Stay Home for Hope is a homebody’s dream! No need to dress up (yay! pajamas!) or even leave the comfort of your home. You can enjoy a night in and make a difference in the lives of hurting men, women and children at the same time. Here’s how:

Pick a night to stay home with your family…and with the money you save by not going out to dinner…not seeing a movie…not paying a babysitter…make a financial gift to Hope Ministries.

While you enjoy a relaxing night at home, you can know that your donation is doing the work—helping us serve 500+ meals every day and shelter 200 people each night. We’ll even provide ideas for night-in activities!

As we’re in our 104th year of serving Central Iowans in need, we’re looking for 104 households to Stay Home for Hope. Can we count on you?

…Make Homemade Pizza!

You could even make a game out of it with your fam. Raid the pantry and see who can make the most creative pizza with whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand. Here at Hope Ministries, we serve hundreds of free meals every day using all kinds of food donations. Our chefs don’t often know what we’re going to receive each day…and yet, they’re able to pull together nutritious meals from a variety of unexpected ingredients.

…Stream a Movie at Home

Netflix…Amazon Prime…Hulu…you’ve got options. If you’d like to stay on theme, you could check out a flick about homelessness—The Pursuit of Happyness, Same Kind of Different as Me, or the classic My Man Godfrey (a hilarious and heartwarming Golden Era Hollywood film about a “forgotten man” who teaches a wealthy family about compassion). While you’re at it, why not check out one of our inspiring testimony videos—like Angela’s or Leland’s or any of our One Minute with Hope clips.

…Have a Family Game Night

Here’s an interesting conversation starter: Pull out the kids game Chutes & Ladders…when one of you gets stuck going down a long chute, talk about the “chutes” that cause individuals and families to struggle with homelessness, poverty and hunger—job loss, sudden death of a loved one, mental illness, lack of education. And then talk about compassion…and about how you as a family might be able to offer a “ladder” to someone in need.

We’d be super grateful if you’d help us spread the word about Stay Home for Hope so we can reach our goal of 104 participating households! Here are some easy social media ideas:

• Share one of the graphics below on your Facebook page with a simple message…maybe something like this: We’re excited to “Stay Home for Hope” tonight! Who knew a family night in could make a difference? You can help, too! Learn how here: hopeiowa.org/stay-home
• Use our Stay Home for Hope frame on your Facebook profile photo! Here’s how:
  • Hover over your Facebook profile photo until the word “Update” appears, then click.
  • In the pop-up box, click on “Add Frame.”
  • Search for our “Stay Home for Hope” frame by typing “stay home for hope.” A couple different frames might pop up, but ours is called “Stay Home for Hope” and it’ll say “By Hope Ministries.” Choose “Use as Profile Picture” and you’re done. (You can also choose how long you want the frame to stay on your photo…)
• On your night in, post pics of you and/or your family enjoying your night at home…and include the link: hopeiowa.org/stay-home
• After your night in, share some personal thoughts about anything you might have learned or ways you were impacted. There’s plenty of negative stuff on Facebook…let’s flood our friends’ newsfeed with positive things!

Graphics to share on Facebook, Instagram, etc

Tap or right-click to save and then share wherever you’re active online: