Orlando, Florida, December 28, 2023 – Matthew’s Hope Ministries is pleased to announce that it has received a $50,000 donation from Duke Energy Florida. The donation will be used by Matthew’s Hope to serve the food in-secure in West Orange County while also providing the much-needed healthcare services that so many of our homeless guests need.
Matthew’s Hope Orange County serves Apopka, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Oakland, Dr. Phillips, and parts of Southwest Orlando. The Winter Garden location experienced 11,915 visits in 2023 (3,172 Female and 8,743 Male Guests) with 468 New Guest Registrations. In 2023, Matthew’s Hope distributed the following to the homeless in West Orange County:
3,821 Hot Breakfast Meals served
42,911 lbs of Single Serve nonperishable Food Pantry Items were distributed.
11,783 Lunches were prepared and served
The fastest growing segments of our growth is from the following populations:
1. Seniors, seniors who did everything right, worked hard to retire, got the gold watch, and built a pension to live on however that pension was not designed for this economy and so at 75 they are finding themselves homeless for the very first time;
2. Individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities. These are individuals that used to not live well past their 30’s who now, due to modern medicine, are outliving their caregivers by decades and no plan was put into place for their care so they end up on our streets.
3. Young adults and young families. These folks can no longer qualify to rent a $2000 a month apartment because they cannot prove an income of three times their rent, nor do they have the $6,000 to move in (plus utility deposits, etc.) $2,000 is becoming typical for a one-bedroom apartment in central Florida meaning you would need an income of $72,000 just to qualify!
“The $50,000 donation from Duke Energy Florida will significantly impact our ability to continue our mission in 2024. We plan on using the money to fill our Food Pantry and provide medical services. We truly appreciate our partnership. The Grant is a welcome blessing for our community” stated Scott Billue, Founder and CEO, Matthew’s Hope Ministries.
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About Matthew’s Hope Ministries
Matthew's Hope is a fully independent, faith-based, 501(c)3 non-profit homeless outreach,
funded and supported by our community. The Volunteers, Community Partners, and staff members of Matthew’s Hope Ministries help connect guests with various resources, and services of need and facilitate opportunities for those desiring to move forward toward a life of independence and self-sustainability. The ministry believes in offering a hand up, not just a handout. Help Us, Help Them, Help Themselves!
For more information, visit www.matthewshopeministries.org. Follow @Matthewshopeministries on Facebook and @matthewshope_wg on Instagram
About Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.