SA 9/19/09 O Zone, Ashland, VA
10am-1pm: Games, Food and Fun for the whole Family! Send-off the Hope Bus to its first Phase: The East Coast.
11169 Air Park Rd
Ashland, VA 23005
804-798-7474
Special Guests:
Showing support for the vision and goals of the Hope Bus Tour, high-profile personalities who will attend the Send-off Party: Lillian Lambert, the first black female Harvard MBA and author of her forthcoming memoir, The Road to Someplace Better; journalist, best-selling author and nonprofit champion Stacy Hawkins Adams, whose sixth novel Dreams That Won’t Let Go will be published in January; and a part of The Official Hope Team (Jackie Davis, Suzy Smith, Sean Mitton, Tim Patterson)
To check out the Interview about the Send-Off Party at the O Zone, click here!
Special 'Thank You to the O'Reilly Familyfor hosting the Send-Off Party at the O Zone in Ashland, VA
The Hope Cake - A Chocolate Delight! Thanks Jackie Davis - great Choice!
Press Release Send-Off Party
The Hope Bus: 50 Charities in 50 Days
“Serve Others – Make a Difference”
Media Contact: Helena Nyman
(804) 513 -3536;
3319 Ashdown Rd. ,
Richmond , VA 23235
Hope Bus Tour Gives Charity Drive New Meaning Send-off Party at the O Zone in Ashland, VA
Ashland/Richmond, VA — The O Zone in Ashland will be the hoste of the Send-off Party for the Hope Bus Tour this coming Saturday, September 19th. The O Zone, whose Founder Pat O'Reilly created fun, interesting and always changing programs for middle school ages at the O Zone has a vision of making a difference in the World, whether by bringing science and math to life, or building bonds with friends for the future, and the O Zone, with its vision alignment, seemed like the ideal place to celbrate the send-off of the Hope Bus.
Location and Schedule for the Send-off: Games, Food and Fun for the whole Family 10am - 1pm at the O Zone, 11169 Air Park Rd, Ashland, VA. To find out about the programs at the O Zone, please visit: http://www.totheozone.com/
After the send-off party, the Hope Bus will leave for its journey and start the Official Hope Tour (Phase One East Coast) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Ronald McDonald House of New York on September 21, the Hope Bus will start its ambitious journey to visit 50 pre-selected charities in 50 days along the East Coast.
The brainchild of local visionary founder Helena Nyman, the tour itself is an innovative vehicle designed to raise public awareness of charities that are doing exceptional work in their communities to improve the lives of people who are in need. New York charities that will be visited are Ronald McDonald House of New York, a facility that offers temporary housing to pediatric cancer patients and their families, while they undergo treatment and the Children’s Village (Dobbs Ferry).
From New York , the bus will take off to Boston , MA to visit Harvard Business School and local Charities. The Closing Ceremony for Phase One is in Tampa , Florida .
Showing support for the vision and goals of the Hope Bus Tour, high-profile personalities who will attend the opening ceremony at the Ronald McDonald House of New York include former world skater champion and actress Lucinda Ruh; Lillian Lambert, the first black female Harvard MBA and author of her forthcoming memoir, The Road to Someplace Better; journalist, best-selling author and nonprofit champion Stacy Hawkins Adams, whose sixth novel Dreams That Won’t Let Go will be published in January; and the NYC Fire Department.
In a grand-sweeping, “pay it forward” gesture, the Hope Bus Tour will travel from city to city spreading hope and unity in an effort to inspire and engage residents to support their local charities through volunteerism and donations. The selected charities will hold open houses and other special events and have an opportunity to tell their stories to their communities. The Hope Bus will carry a team of motivational speakers, coaches and authors who will deliver inspiring messages on how people can make a positive difference in their communities by actively supporting their local charities.
Nyman comments, “By highlighting community-based charities, my hope is that the residents living in these communities will be inspired to actively support the charities that are doing good in their home towns. With the growth and power of social media networks, I’m confident that the backstories of these charities will ignite a call for action in the hearts and minds of residents to carry on the Hope Bus mission.”
For more information, visit the Hope Bus’s website at http://www.thehopebus.org/.
About the Hope Bus: The mission of the Hope Bus is threefold:
(1) To bring awareness of local and grassroots charities to community residents. To this end, The Hope Team will visit selected charities, learn more about the charities through interviews, and share their stories via social media networks;
(2) To inspire community residents (collectively and individually) to become involved in volunteerism in an effort to create a neighborhood support system; and
(3) To lead by example, The Hope Bus Tour will encourage charities to build alliances and share scarce resources in an effort to strengthen their organizations in a tough economy that is especially challenging for nonprofits.
The ultimate vision of the program is to create a nationwide Hope Community by establishing “Hope Centers” that will offer interactive teaching sessions through webinars, teleseminars, online forums and community outreach programs.
Helena Nyman founded the Hope Bus as the culmination of three decades of involvement in charity work with organizations, including Feed the Homeless in Canada ; crisis intervention and food drives for seniors in Switzerland , Canada and the USA ; facilitator for rape survivors, single moms and homeless teenagers. Ms. Nyman, who is based in Richmond, Virginia, is also the founder, vice president and executive director of the Senior Angels, an organization for seniors in need. She is a professional speaker, author and executive coach. Helena Nyman was honored in June with the Global Artemis Award 2009 in Athens, Greece and was inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame.
Sponsors of the Hope Bus Tour include AT&T, Pampered Chef, My Final Destination Travel Agency, The Melting Pot, Legacy Estate Planning, Custom Ink, Excellence on Ice, Koyal Wholesale, Baker’s Crust, Krogers, Bank of Virginia, Droisys, Richmond’s Visual Arts Center, Gray Wolf Trading, O Zone Ashland (Virginia), Baker's Crust, Krogers, Wizard Inc, and inspirational speakers Bob Burg, Dr. Steve Taubman, Terri Levine, Lillian Lambert, Stacy Adams, Gloria Thomas, Sarah Walsh, Uschi Keszler, Jackie Davis, Richmond, VA, Festa Family, Richmond, VA, Patrick Family, Hudson, WI, Maestrello Family, Richmond, VA, Angi and Adam Edwards, Richmond, VA , Jean and Tom Thompson, Richmond, VA , Hoyt Family, Lakeland, FL , Walton Bell and Wife, Richmond, VA, Tom Rowland, Henrico, VA , Barry Weiss, Burlington, VT , David Walden, Roanoke, VA . Many anonymous individuals also contributed to the Hope Bus Tour.
