Latest news with #HopeAcademy
CBS News
18-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Volunteers help get Hosanna House ready for summer camp
Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg is gearing up for a season of inspiration for thousands of local kids, but first, they need to do some spring cleaning and a few improvement projects. It's that time of year, rain or shine, that Hosanna House gets its 14-acre Sherwood Event Center ready for three months of fun and learning for thousands of kids. The Wilkinsburg-based nonprofit is committed to helping families reach their maximum potential. Leon Haynes, the founder of Hosanna House, says the change can be felt in the community. "This was abandoned when we found it, literally abandoned," Haynes said. Currently, Hosanna House is maximizing its revitalization and clean-up efforts with the help of some volunteers in the area. About a dozen employees from Pittsburgh-based HRT Solutions joined for a volunteer day. "We've partnered with other local nonprofits in the past and this year we're working with Hosanna House, and we love volunteering, we love giving back to the community, taking time at our busy schedules to do something like this and we just really enjoyed it," said Emily McKenry, of HRT Solutions. "Corporate outreach means the world to us. We never could make things happen the way they happen without that type of help," Haynes added. A few of the duties include landscaping, weeding, and constructing new play spaces. They help ensure the space measures up for the youngsters who will play, explore and grow at the Hope Academy and Summer Camp. "So we want to give our children an outstanding summer adventure that they can talk about. So they're coming from low to moderate incomes mainly coming here and then we open it up for other surrounding communities that don't have green space, that don't have a swimming pool," said Haynes. "So lots of children are touching this asset, getting a variety of different tools that they need to be better as they go forward in life," Haynes said. "We are super passionate and excited about what's to come here. We can't wait to see what it looks like when all the kids are running around, having a safe place to go and play and swim in the pool, play different sports. It's just really exciting and we're just really touched to be part of this opportunity," McKenry added. It's the kind of service that is good for the soul because that service leads to smiles. "So I think it goes two-fold, there's a win-win for everyone when something like this happens," Haynes said.
CBS News
20-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Chicago Hope Academy marks first Illinois state basketball championship
With March Madness in full swing, a local high school basketball team is celebrating its first state championship. Over the weekend, the Chicago Hope Academy boys' basketball team won the Class 1A Illinois state title against Northwest Illinois' Eastland High School. An assembly to honor the team was held Thursday at the school, located at 2189 W. Bowler St. in the West Side's Tri-Taylor neighborhood. But those were not the only honors the team received. Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday also hosted student athletes from Hope Academy, as well as the Class 2A state champs Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts. Mayor Johnson also plans to honor DePaul College Prep, which won the Class 3A title, when school resumes there after spring break. "Hope Academy, representing the West Side of Chicago – also known as the best side– brought home the first state championship, in any sport, in that school's history. In double overtime, DePaul Prep became one of only three teams in our state's rich high school basketball history to three-peat," Mayor Johnson said in a news release. "And, of course, we could not be more proud of Dyett. It took a hunger strike in 2015 to save Dyett from being closed. Now, ten years later, they showed that same perseverance and grit that should make all Chicagoans proud. The Dyett Eagles showed why every sacrifice that was made to keep the school open was worth it because our team got to experience the joy of victory. Their victory is our joy." Hope Academy beat Eastland 71-38 this past weekend. Dyett beat Althoff Catholic School 52-41, and DePaul College Prep beat Brother Rice in double overtime 55-52.
