Two weeks ago Hi-Hope celebrated our community by throwing a cookout. The event was cosponsored by our friends from the Shah Law Firm. This impromptu event came together in a sort of magical way - a combination of coincidence, luck, and the fact that the world really is a small place.
See, a couple months ago one of the lawyers from the Shah Firm reached out to our Janis Hunter to inquire about services for a friend. In her inquiry she mentioned that her group loved to volunteer and had recently hosted a game night at Side by Side Clubhouse in Stone Mountain. Janis passed this information to our Volunteer Coordinator - Nick Reynolds. As it turns out, the Development Director at Side by Side is married to Nick. So Nick went home and asked about the Shah folks and his wife gushed about them: "they are amazing and so generous. They genuinely want to help and really go the extra mile." The very next day Nick and Hi-Hope's Chief Development Officer, Keith Fenton, brainstormed the idea of the Midsummer Blast - a casual cookout to bring our community together for some food, socializing and fun.
And that is precisely what happened. To get a visual idea of the evening, visit our Facebook page and check out the Midsummer Blast album. However, if you are Facebook-averse, we can tell you that it was a fantastic party despite the heat and the sun forcing us to rework our layout a little bit at the start. We served hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad, beans, chips and watermelon and had plenty for everyone (tons of leftovers). Some folks sat at our picnic tables and got to know each other better while others took to playing corn hole and doing chalk art. We even had a few folks meander inside from some foosball and airhockey action. Suffice to say, it was great and the fine folks from The Shah Law Firm helped with pretty much everything. There was also a silent champion for the event. See, since we started the renovation we got rid of most of our extra tables and chairs and were lacking enough of those to accommodate the 100 some people who RSVPed for the event. Thankfully TLC Rents down in Atlanta loaned us all of that stuff for free so everyone had a place to sit and relax and chow down.
So, thanks to The Shah Law Firm, TLC Rents, the family members, Keith Fenton who did almost all the cooking and everyone who came and made our Midsummer Blast and evening to remember. And if you missed it, don't worry. We are already thinking about the next family event to bring our family closer together.