Resurrecting Hope Through Human Investment
About Us
Co-Founders
David A. Crewey • CEO • AmeriPro Plumbing
Colleen Crewey • Home School Mom & Wife Extraordinaire
Gardner Biddle • CEO • Power Marketing & Printing
Mission Statement
“Resurrecting Hope, Inc. is a society of volunteers, donors & strategic partners who
come together to bring dignity to homeless mothers, joy to children, hope to the
hopeless, and to demonstrate that love and generosity have the power to bring
about miracles!"
Resurrecting Hope Inc. is Born!
After thirteen years, and a whole lot of procrastination, we finally did it! Colleen, Gardner & I, have wanted to turn our
Mission Christmas Project into something bigger and further reaching. We wanted to touch more people and expand the
scope of our work to reach further than the homeless problem in Atlanta. While we will still continue to support Atlanta's
homeless community, and increase our participation there, we recognize that there are a lot of folks who aren't quite
homeless, who need our help as well. Thus the "AUM Phoenix Society" has officially become "Resurrecting Hope Inc.", a
non-profit organization committed to utilizing human investment to resurrect hope and give dignity to the lives of those
who thought they were forgotten...
We started out informally as the AUM Phoenix Society...
The year was 1996, and I owned a small printing company called Technological Printing & Lamination, Inc. (TPL). There
were a couple of women working at my company who were residents at the Atlanta Union Mission (AUM), and had
children. Colleen & I had some toys in our basement that our daughter was not using, and considered giving them to
these women for their children. Colleen mentioned that they probably would rather shop for their own children. We
wondered what it must feel like to be homeless with children, and not having the means to give them anything for
Christmas. We couldn’t imagine waking up Christmas morning in a homeless shelter, and not having a single present to
give our child; yet we knew that this was a reality for some. I decided to call the AUM to see if there was a way we could
help. I made the call, and was invited to tour the AUM.
I was amazed to find that there are a large number of homeless people in Atlanta, and how many of them are mothers
with children. I was impressed with how the AUM offered shelter, hope & recovery to all those who wanted it. I found that
there were many others like me who wanted to help, and did so by donating time, money, and goods. I discovered that
there were several programs to make sure that the homeless children received presents at Christmas. But something kept
nagging me. The same question kept running through my head: “How would I feel if I were not able to give to my own
child at Christmas?” The answer was simple; “Awful, and ashamed.” It occurred to me that I could do more than just
donate a few toys. I could help restore dignity and hope to these homeless women...
I got on the phone and called my future co-sponsor Gardner Biddle and explained what I had in mind. He jumped in with
both feet! We did not have large personal fortunes, but we had connections with other business owners, and others who
may be willing to give. Our goal was to raise enough money to give each mother with a child at the AUM a gift certificate
for each child, arrange to take them to a store to shop, and even have people lined up to help the mothers wrap the
presents that they had bought for their kids. We had two weeks to pull it off. The first annual AUM Mission Christmas was
born!
We made a commitment to make it work, and then we made it work. It was unbelievable. There was no doubt that we
had a little Divine Intervention along the way. The cooperation from the AUM staff was invaluable, my wife Colleen was
indispensable in coordinating the shopping trip, and the generosity of our donors was humbling. I have never felt more
purpose in my life than when we completed, and complete each year, the AUM Mission Christmas Project. The hugs and
tears of the mothers, the joy on the children’s faces and the knowledge that with God’s help “we did it” has changed my
life in so many ways.
Since that first trip, we have made eleven others & raised nearly $100,000.00! We were able to sponsor the first
"Winterfest" concert, we produced a music CD featuring the clients of the AUM to help raise money for the AUM. We gave
sterling silver "In the Care of Angels" pendants to the entire AUM staff & clientele (over 1,000 necklaces). This past year we
raised over $14,600.00 in less than a month, and were able to give $100.00 Wal-mart gift certificates to 144 homeless
women and children! We are hoping to expand our work with the AUM and work with them throughout the year,
providing our own special brand of love & service. It continues to be an honor and a blessing to serve these women and
children, and to work with so many loving and generous people. I hope I get to do this until it’s my time to leave this
earth.
David A. Crewey
We Can Do More!
Each year, after the shopping is over, Gardner & I have threatened to form our own not for profit organization so that we
could help more people, more often. In my travels as a plumber, I often come across people living in houses that are
falling down around them. They are not "homeless", but they cannot afford to pay for repairs. I see young children
running around in homes without heat, or hot water; with bathroom floors falling through, ceilings leaking, and often with
health hazards like leaking gas lines & exposed wires. I've met retired people who had no heat in the winter or
air-conditioning in the summer. A lot of these homes have unsanitary conditions like open sewers beneath the house, or
raw sewage bubbling up in the yard. It's almost as if I were travelling around in a third world country, but it's right here in
my own back yard... and in yours! I try to help when I can, but I am not a rich man, and do not have the resources to help
all of these people myself.
This year, we stopped threatening, and started doing. We formed Resurrecting Hope, Inc., a non-profit organization
dedicated to carrying on our original mission with the homeless, and creating a new division to address the "third world
poverty" right here in Atlanta & neighboring communities. We aim to restore hope, home, & dignity. We, alongside others
who would take up our quest, can make in our communities a home for everyone, and change lives forever!
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