On Wednesday, Aug. 8 the EnergyUnited Foundation presented a $5,000 gift to Just Hope to help fund education and assistance to families in the Davie area.

Nearly 70,000 EnergyUnited members choose to round up their electric bills each month as part of Operation Round-Up. This money is granted to needy individuals, families, and non-profit organizations like Just Hope that complete an application expressing needs in their community and beyond.

Just HOPE originally founded in January 2010 as a non-profit business by Krystal Dumas, first started as a mobile food pantry; serving those who lacked reliable transportation in order to get to resources and services.

The population predominantly served then consisted of those who didn’t qualify for traditional assistance, such as food stamps or Work First.

Since then, Just Hope has expanded to provide more benefits such as: education, housing assistance, outreach and an internal thrift store with items donated by residents.

“Just Hope serves in the same‘neighbors helping neighbors spirit as the EnergyUnited Foundation,” said Debra Citta, EnergyUnited foundation administrator. “We are so pleased to be able to assist them in their service to help individuals and families in Davie County.”   

In the past two years, Just Hope has grown by leaps and bounds to meet the needs of the community; including assisting those who are homeless.

“The homeless population in Davie County has been overlooked for a long time.” said Dumas, executive director of Just Hope. “Families are going through hard times and falling through government program cracks. These families are living in multi-family households with unsafe sleeping situations, living in motels, sleeping in their cars, and even residing in tents where ever they can find a vacant space of land.”

Just Hope is grateful for the donation granted by EnergyUnited, she said. “When you are faced with the challenge of not knowing where you’re going to sleep at night and you are hungry, it’s overwhelming. Thank you EnergyUnited for your support that will help the community get back on their feet,” Dumas said.