2012 Celebrating HOPE Auction

Each year HOPE host a gathering of our international program leaders in Lancaster, PA for a time of training and fellowship. A highlight of this week has always been our annual dinner when we provide an opportunity for our loyal supporters to interact with our field directors. A feature of this event has been our auction which includes many handcrafted items sourced from the countries where HOPE works.

This year we want to invite our supporters from around the country to join us for the online portion of the auction. Participation is easy. Simply create an account, log-in to our Celebrating HOPE auction and begin bidding. The online auction will close for bidding at 12 pm EST on May 17, 2011. The highest online bids will be represented on our bid sheets at the live event as pre-bids.

Final winners who submitted their bids online will be required to pay shipping costs. There will be no mark-up costs for shipping and handling. We will simply pass on the cost from the most affordable freight carrier.

If you choose not to place a bid on an item, please consider making a donation to HOPE International either through this auction site or through the donation form located at http://hopeinternational.org.

Thank you for joining Celebrating HOPE and partnering with us to alleviate both physical and spiritual poverty.

HOPE International is a network of microfinance institutions operating in 16 countries around the world. We work to empower men, women, and families to break the cycles of physical and spiritual poverty through the provision of loans, savings services, basic business training, mentoring, and discipleship. By incorporating a strong witness for Jesus Christ and by employing a variety of approaches to microfinance, HOPE is an innovator in the field of microenterprise development.

In its network, HOPE includes traditional microfinance programs, microfinance plus programs (which incorporate health care, literacy training, or other community empowerment initiatives outside the realm of traditional microfinance), savings-led microfinance programs, and small and medium enterprise development programs.

Our programs are effectively reaching nearly 400,000 entrepreneurs around the world with the love of Jesus Christ and the opportunity to start or expand a business. From inception to present, HOPE's programs boast a 96 percent repayment rate, pointing to the efficiency of HOPE's methodology.

Join HOPE International and our program leaders from around the world for Celebrating HOPE, a special evening of thanksgiving for the many ways in which God has blessed our programs in the past year. Celebrate the innovation of HOPE's clients as we present the seventh annual Thurman Award to honor a client who demonstrates HOPE's values of perseverance, compassion, and creativity. Named in honor of HOPE's first CEO and his wife, this award celebrates the life change that is taking place worldwide as clients employ small loans and savings services to transform their families and communities.

Pastor and author Chris Seay will join us to discuss how we can remember the poor and nourish our spirits in a culture built on consumption. Chris currently pastors Ecclesia, a missional church that is living out the gospel in oneof Houston, Texas' most challenging neighborhoods and across the globe.

Once again, supporters from across the country can participate in our silent auction by placing bids online before the Celebrating HOPE event. From a hand-carved nativity from Congo to original art from Rwanda, this year's beautiful items will enhance a home and contribute to HOPE's work around the world!

Celebrating HOPE will once again feature the opportunity to bid on unique items from HOPE's countries of operation around the world in a silent auction. Online auction details will be made available soon.

Cost:
$50 per person. Register at http://hopeinternational.org/celebrate

Location:
Lancaster County Convention Center
Heritage Ballroom
25 South Queen Street
Lancaster, PA 17603