After months of planning, the Hope Farm staff eagerly awaited the opportunity to host our Fall Festival for the first time since 2019. Traditionally, Fall Festival brought hundreds of people to our campus and included a cookout, bounce houses, first responders, eye exams, flu shots, and a large bag of groceries for families to take home. In past years, children ran around our campus enjoying the freedom to eat good food, play throughout the property, get their faces painted, and meet new friends. Covid put a pause on Fall Festival for four years and we were so excited to bring back the tradition. As the day approached, we became concerned about the weather forecast which called for 100% rain and high winds. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “for we live by faith, not by sight.” Even though we could not imagine families coming to our campus through a rainstorm, we decided to have faith that they would. We prayed, and God answered!
On October 28, we welcomed over 300 people to our campus, and we also honored co-founder Noble Crawford and his family for the second year in a row. Mr. Crawford and his wife Mae spent their time reconnecting with staff and uplifting those in their community like they have done for years. As everyone enjoyed freshly cooked burgers, Mr. Crawford spoke to the crowd relaying how he and Gary Randle had been called to create HOPE for our community. He spoke of “seeing the downside of our young boys being incarcerated too early and being killed too early.” Through their work with the Fort Worth Police Department and Department of Public Safety, Gary Randle and Noble Crawford had seen everything.
We acknowledge our past by paying tribute to Noble and Gary on this special day each year, and we take the time to honor our present by hosting a Fall Festival for our community. None of this would be possible though without the team of volunteers and vendors who gave their time, energy, and resources to help produce our best year yet. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to our mission. Now as we focus on our future, we are proud to have launched HOPE for the Future: A Capital Campaign; with a goal of raising $4M over the next three years.
Our dream includes creating a Christian Academy, renovating our gym to provide more classroom space, purchasing new vehicles to transport our kids safely, and completing our vocational center to teach welding, HVAC, plumbing, IT, culinary arts, and automotive mechanics.
“For we live by faith, not by sight!” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The future of Hope Farm is now – come dream with us! Merry Christmas!
