Consider the power one person can make in the lives of others. One person, taking one small step which leads to lives being changed. One such person is Ron Melvin.
“I don’t think you necessarily need to reinvent the wheel and do something different” says Ron Melvin, a local realtor, Rotarian, and Hope Solutions volunteer, “Hope Solutions (Hope Solutions) is an organization that is making a difference in people’s lives and if I can lend a hand, no matter how big or small, I feel that it’s my obligation.”
Ron has a long history of community involvement. He has volunteered on the games management team for the Special Olympics for over 25 years, is an active member of the Rotary Club, participates in several ministries in his church, has volunteered in schools, and has even done work with Gang members in Southern California. This is all on top of raising his 11 year old daughter and working as a successful realtor.
Ron first learned about Hope Solutions last spring through a presentation at the Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary. Inspired by the impact that Hope Solutions programs are having on formerly homeless families, he rallied his coworkers at Prudential California Realty to complete a landscaping project at Garden Park Apartments (GPA). Twenty people showed up with chainsaws roaring and shovels flying. When the project was complete, he asked, “What do you need now?”
Thanksgiving was fast approaching and meals for low-income families were desperately needed. So Ron tapped into the active Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary and they showed up with complete thanksgiving meals for every family at Garden Park Apartments. When this was done, he asked, “What do you need now?”
A capital campaign for the new HEDCO Community Center had just been completed to better serve residents at GPA, and while many donors supported this much needed improvement, it took funds away from ongoing operating support the agency depends on from its supporters. What was really needed was increased financial support to keep our critical supportive service programs running. Just last month, Hope Solutions learned it was a recipient of a $3,500 gift from Prudential Community California Foundation. Ron had tapped into his workplace foundation to support Hope Solutions!
All this became possible because of the power of one person taking action to make a difference.