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The Circle of Hope non-profit organization donated over $5,000 in grants to the child nutrition programs at Nederland and Port Neches-Groves Independent School Districts.

Emmett Hollier, Circle of Hope president, said the grant was obtained from Sempra LNG’s grant application program.

“We already help both school districts with their backpack events, which helps students in need of extra food, so when the grant was announced we applied for it,” Hollier said. “One of the guidelines was to help kids through COVID-19. We applied to be able to help NISD and PNGISD throughout summer with their nutrition program.”

Throughout the school year both districts fill backpacks on Fridays with non-perishable food items.

Students in need take them home over the weekend.

During the summer months, parents who need extra assistance are able to pick up food through the drive-thru.

Hollier said he wanted to be part of helping the community and giving back to the school districts.

“With COVID-19 going on, and everything else in the world today, sometimes that adds a lot of extra stress to people,” he said. “The virus affected people’s work so it’s important that the community steps up to help those folks. Although Circle of Hope is a small organization in the community, we wanted to help.”

The partnership sustains the child nutrition programs to continue growing into the summer months.

“We have a lot of negativity in the world,” Hollier said. “So it’s good when somebody steps up to help and brighten someone else’s day. Whether it’s a phone call, monetary donation or just saying, ‘I’m here if you need something.’ It’s all important.”

NISD and PNGISD both received $5,000 for their program.

Circle of Hope donated $500 before the grant to bring the total to $5,500 each.

NISD Assistant Superintendent Mike Laird said the child nutritional department is grateful for the donation.

“This type of donation to our child nutrition department will greatly benefit the students and families of our district,” he said. “Our community partners are crucial to the success of our schools. We want those involved to know how much we appreciate their support and look forward to working them in the future.”

Southeast Texas Circle of Hope is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to assist those in need of help with funds for catastrophic event, medical and/or funeral needs.

The group is mainly concentrated in Mid-County and is entirely ran by volunteers.

“We are constantly looking for grants that we can obtain as a non-profit, then we decide where we can channel those funds to do the most good,” Hollier said. “We are constantly looking for ways to help others and we give back 100 percent.”