In Episode 6 of Meet Houston Missions, we meet Lynda Zelenka Dierker, the Executive Director of Cy-Hope. Cy-Hope serves as a catalyst to bring needs and solutions together for at-risk children through a number of programs.
Cy-Hope Services
- Providing food to underprivileged children in the Cy-Fair area.
- Operating after school centers (Hope Centers) in low-income areas.
- Offering counseling and play therapy to all children, individuals, and families at Cy-Hope Counseling and Speech Therapy.
- Helping underprivileged high school students succeed by assisting with Dual Credit, Advanced Placement, and Certification fees.
- Giving underserved children an opportunity to experience summer fun at Camp Lemonade.
- Encouraging students through the magic of music by offering band camp, sponsoring a 5th-grade choral festival, and providing private instruction to underserved students.
- Providing baseball instruction in a family-friendly, positive environment through Dierker’s Champs.
- Providing skills for life in select secondary schools through the Ambassadors of Compassion mentoring program.
Volunteer Opportunities & Donations
Cy-Hope operates many programs that all depend upon the generous gift of time from members of the community. These include:
The Hope Chest Resale Market is located at 12015 Barker Cypress Road. (Contact Amy Vern, [email protected]) The Market needs groups to help with projects at the resale market and individuals to help on a consistent basis.
Backpack Feeding Program (Contact Jennifer Palomo, [email protected]). This program requires volunteers to help with loading vehicles or driving food donations to CFISD schools on a weekly basis during the day during the school year.
The Hope Centers (Contact Genna Peard, [email protected]). Hope Centers are located at Longhorn Mobile Home Community, Trails of Windfern Apartments, Pointe at Steeplechase Apartments, and The Enclave at Copperfield. The Hope Centers provide after-school activities and are open from 4:30-6:30 PM weeknights. Volunteers are needed to assist and/or teach crafts.
Northwest Forest Volunteers (Contact Tami Lorch, [email protected] or Jim Hunter, [email protected]). Volunteers are always needed to help with maintaining and beautifying the grounds at Northwest Forest.
Dierker’s Champs (Contact Sheri Lee, [email protected]). This baseball program needs coaches and umpires to help with the Spring League. They also need equipment donations.
Ambassadors of Compassion (AOC) Mentor Program (Contact Katie Kaisinger, [email protected]). Cy-Hope helps to equip at-risk students via the Ambassadors of Compassion (AOC) Program. This program provides youth the opportunity to personally examine and “experience” life-ready principles in a small group discussion setting with other youth-led by a Team Coach. This program takes place at the school during regular school hours.
Additionally, Cy-Hope needs donations of food, clothes, toys, games, school supplies, and financial support for their various programs for school children. Additionally, they seek partnerships with businesses to adopt schools and provide Christmas gifts for kids. Financial donations are tax-deductible and always welcome.
Fundraisers
Cy-Hope holds four main annual fundraisers to raise financial support for its mission. These include:
- The Larry Dierker Winter Golf Classic held at Jersey Meadows Golf Course in February
- The Cy-Hope Clay Shoot at Westside Sporting Grounds in April.
- Cypress Market @ Cy-Hope in April.
- Larry Dierker Celebrity Golf Shootout at Blackhorse Golf Course in November
In addition to the above, a number of private organizations host fundraises that benefit Cy-Hope.
Location
Cy-Hope is located at 12715-Telge Rd., Cypress, TX 77429. To inquire about volunteer opportunities or obtain more information, please call 713-466-HOPE or visit: https://www.cy-hope.org/.
About Cy-Hope
Cy-Hope began in 2011 when Dr. Godfrey Hubert, then Sr. Pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church went on sabbatical and was reading a book by Reggie McNeal, The Present Future. In the book, McNeal asked: “If your church ceased to exist today, would the community miss it?” Dr. Godfrey felt that the church members would miss Foundry but probably not the community.
This realization motivated Dr. Godfrey to gather a group of church and community leaders to discuss what could be done to help the community. From this came Cy-Hope.
Cy-Hope is a 501 (C) 3 that was established to be a catalyst to rally our community around the 117,000 students in Cy-Fair Independent School District of which over 55% are economically disadvantaged. Foundry Church committed $1 million dollars over the first three years to start and sustain the financial and operational goals of Cy-Hope.
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