. The church partnership is not a funding mechanism. It is a community of people who believe that the church has a responsibility to the most vulnerable children in its midst.
The Director of Church Relations is available to speak at your congregation, connect your church with a Local Church Representative, and help your community understand the profound impact of your partnership on the lives of Florida's most vulnerable children.
To learn more about the Local Church Representative program, call our main campus at 386-668-4774.
"Denaijah arrived at 18 with nothing but the clothes on her back and a history that would have broken most adults. Through Residing Hope's Independent Living Program, she secured stable housing, completed her GED, enrolled in community college, and landed her first full-time job within fourteen months of entering the program. Today she returns to the campus to mentor younger residents. She says the program gave her the first experience she had ever had of people who believed in her future more than she did."
"Marcus had been through four foster placements before coming to the Madison Youth Ranch. He had been in traditional therapy for two years with minimal progress. After six months of EAGALA-certified Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, his therapist documented a level of emotional regulation and relational trust that had not been achievable through talk therapy alone. He was reunified with his grandmother — who says the horse he worked with most, a bay quarter horse named Copper, did what no therapist had been able to do: made Marcus feel safe enough to be known."
"The Rivera family became licensed foster parents through Residing Hope in 2019. They had considered foster care for years but felt unprepared. The PRIDE training, the home study process, and the ongoing support from their case manager gave them the confidence to say yes. They have since provided a loving, stable home for eight children. Two of those children are now their adopted sons. They describe the monthly foster family events as the community that made it possible to keep going through the hardest moments."
Residing Hope's volunteer program connects individuals, families, and professional groups with meaningful service opportunities across all of our programs and campuses. Whether you are an attorney who can provide legal guidance to aging-out youth, a physician who can offer health education, a counselor who can lead a workshop, a tradesperson who can help maintain our campuses, or simply someone who wants to spend time with children who need consistent, caring adult presence — there is a place for you.
Campus events — holiday celebrations, back-to-school drives, campus beautification days, and special programming — are organized throughout the year and provide structured opportunities for groups and families to serve together. Individual volunteers who wish to work directly with children undergo a background screening process in accordance with Florida DCF requirements.
To learn about current volunteer opportunities, call 386-668-4774.
Residing Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the EAGLE Accreditation Service of the United Methodist Church. EIN: 59-0638479.
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